Anushree Bose - I Have Held Strategic Positions in World-Renowned Brands (Head Digital, Brand Comm & Online, Nandos)

 

There is a wide range of emotions attached to food, which makes it interesting and challenging to develop communication and build campaigns. There is always something new to focus on and plan for, this sector will keep you on your toes.


1. Tell us something about your early days & career story.


I was born in Allahabad and brought up across several cities, as my father was in IRS and used to get transferred quite often. Our family zeroed in on Indore as the final destination. I am a true Indori at heart. I shifted to Pune for my further studies. After post-graduation, I got a campus placement at Reliance Communications in Mumbai and was made part of the core marketing team. This set the course for the rest of my career. After that, I have held strategic positions in world-renowned brands like Canon, Swatch Group and now with Nando’s. 




 

2. Why did you decide to be in the food industry?


Having worked in the Retail, FMCD and Telecom industries before, I was always intrigued by Food and Beverage sector. I feel that the food industry is richly multifaceted with a beautiful mix of science, art and marketing. Right from new product development, consumer insights, menu engineering, pricing, and promotion. And living in such a technologically advanced era makes it even more exciting to be in this industry. It is one of the most dynamic places where no two days are the same and work is incredibly varied.


There is a wide range of emotions attached to food, which makes it interesting and challenging to develop communication and build campaigns. There is always something new to focus on and plan for, this sector will keep you on your toes.

 

3. How do you leverage software & technologies for business efficiency?


Cloud technologies are transforming almost every industry. In this digital-first age, the F&B/restaurant industry can’t avoid the digital and technological revolution. To remain competitive brands are required to have an infrastructure that can tackle both customer-facing technologies as well as back-end technologies to create and support an excellent customer experience. Some of these were triggered by Covid e.g Contactless Payment and Contactless Ordering which have become more and more mainstream. Technology like Cloud-based POS Systems has a great impact on restaurant efficiency. This helps in storing and retrieving data online and can be accessed and managed anywhere anytime.


In 2022, restaurants need to build an omnichannel seamless experience, that ensures that customers can interact seamlessly across online and offline channels. Further, the data from customer visits and orders help in understanding shifts in trends and are major indicators in developing new products and communication.


 

4. How do you stay connected with the F&B industry, and the apps that you use to do so?


Staying updated is necessary irrespective of which industry one is working in. The best thing about our generation is the easy access to information and resources. Whatever you’re trying to learn about, somebody else has asked the same questions, you just have to look up. For me- subscribing to relevant newsletters, and following trending hashtags/influencers on social media and Google alerts work best.


5. What are your future plans?


I think the best way of planning for the future is to make the most of the present. Having said that I do have long-term goals that involve growing with a company where I can continue to learn, take on bigger and more diverse responsibilities, contribute as much value and develop a robust team. For me, everything boils down to having a job I enjoy doing and staying relevant while maintaining a good life-work balance.


 

About Anushree:


Anushree is a brand strategy expert and marketing leader. In the past, she has worked across F&B/QSR, Retail, FMCD and Telecom with industry leaders like Swatch, Reliance and Canon. She is currently driving the on-premise growth and leading the Digital, Marketing, CRM and e-commerce at Nando’s India.