Description

Innovation, Foresight & Ideation Leader with 10+ years’ experience shaping consumer-first innovation strategies across FMCG, beauty-adjacent, fashion and lifestyle categories. Proven at translating cultural insight, trends and consumer emotion into commercially viable product direction, innovation masterplans and compelling brand stories.

Highly influential partner to R&D, Design, Creative, Insights and Commercial teams. Known for inspiring teams through clear strategic narratives, visual storytelling and collaborative leadership.

Languages

English
Native or bilingual

Workplace preferences

Can work on-site

Leicester (up to 50km)

Sainsbury's
Trends and Innovation Manager
RETAIL (LARGE RETAILERS)
November 2021 - May 2025 (3 years and 6 months)
Led the development and implementation of an innovative trend analysis framework, synthesising global insights into customer-centric and creative-led solutions that directly influenced brand strategy, visual direction, and product development across Sainsbury’s Food, Tu Clothing, Habitat and Argos.

• Developed and executed an end-to-end annual trend analysis process,
incorporating extensive consumer research (qualitative and quantitative), macro
trends, and cultural analysis. This resulted in strategic reports that provided
actionable insights for improving brand perception and driving data-driven
strategies across the customer experience.

• Partnered with the Habitat propositions team on in-house brand development,
targeting health & wellbeing trends to create an at-home sanctuary. Provided key
customer and market insights, directly influencing strategy, commercial
ambition, and product development.

• Drove brand-focused innovation by establishing a bi-annual process with senior
leadership to integrate key trends (health & wellbeing, sustainability, digital
acceleration) into 12-18 month range frameworks, facilitated through workshops
delivered to 200+ colleagues.

• Delivered clear and engaging seasonal trend reports using visual storytelling to
communicate complex information effectively to internal teams. Led workshops
to align cross-functional stakeholders on strategic direction, resulting in
improved commercial performance for key business areas.

• Managed and developed a team of three, fostering an inclusive, high performance culture focused on delivering impactful results on time and within budget.
The Better Trends Company
Co-Founder & Senior Trend and Creative Strategist
September 2021 - August 2025 (3 years and 11 months)
Co-founded a trend, design and strategy studio delivering accessible, commercially-driven insight for small brands and SMEs across creative, print, lifestyle and consumer sectors.
Stepped down as Director in 2022. Continued to work as a freelance strategist for Better Trends.
Collaborated closely with Trend & Strategy and Creative Directors to align insight, narrative and visual execution across reports, events and digital platforms.
Supported the delivery of monthly and annual trend reports, translating macro, consumer and creative insights into actionable strategies for brand, product and marketing teams.
Delivered a large-scale trend installation at Top Drawer (London), bringing future trends to life for trade audiences through physical storytelling and experiential strategy.
Developed and executed the brand’s communication and growth strategy, using community-led engagement and social channels to drive awareness and subscription acquisition.
ALDI
Trend & Design Specialist
October 2019 - November 2021 (2 years and 1 month)
Established and integrated a working trend function for GB Specialbuys, driving
significant sales growth across clothing, home, and lifestyle brands through trend
forecasting, market analysis and range direction.

• Managed global trend research and analysis, delivering reports and
presentations to UK and German Buying Teams that directly influenced cross category range development across all non-food brands.

• Conducted post-COVID opportunity mapping and trend analysis, identifying
growth areas and informed the launch of new instore ranges like ‘Wellness with
Aldi’, a clothing and lifestyle range that generated £3.3 million in sales.

• Managed relationships with international licenses (Disney and Warner Bros),
design agencies, and design/buying teams spanning Germany to Hong Kong.

• Led the trend and range direction for the Babywear brand in collaboration with
the Global Design Manager, contributing to 40% annual sales growth across the
FY20/21 instore Baby Event’s.