Is Go-To the World’s Best Workplace? Is brie an acceptable main meal? …Yes.
But don’t take my word for it, instead, get the inside scoop from our longest standing employee: the magnetic, multi-tasking, make-it-happen-er, Kerry. She’s been with the business for nine (!) years now and can tell you exactly what it is like behind peach doors.
Introduce yourself! Tell us who you are, and your role at Go-To.
Hello! My name is Kerry Guthrie and I’m the Group Product Manager.
What do you recall from your very first interview, back in 2015?
Paul (one of the founders) was telling me all about this start up skincare brand by Zoë Foster Blake he was working on, and how they were looking to make their first non-warehouse hire…someone who could do a bit of everything; from customer service, to office management, to marketing, to general admin. (Mind you, this conversation was happening all whilst he was up a ladder doing some tree lopping - he was a landscape gardener in a previous life.) I was giving him all these tips on the kind of person he should recruit and then he said, “well I was kinda hoping you might consider it?” So I thought about it (for roughly 12 seconds) and of course I said HELL YES!
How has your role evolved since then?
Oh my, where do I start! I’ve been exposed to almost every part of the business from managing customer service in the early days and answering all the weird and wonderful questions from our incredibly loyal consumers, sourcing and producing all the fun giveaways (yes I’m the person who gave you the infamous Go-To Peach pen), and helping bring Zoë’s press kit ideas for new product launches to life.
A big transition in my role was in 2018 when I started working more closely with the New Zealand based product development team to help transfer the manufacturing of new (particularly, Zincredible) and existing products from NZ over to Australia. A big part of which was helping to establish strong relationships with all our wonderful contract manufacturers, that I’m proud to say, we still have to this day.
My role now sits squarely in the New Product Development Team. I work closely with Zoë and Leonie (chief marketing officer), and the formulations and procurement teams to help project manage NPD from ideation and formulation prototype, right through to the sourcing of packaging, the procurement of raw materials, then production and delivery of the finished goods into our warehouse ready for launch! I also manage the production of all our limited edition Holiday sets, and any cute giveaways throughout the calendar year. I feel like I’ve been sitting in on a nine-year Masters of Business Administration of Skincare….with the best teachers in the industry!
What is it about the business that’s kept you engaged and excited for so many years?
Even though Go-To is turning 10, we have managed to maintain that start-up energy/mindset that keeps things exciting and agile, which makes for a great workplace. The diverse parts to my role, the fact that I work with so many different teams within the business and of course, the fact that I get to give Go-To as presents to all my friends and family, makes me incredibly proud and popular!
What is something you wish customers knew about Go-To?
Behind the fun, self-deprecating, modest tone of the brand, there is a very serious, very scientific, very dedicated team who are determined to deliver products with best-in-class formulations.
What three words would you use to describe Go-To HQ?
Agile, generous, supportive.
Can you share 1-2 of your fondest Go-To memories from the last nine years?
In the early days (with a much smaller team than what we have now), whenever we launched a new product it would be an all-hands-on-deck situation. Everyone from Brad (chief executive officer), Leonie (chief marketing officer), Paul (one of our founders), and quite often all of our teenage kids, would help to pack orders. I’ll never forget spending the entire weekend in our Rozelle HQ packing thousands of Zincredible orders. There’s nothing quite like a launch to bring the whole team together. Shout out to Yuko who always packed the most orders hands down!
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