November 2015

By Rachel Dennison (U6B)

During the summer holidays Mr Nigel Cushion of Nelson Spirit organised a two week internship for me at PT Organics with the CEO of the company Amanda Pead. The whole two weeks were tailored to my interests with future careers in mind. PT Organics have recently launched their latest product the 'Toasted Oat Crush' which is a healthy adult snack in a pouch for those who are always on the go. Whilst I was there, I was involved in all  stages of taking the product from an idea all the way to it being on the shelves. Throughout my two weeks I was given more opportunities than I ever expected. These included a day in London with the Head of Sales, visiting many of the shops that were stocking their new product.  I was also trusted to order business cards and branded merchandise. The team gave me loads of hands on experience, I was never just shadowing a member of the team but always given a role to play.  Every couple of days I was able to see a different section of the business, one of my favourites was working in product development. Here my first job was to assemble all the new equipment that had arrived for food testing, shopping for ingredients and trying out new taste combinations.  This was great fun as it was a mix between cooking and playing with equipment in the science labs at school.  I confess to making a tremendous amount of mess.  I was really surprised and delighted by just how much involvement I had.  I really enjoyed my time at PT organics,  the team were so welcoming there was a great atmosphere in the office,  helped I am sure by the competitive scooter races across the office and the frequent taste testing of course!