Meet the Team

Read about some of the people that make Kanes Foods a special team.

Izabela Kozlowska

Laura Elam

Laura Elam

Laura is one of two New Product Development Managers and joined the Kanes Commercial Team in 2018. Laura has been working in food since 2015 and her colleagues describe her as one of the nicest people you could wish to meet...

Tell us a bit about your job...
How would you describe your job to a child?	Creating new food products for people to buy in the supermarkets.
What does a typical day look like?	Managing the development & creation of new products in the kitchen, planning & running factory trials and working closely with the customers on new briefs & product launches.
What’s been your greatest achievement or what are you most proud of since joining Kanes?	Helping to secure new business for the company by developing new products and launching them into the retailer.
What’s the best thing about your job?	Seeing concepts and ideas launch in supermarkets.
What three words would you use to describe your role?	Creative, Innovative, Rewarding.

Tell us a bit about you...
What gets you out of bed in the morning?	A very excitable dog and hungry ducks and chickens!
What’s your personal motto?	Always remember you are braver than you believe, stronger than you seem and smarter than you think.
What’s your nickname?	Lau
If you could swap jobs with someone, who would it be and why?	Mary Berry, because you could learn so much and bake cakes all day.
If you could choose anyone as a mentor, who would it be?	Michel Roux Jr.
What’s your most memorable facepalm moment?	Following one way signs in Austria thinking it was the sign for the train station (despite doing A level German) and getting very lost.
When was the last time you laughed so hard you cried?	After sharing a bottle of wine with my brother.
What’s your specialist subject?	Baking
If you could have a superpower, what would it be?	Invisibility

What do you like...
Coffee or Tea?	Tea
Favourite food?	Cake
Favourite Drink?	Rosè
Favourite Film?	Lion
Football team?	None
Favourite book?	Goodnight Beautiful
Best place for a holiday?	Tolon, Greece
What’s your favourite line from a film?	‘You only get one life, it’s actually your duty to live it as fully as possible’ - Me Before You.
What’s your guilty pleasure?	Biscuits – especially Custard Creams
What was the last song you downloaded?	Castle on the Hill- Ed Sheeran

Mohammad Kamran

Mohammad Kamran

Mohammad is one of the Process Leaders in Kanes' Stir Fry team, responsible for managing the stir fry preparation lines and ensuring that the vegetables and produce are a really good quality for our customers. He's been at Kanes for six years having previously spent two years in the retail sector. Mohammad is one of our tough guys, hard-working and incredibly dependable...

Tell us a bit about your job...
How would you describe your job to a child?	I chop up all the vegetables that you get in your stir fry at the supermarket.
What does a typical day look like?	Very busy. I get a brief at the start of my shift that tells me what orders we've received and then with my team, we start making products straight away.
What’s been your greatest achievement or what are you most proud of since joining Kanes?	Whilst working at Kanes I've managed to save enough money to get my own house. I think that's probably what I'm most proud of.
What’s the best thing about your job?	I have a very good team with me.
What three words would you use to describe your role?	Experience. Challenge. Motivation.

Tell us a bit about you...
What gets you out of bed in the morning?	I get up early each morning for prayers.
What’s your personal motto?	Support my family.
What’s your nickname?	Chhota naam barakam (small name, big work)
If you could swap jobs with someone, who would it be and why?	Imran Khan - he was my favourite cricketer.
If you could choose anyone as a mentor, who would it be?	Allama Iqbal - he was a poet and a philosopher in Pakistan.
What’s your most memorable facepalm moment?	I don't really remember ever having one to be honest!
When was the last time you laughed so hard you cried?	Probably in my childhood - about 15 years ago.
What’s your specialist subject?	Science, although I like Maths too.
If you could have a superpower, what would it be?	I'd love to be a magician.

What do you like...
Coffee or Tea?	Tea
Favourite food?	Biryani
Favourite Drink?	Water (Zam Zam)
Favourite Film?	'Don' - it's a Bollywood thriller about an undercover mission to get close to the drugs mafia.
Football team?	Arsenal
Favourite book?	The Quran
Best place for a holiday?	Kashmir - I have uncles and aunties living there.
What’s your favourite line from a film?	‘I am a wanted man across the world, but you must understand one simple fact... it is not difficult to catch Don, it is impossible!'
What’s your guilty pleasure?	I love playing cricket but that's not really a guilty pleasure... I don't think I have one!
What was the last song you downloaded?	'Nines'

Alina Feraru

Alina Feraru

Alina has been with Kanes for four years and is now one of the Process Leaders in our stir fry factory.

