The chilly weather that has swept the UK is a depressing reminder of the long winter months ahead. However, while most of us are struggling to come to terms with Season-al Affective Disorder and wincing at the thought of the impending gas bills, General Mills UK marketing director Ed Culf is cheering on the frost in the knowledge that it can only be of benefit to its Green Giant brand's first soup products.
The microwaveable offering launched this autumn, and, like all brands in this category, is experiencing a sales uplift as consumers seek out warming comfort foods.
Just three months into the job, 38-year-old Culf displays a warmth that some say was lacking in his predecessor, Linda Hipkiss, who left in July to become General Mills' vice-president of international marketing, based in Minneapolis. His management style is reputed to be in contrast to that of Hipkiss, who was known as an effective operator who ruled the roost like a grand dame and had brand managers quaking in their boots.
When this is put to Culf, he responds with an under-used exclamation favoured by DangerMouse character Penfold. 'Crumbs,' he says, before protesting that this is an unfair representation of Hipkiss.
Perhaps there is more of a tiger lurking underneath Culf's nice-guy exterior than is at first obvious. One insider says: 'I get the sense he is going to add a level of bravery in marketing communications not seen for a while at General Mills.' Culf's description of himself as a manager with a 'light touch' is one affirmed by his staff, and one source attests that he 'works like a maniac'.
His ambition for the soup line is clear. With names like Vine Ripened Tomato and Farm Harvested Mushroom, Culf aims to position the range somewhere between canned counterparts - which consumers consider to be less healthy and fresh - and the more premium soups in the chiller cabinets. The range has a £4m sales target for its first year.
Although soups represent new territory for General Mills' UK arm, whose brands also include Old El Paso and Haagen-Dazs, it has sold soups in the US for 70 years - experience that proved useful for the launch of the Green Giant soups. 'We draw on techniques and good practice from the US mothership,' says Culf.
At times, he adds, it is hard to believe that General Mills is the sixth-biggest food comp-any in the world, because its non-US business accounts for just a quarter of its revenue. This appears to be about to change, however, as the business becomes more globally-oriented.
'Unlike a lot of our peers, such as Nestle and Kraft, we are relatively underdeveloped on international business, so the growth potential is enormous,' says Culf. He adds that a recent meeting in Argentina for all General Mills marketing directors across its markets - the first such event he had attended - demonstrated that, after operating in an autonomous manner, divisions in different territories are starting to work in a more joined-up way, exchanging ideas with the US outfit.
Culf says that this kind of development is a byproduct of growth in any international company. Such organisations, he argues, have shifted from being 'nurtured' by the US to having a relationship characterised by 'cross-fertilisation' and a 'proper global approach'. In General Mills' case, he suggests that this may eventually lead to marketing activity being run on a bigger, cross-regional scale, although he stresses that a global campaign is not imminent.
Other developments in the UK include the planned launch of a range of Chinese food dinner-kits under the Wanchai Ferry brand. The roll-out, in the first quarter of 2009, will be backed by a multimillion-pound marketing programme, and just as the weather benefits Green Giant soups, this range may be assisted by the shift toward eating in as budgets tighten.
Aside from jetting off to South America, Culf admits that he has found himself corralled into meetings all too often since his promotion - something that can be draining. 'One of the biggest frustrations is the amount of time spent in wall-to-wall meetings,' he says. 'I'm struggling to spend time with the team, to hang out with the guys and feel that team spirit.'
Despite uncertain times, General Mills is among the few companies to be growing, rather than reducing, its marketing department, so recruitment is another time-consuming, if welcome, part of his role.
Culf became a General Mills employee when his company, Pillsbury, was acquired by the bigger firm in 2001. The acquisition enabled him to travel to New Zealand, where he ran the business for five years, during which time both his daughters were born. He returned to General Mills UK in 2007 to oversee the integration of acquired chilled-pastry brand Saxby's with the company's existing frozen Jus-Rol brand.
As a result of this background, he seems to take particular pride in describing how, after years of flat performance, the dough business is now growing 20% year-on-year. He cites celebrity cooks such as Delia Smith and Gordon Ramsay, who have championed General Mills products, as key to this reinvigoration. Smith even approach-ed the comp--any, prompting its launch of products such as pastry discs - or 'magic tarts', as Smith called them - to suit her recipes.
Consumers' laziness appears to know no bounds where pastry is concerned, and General Mills is also enjoying success with its flan cases and pre-rolled pastry sheets. 'I have rolled pastry with a wine bottle, but now I've got the sheets,' jokes Culf.
He also has an affinity with Haagen-Dazs, the first brand he worked on when he joined Pillsbury from what was then Nestle Rowntree. Famed for iconic ads in the 90s, the ice cream brand's recent cam-paigns have been more forgettable. Since those heady days when it revolutionised
the freezers, it has also been overtaken by Unilever-owned arch-rival Ben & Jerry's in the premium category. Haagen-Dazs returned to TV this year after a three-year absence as part of a £5m brand investment that also involved sponsorship of the Wimbledon Tennis Championships.
Culf says he is pleased with the year-on-year growth of 10% Haagen-Dazs is experiencing, but wants more for the brand, and candidly spells out his vision. 'I'll be honest with you; we haven't got that great, iconic advertising at the moment,' he admits. 'But we are working. It's definitely one for us to crack, and we want to make it truly fabulous.'
It's a big ambition, but being the man behind the renaissance of Haagen-Dazs would certainly ensure that Culf makes his mark - not only at General Mills, but also among his fellow marketers. N
Inside work
1991-1992: Sales/marketing trainee, Kodak
1993-1996: Marketing assistant, rising to assistant brand manager, Nestle Rowntree
1996-2002: Brand manager, Haagen-Dazs, rising to senior marketing manager, Old El Paso and Green Giant, Pillsbury UK/General Mills UK
2002-2007: General manager, General Mills New Zealand
2007-present: Saxby's integration project manager, rising to marketing director, General Mills UK
Outside work
Family: Married, two children
Leisure: 'Being a petrolhead'
Favourite car brand: Aston Martin
Favourite food brand:Coleman's English Mustard
Best holiday: New Zealand (South Island)
And another thing...He aims to buy a Lotus Elise in the near future