ABOUT CATHERINE ARCHER
Food & drink strategy adviser. Former CEO & Global Marketing Director
I have spent over 25 years building food and drink brands and businesses, from global names including Unilever, Cadbury and Bacardi to leading JING Tea as CEO.
That expertise has taught me the importance of understanding consumers, making clear strategic choices and developing plans that work in practise vs on the page.
Today, through Brand Archery, I bring that experience together with an understanding of how the food system is changing to help leaders identify opportunities and make better decisions.
My journey
My career has taken me from global marketing and strategy roles to leading an entrepreneurial food and drink business, and now to advising organisations navigating change.
Working across businesses of different sizes and stages has shown me the value of combining the rigour of large organisations with the agility and resourcefulness needed in smaller businesses.
Global FMCG
Building brands and driving growth at scale
Entrepreneurial Business
Leading JING Tea as CEO
Food Systems
A broader perspective on the forces reshaping food and drink
Global FMCG
Building brands and driving growth at scale
Field to fork
Growing up as the daughter of a farmer and a chef, food and drink has always been a passion. I've been fortunate to make it my profession too.
That journey has taken me from working with some of the world's best-loved brands and leading hospitality businesses to dedicated producers and innovative food-tech disruptors. Along the way, it's given me a perspective on food and drink that stretches well beyond individual products and categories.
Today, I'm particularly interested in how the wider food system is changing - from health and nutrition to technology, climate and consumer behaviour - and what that means for businesses.
For me, the opportunity lies in connecting those changes to commercial reality, helping businesses recognise what matters and where their next opportunities for growth might come from.
Staying connected to what’s next
The food and drink sector is constantly changing, shaped by consumers, health, technology, climate, policy and the wider world.
Alongside my advisory work, I co-chair The Conduit’s Health & Food Futures community, bringing together different perspectives to explore how we can create a healthier, more resilient and inclusive food future.