Before joining Kanes, Alina hadn't previously worked in the food industry, having trained in Journalism in Romania before moving to the UK, but she's quickly developed a passion for the fresh food we produce and she brings an infectious enthusiasm to everything she does...

Tell us a bit about your job...
How would you describe your job to a child?	I am one of the people who prepare the foods you can buy in supermarkets.
What does a typical day look like?	There are no 'typical' days! Every day is different.
What’s been your greatest achievement or what are you most proud of since joining Kanes?	Kanes is the place where I met my future husband.
What’s the best thing about your job?	There are too many good things.
What three words would you use to describe your role?	New challenge everyday.

Tell us a bit about you...
What gets you out of bed in the morning?	My fiancée
What’s your personal motto?	See the invisible, believe the incredible, achieve the impossible.
What’s your nickname?	Alinka
If you could swap jobs with someone, who would it be and why?	I would love to swap jobs with our production manager, Rafal, so that I could make all the decisions for one day.
If you could choose anyone as a mentor, who would it be?	My ex-supervisor, Magda. I learnt a lot of things from her.
What’s your most memorable facepalm moment?	Trying to get to the seaside by car on two consecutive days and the car broke down on both days.
When was the last time you laughed so hard you cried?	Last Saturday.
What’s your specialist subject?	Journalism.
If you could have a superpower, what would it be?	I'd love to be able to travel through time.

What do you like...
Coffee or Tea?	Coffee
Favourite food?	All Romanian food
Favourite Drink?	White wine
Favourite Film?	Man of Honour
Football team?	I prefer Baseball, but for football it would be Liverpool.
Favourite book?	Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe
Best place for a holiday?	Paris! It's so romantic.
What’s your favourite line from a film?	"You can't handle the truth!"
What’s your guilty pleasure?	Chocolate
What was the last song you downloaded?	'Perfect' - Ed Sheran

Leadership Team

The Kanes Leadership Team is a balanced combination of long-serving Kanes experts and fresh faces who bring a wealth of experience from the wider world.

Phil Jones

Finance Director

About Phil

Phil is a graduate in Mathematics from Oxford University. He has an outstanding record in delivering change and business improvement, playing key roles in numerous M&A activities. Phil was Group FD at Produce World for 5 years prior to Kanes.

Ian Schmid

Managing Director

About Ian

A graduate in Food Sciences from Leeds University, Ian has worked in both Retail and Manufacturing sectors in a variety of Technical and Commercial positions. Ian joined Kanes in 2016 and took up the role of Managing Director in May 2021

Lauren Meir

About Lauren

Lauren started her career in the Medical Devices Industry, where she completed her apprenticeship and NVQ’s in Business , and then worked in Buying for a major UK retailer, before moving to Kanes in 2017.

She is passionate about food and is widely known by the supply base across the UK and Europe.

She has ultimate responsibility for all aspects of Procurement at Kanes.

Andy Swarbrick

HR Director

About Andy

Andy started his career in Financial Services and has since worked for Cadburys, Kraft Foods, Molson Coors and Cott Beverages. He has extensive experience in change projects, Learning & Development and Engagement.

Jason Hall

Operations and Supply Chain Director

About Jason

Jason joined the business in 2017 as General Manager of Salads and was promoted to Operations & Supply Chain Director in 2019. He previously worked for Warburton’s and Frank Roberts Bakery in various production, operations and Health & Safety roles.

Mark Fisher

Commercial Director

About Mark

Mark is a passionate leader of sales, marketing and product development functions with 20 years’ experience of the sector, well connected within grocery multiples, foodservice and discounter channels.

Kanes Foods

Cleeve Road,
Middle Littleton,
Nr Evesham,
Worcestershire,
WR11 8JS.

GPS coordinates
- 52.1197° N, 1.8925° W.

PHONE

01386 830471

EMAIL

reception@kanesfoods.co.uk

Opportunities at Kanes