Catherine Lloyd will join the business as CMO later this month, taking over from Yilmaz Erceyes who departed the firm in May after 10 years.
Premier Foods has appointed Catherine Lloyd as its new chief marketing officer.
The marketer, who has over 20 years experience in various FMCG roles, is set to join the business, which owns food brands including Bisto, Spice Tailor and Mr Kipling, later this month.
Lloyd spent over 17 years in roles at Nurofen-owner Reckitt, first joining the business in 2006. She departed her most recent role of regional director for marketing and strategy for Reckitt’s health business earlier this year.
Since then she has been working as an expert in residence at the University of Oxford, working within the Department of Paediatrics. On LinkedIn, Lloyd described the role as supporting a team of scientists to “translate their technology into an industry setting and give Oxford’s researchers expert advice in marketing strategy”.
Lloyd takes over the Premier Foods CMO role from Yilmaz Erceyes, who departed the business in May after 10 years at the business.
Premier Foods to upweight influencer marketing activity
Premier Foods CEO Alex Whitehouse recognised Erceyes’ role in Premier Foods brands’ growth.
“I’d like to recognise the key role Yilmaz played in helping grow our leading portfolio of brands as chief marketing officer during his time at Premier Foods and I’m delighted that in Catherine we have a brilliant successor to continue that journey,” he said.
He commented that Lloyd stood out in the recruitment process due to her FMCG experience, as well as her reputation for leading high-performing teams.
She joins a business that has committed to investing more in digital and influencer marketing as it looks to future growth. This strategy was detailed in the business’s quarter one results, released earlier today (17 July).
It also highlighted the role of innovation in driving recent (and future) success.
While brands like Oxo and Mr Kipling have long-running associations for British consumers, Premier Foods has also been successful in pushing into new spaces, both through innovation and the acquisition and growth of new brands. NPD examples like Mr Kipling Angel Delight ice cream have allowed the company to push into new categories, and have been a solid “source of growth” for the business.
Meanwhile, the company acquired new brands like The Spice Tailor in 2022 and FUEL10K in 2023. It has taken its ‘branded growth model’ and applied this to these new brands.
