“Schwan’s Interns You Need to Know” is a new series of stories featuring some of the interns who help make Schwan’s Company and its subsidiaries a great place to work.
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| Jeffrey Koch joined our team in Schwan's Consumer Brands, Inc. this past summer as an intern. |
Koch gains hands-on, brand-management experience at Schwan's
Sept. 13, 2018 — Impressed by the broad product portfolio of Schwan’s Company, Jeffrey Koch joined our summer internship program with the hopes of gaining experience and knowledge in a multitude of marketing areas. He wasn’t disappointed.“Having the portfolio covering so much allows for such a great potential to gain a wide range of experience as your career might progress, without ever needing to change organizations,” Jeffrey said. “Personally, that potential holds great value as I look for an organization to continue my career.”
Jeffrey, a first-year MBA candidate from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, was one of several students who joined our internship program. this past summer. His primary role was working in brand management with Schwan’s Consumer Brands, Inc., which offers a number of branded products in retail and club stores. Within his role, he gained valuable experience working on market assessments and strategic recommendations for our pizza brands.
Before going back to school, Jeffrey answered a few questions about his experience at Schwan’s.
Here’s what he had to say:
Q: Tell us something about you that most people would not know.
A: I love flying. During high school, I flew single-engine airplanes. I intend to get my pilot’s license in the future.
Q: What have you learned so far this summer at Schwan’s?
A: I have learned how wide-ranging the values and needs of consumers are when it pertains to product categories that you might deem similar from afar. It has also been very interesting to hear exactly what a consumer is looking for in different pizza brands and how those values align with the analytical data available to help guide our decision making.
Q: What do you like best about your work at Schwan’s?
A: I have really enjoyed how analytical, yet strategic, my project has been. I also like that the work I did this summer can have actual implications for the future of the brand and team.
Q: What are your thoughts on the Schwan’s culture?
A: The culture at Schwan’s is one of the best I have experienced so far in my career. The entire team wants to succeed and it means there is a true sense of collaboration. Everyone is extremely intelligent, helpful and really good at making you feel like you can enjoy working with the team. The people are a large part of why you look forward to coming to work.
Q: What is your greatest take away from your internship at Schwan’s?
A: I have significantly strengthened my ability to translate data and insights into a story to guide a brand’s decision-making process.
Q: What is your favorite Schwan’s product and why?
A: Although my work was focused on pizza, the Edwards® S’mores crème pie was my favorite. It just tastes so good, and the team has done an astoundingly good job at bringing the flavor of campfire s’mores to life in the crème pie.
Q: What would you tell a friend considering an internship at Schwan’s?
A: You’re going to learn a lot and be exposed to more over a short period of time than you might get at many other organizations. The projects you work on will provide solutions to real needs and potentially have a significant impact on the company. You will have a great balance of support and freedom as you work throughout the summer.
Q: How do you think that your internship will impact your future career?
A: The experience we get during the internship is — for many of us — the foundational training and learning opportunity to launch the next phase in our careers. The projects we worked on this summer will help guide us toward the projects and roles we want and can excel at. More importantly, it gives us the tools we need to excel in those future roles.
Q: What do you hope to do after you graduate?
A: I plan to go into brand management, ideally with a consumer packaged goods company. If things go well, I’ll even be fortunate enough to have the opportunity to rejoin the Schwan’s team.
