Heather
Jenkins
Director of Meat, Poultry, Fish, Frozen Food and Dairy Buying, Waitrose
Heather Jenkins is Director of Meat, Poultry, Fish, Frozen Food and Dairy Buying at Waitrose. She is responsible for setting strategy and for the commercial objectives to deliver the best protein offer for Waitrose customers. Heather has a wealth of experience in her field and has been instrumental in establishing the dedicated Waitrose supply chain. Her knowledge of the consumer and of processing and farming functions has depth and breadth; she uses this with her team to help develop the strategy to meet Waitrose customers' needs. Through her role she and her team strive to support British Agriculture. Heather is responsible for some 30 livestock production schemes and aims to provide the best quality, choice and value for customers and sustainable long-term supply chain partnerships with farmers and processors.
Heather graduated from Harper Adams Agricultural College in Agri Business and Food Marketing and in that year she joined Waitrose as a Section Management Trainee, specialising in meat. She became the first female Section Manager responsible for the Meat Department in 1981 at Waitrose in Cirencester. Heather joined the Meat Buying Office in 1982, and was promoted to Central Buyer in 1994 and then Head of Meat Buying in 2004. She was made Director of Meat, Poultry, Fish, Frozen Food and Dairy Buying in January 2008.
During her time at Waitrose, Heather has developed the most comprehensive and diverse producer group structure in Europe, with over 30 separate categories. These groups have been developed in conjunction with dedicated processors, giving producers an assured market, a clear direction and a more stable pricing base on which to build their business.
