Jane Miller is a food industry executive with experience ranging from high growth start-ups to Fortune 500 companies which includes companies like PepsiCo, Frito-Lay, Bimbo Bakeries, Heinz, Rudi’s Organic Bakery, and now Lily’s Sweets.
What I love about Jane is her transparency and clear explanations on the complex questions I ask such as how to build a network, how to climb the corporate ladder, and how to not quit a job
I think it’s because she also has an awesome career advice blog. We get into an interesting discussion about writing, and how it might improve your career and your life. And writing doesn’t have to be a blog, perhaps just a notebook will do.
About Jane Miller
Jane Miller has 30-years of executive experience in the food industry. She has worked with both start-ups and Fortune 500 companies. She is also the founder of Janeknows.com, a career advice website geared towards young leaders starting their careers. Jane is the author of Sleep your Way to the Top (and other myths about business success), a sassy business book targeted at Millennials.
Jane is currently the CEO of Lily’s Sweets and has held several other CEO roles in the natural and organic industry, including Rudi’s Bakery, ProYo High Protein Ice Cream, and HannahMax Cookie Chips.
Over the course of her career Jane was part of an executive team that brought Hostess out of bankruptcy, worked for HJ Heinz as the Chief Growth Officer and then the President of the UK & Ireland Division. She also ran the Western division of Bestfoods Baking. Jane spent the first fourteen years of her career at PepsiCo, where she rose to be the President of the Central division of Frito-Lay.
Jane currently serves as a board member at the University of Colorado Leeds Business School and Eldorado Springs Artesian Water.
In 2013 the Denver Business Journal named Jane the Lifetime Achievement Award Winner for her work mentoring young professionals and start-ups. Her other honors include the Boulder Chamber of Commerce’s Women Who Light the Community Award in 2015 and the Naturally Boulder Industry Leader Award in 2016.
In 2015, Jane established the Jane Knows Scholarship Fund at Leeds supporting students who are the first in their family to go to college. In 2018, Leeds recognized Jane with a non-alumni service award.
Jane has a degree in Russian Studies from Knox College in Galesburg, IL, where she received a 2017 Alumni Achievement Award. She earned her MBA degree from Southern Methodist University in Dallas.
Sponsor
People have been saying My Food Job Rocks is a great food business podcast. If you’re a food entrepreneur or want to become one, I highly suggest doing your research.
Luckily, my friend Rachel Zemser has the perfect resource for you. She has a book called the Food Business Toolkit that will help you understand everything about starting a food business from formulation to regulation. Use the code MYFOODJOBROCKS at the checkout for 10% off not only the book, but it also applies to an hour of consulting. As someone who’s started their own food business, acquiring knowledge is super important.
You can find the book here: https://alacarteconnections.com/shop/
Money will come and go, but you’ll always run out of time so it’s very important to get the knowledge necessary to move forward.
Show Notes
When someone asks what you do for a living, what do you say?: I run a no-sugar added confections company
What’s Lily’s: we sell delicious tasting no-sugar chocolate
Cynthia Tice – Founder of Lily’s
We are going through a rebrand and are launching new SKUs like chocolate peanut butter cups
What’s the history of Lily’s?: They got an account at Whole Foods in 2012 and grew a lot thanks to keto. We’re very popular with keto.
When does a company need a CEO?: To fix something or to fulfill a skillset
Who was your first hire?: I had a team consisting of head of Ops, head of Sales, head of marketing, and other things
It’s very important to create a backbone to deliver a lot of value. You need processes in place if you’re hypergrowing
How do you find A-players and how do you hire them to run a small company?: I knew my A-players very well. Reputation matters too. Always be out there and network. Since food is a collaborative effort, it’s not as hard as you think
What’s your favorite networking tool?: Naturally Boulder and a lot of Naturally events
Naturally:
Bay Area,
Chicago,
Boulder
How to get comfortable with networking: Everybody is interesting. Be confident and not be shy
Did you ever think you’d be in the food industry?: I have a Russian major and I wanted to be a lawyer
Though I got rejected from Frito-Lay at first, I got accepted a year later
How do you progress?: You want to grow as a person and you have to do risky things and you have to be comfortable with change and growth
Lily’s career:
Frito Lay
Kraft-Heinz
Bimbo Bakery
Rudi’s
Hain’s Celestial
Proyo
HannahMax Cookie Chips
Lilys Chocolate
Jane Knows Blog – my second passion is to mentor the next generation of leaders. It’s not scaleable on a one-to-one basis
Writing things down helps a ton and helps refine what you do and how you think
My Food Job Rocks: I can’t wait to start work every single day
Food Trends and Technology: The plant-based movement and how it’s affecting our food system
Also how do we make natural and organic foods accessible to everyone?
What is the biggest challenge in the industry?: Making great food affordable in the business perspective. Big companies require big changes and it can be slow
What is one thing in the food industry you’d like to know more about?: Sustainability and innovative packaging
PAC Expo – no sustainable packaging
Book recommendations: Sleep your Way to the Top: And other Myths on Business Success
Book about Mt. Everest – Into Thin Air
Wild by Cheryl Strayed
Tiny Beautiful Things
Any advice going into the food industry?: Pick a company that’s lied up with your values, work hard, be adaptable, flexible, and have some fun.
Where can we find you for advice?: Janeknows.com
LinkedIn: I post more about Lily’s