pladis Global is a leading global snacks and confectionery company, established in 2016 and headquartered in London. It owns iconic brands like McVitie’s, Godiva, Ülker, Jacob’s, Carr’s, Go Ahead, Flipz, BN, Turtles, and Verkade. Its portfolio spans sweet & savoury biscuits, wafers, cakes, premium chocolate, gum, and candy.
With over 16,000 employees, 27 bakeries across 11 countries, and annual revenues of around £3.5 billion, pladis serves more than 4 billion people in 110+ markets.
The Brief
Having had a long track record of success previously recruiting for pladis' UK marketing & commercial teams, Allexo were asked to lead a confidential search for a Head of Consumer & Market Insight for a newly established global function.
Their efforts were focused on the high growth emerging markets, where GDP was rising and the consumer demographic was constantly evolving, and it was essential to find someone with experience in these markets – a very limited talent pool to recruit from in the UK and Europe.
The Process & Result
Combining online research and insights from conversations with our candidate and client network, Allexo identified a list of FMCG companies who had operations or a focus on marketing and selling their brands and products in emerging markets – whether based in the UK or internationally.
A sourcing strategy was then created involving a pan-European search utilising our internal database, LinkedIn Recruiter and referrals, and a multi-channel campaign run via online advertising and social media to identify, attract and engage a pool of qualified candidates for the role over a 3 week period.
A longlist of 7 candidates was presented to pladis at the end of the 3 week campaign, with a highly experienced senior CMI candidate from J&J appointed to the role.
