Get to know our Head of Commercial, John O’Brien

John O'Brien joined Carrs Pasties in July 2023 as Head of Commercial, he’s got 25 years of experience in commercial roles and has worked at world-famous companies such as Nestle and Carlsberg, so what made him choose Carrs Pasties? Find out in our Q&A with John below!

Tell us about your previous roles and experiences…

With 25 years of experience mostly in food, across various commercial roles (marketing, sales, category, and strategy this really has been the perfect next step for me. At the start of my career, I worked for multinational consumer-branded companies like Nestle and Carlsberg which are a great place to learn processes and thinking. The last decade has been working for some very large B2B suppliers across dairy, meat, and bakery so that experience has been useful for my new venture at Carrs Pasties.?

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What attracted you to Carrs Pasties?

Coming to Carrs was absolutely a decision of the heart as much as the head. Carrs has some special values that I buy into. As a Boltonian, I know that this brand is truly loved in the town and was seemingly the go-to food option for every christening and family party that I have been to. I was surprised to find out that a lot of people didn’t know we could deliver nationwide.? In a nutshell, I have joined Carrs pasties to share the love and help lots more people discover what they are missing.

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What can we expect from Carrs Pasties in the future?

We are just putting together all the plans, but we’re focusing on strong growth in a way that is true to who we are and our values. What I will say, is that we are working on some fantastic new product development, we have a desire to grow our trade partnerships and routes to market, and at the right time, and in the right way will continue to grow our own footprint.

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What makes Carrs Pasties different?

So much of what we do is simply because it is the right thing to do. We have a unique way of making pasties, we fill it hot and then blast freeze or put it straight in the oven to lock in the taste. Our food is a vehicle to bring people together too and we love seeing people enjoy our pasties together. Quality, community, and doing the right thing are in our DNA.

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What have you enjoyed so far since joining the team?

A perk has definitely been pasties for lunch but the best thing for me is to have the honour of leading so many talented people. My role is to work with the team to decide the direction and then to remove any obstacles that may stop the team from reaching the greatness for which they are destined.

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What trends do you think food businesses need to look out for in 2024?

Like the last few years, next year will also continue to be a year of uncertainty, but overall, with the inflation outlook looking less extreme, it’s probably going to be a pretty good year for businesses. As we increasingly see the workforce revert from ‘work at home’ to office-based working it will bring tremendous opportunities to the Food to Go sector which I’m sure our trade partners will be happy with.?

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As head of commercial, what does a typical day look like for you? There’s lots of variety working in a business with so much potential. As head of commercial, I lead the retail, sales, NPD, customer service, and marketing teams and every day can come with its challenges. The reality is that for a business of our size, I will always be needed to support the team on day-to-day activities, but at the same time I try to build a longer-term plan. I strongly believe that Carrs is on an incredible growth journey and with that comes options in terms of what we prioritise.

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What campaigns have stood out to you over the last couple of years?

When brands stand for something and stay true to it, it can be incredibly powerful. The ‘It has to be Heinz’ campaign is brilliant. It creates an emotional response, communicates quality, and is versatile enough to work across multiple media and across all of its products. However good marketing does not always need deep pockets. Sometimes the businesses that inspire the most are brands like Gails Bakery and Black Sheep Coffee, neither seem to spend a lot of money on traditional marketing but instead create such an amazing experience that they enjoy very high levels of loyalty.

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What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever been given?

Don’t sweat the small stuff. Only focus on things you can influence and change and don’t stress about things you cannot.

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What challenges do you think food manufacturing businesses may face in the next couple of years?

For the last few years, labour has been a challenge for the food industry (manufacturing and hospitality) and I don’t think that will change. Companies need to invest in their people. Quietly in the background, there has been a lot of automation in manufacturing, and warehousing, partially driven by the need to reduce error but also driven by scarcity of labour. The big business challenge is that the era of cheap money seems to have come to an end, it is unlikely that interest rates will return to earlier levels and that will put greater focus on stock control and finding ways of managing risk. The other major trend is changes in the way people shop, and innovations like platform ordering, which have led to footfall changes and have a huge impact.?

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Quick fire round:

• Favourite pasty: Steak. 100% the best steak pasty on the market by a country mile.
• The person you’d most love to try a Carrs Pasty (can be anyone in the world, famous or not): Everyone.?But I’m a huge fan of Ernest Shackleton, an incredible man who in the face of adversity still managed to lead his men to safety. I’m sure he would have loved a pasty.?
• Favourite city in the world? Manchester. With a food culture up there with London and New York, but also staying very authentic and with contemporary culture that leads the UK, there is such a buzz in this part of the North-West. I also like New York because I love the energy of the place.
• What’s your dream job? Either a history lecturer or a professional coffee taster, ideally both.
• What do you think of pineapple on pizza? I won’t be putting it on my pizza but each to their own.