Celebrating the women that make a change in retail
This article contains paid-for content from Aston Manor
Natalie Marhsall, trade marketing manager at Aston Manor
- How long have you worked in Scotland’s retail sector, and what led you to your current role?
I have worked in trade and shopper marketing for almost 10 years across grocery, convenience and wholesale in the UK & Ireland, as well as a stint in Australia.
My career started in 2017 at AG Barr, where I supported the wholesale grocery/convenience and wholesale sector. This included a lot of time spent in Scotland supporting the Irn-Bru brand. I worked across a number of FMCG categories including soft drinks, confectionery and alcohol to name a few.
- Tell us about your own success story, positive experiences, examples of leadership etc.
Due to minimum unit pricing, we had to put a focus into supporting our SKUs in Scotland. We created an internal team which visited Scotland multiple times to understand the challenges and how the market changed following MUP restrictions.
This was a fantastic opportunity to meet with customers and changed how we supported our brands within Scotland going forward. We also ran a van sales campaign to drive additional distribution points within the convenience channel.
- What challenges have you faced as a woman working in the industry?
The lack of female representation was a big challenge for me, especially in leadership roles. Over the years, this has improved, with events like Women in Wholesale and Women in Convenience, bringing women together to learn from and inspire one another.
- What advice would you give a young woman starting out in Scotland’s retail sector in 2026?
Visibility accelerates development. My one piece of advice is to put yourself out there right from the start!
- Any career insights you would like to share?
Your career doesn’t need to be a straight line – personally, working across multiple FMCG categories strengthened my adaptability and transferable skills.
- How is Scotland’s retail sector evolving and what excites you most about the future?
Retail activation has come a long way in the 10 years I have been in the industry – from just shelf talkers, digital six sheets and magazine advertising to targeting shoppers through loyalty programmes and the rise of online grocery shopping.
It’s really exciting to see more strategic types of shopper activation being utilised, especially ones that produce data to support decisions for future activations.
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