Kellogg Food & Agribusiness Club (kFAB) | Frito Lay - Vicky Luh

Please introduce yourself - why did you decide to pursue an internship in the food & ag business?

My name is Vicky and I'm a second year in the 2Y program. Previously, I've worked in different industries and functions: I've been in Retail & Financial Services. I've also done merchandising and client management. Coming to Kellogg, I wanted to try out a new industry, and I've always been fascinated by food & bev, because of the large impact the industry has on our everyday life. Living in NYC during the start of the pandemic, I saw how our food system broke down, as all shelves were empty for weeks, and I honestly was afraid I wasn't going to be able to get food! That made me more interested to understand the intricacy of how our food gets from the ground to our grocery shelves.

How did you approach the internship recruiting process? Did you know that you wanted to intern within food & ag?

One thing I wanted to explore coming to Kellogg was marketing/brand management. Through career club intros, company presentations, and CMC events, it was clear that food & bev companies would give me the best exposure to this function and the type of work I wanted to do. Kellogg also has great established relationships with several of these corporations, so it was easy to connect with alums and recruiters from these companies.

Please briefly describe your summer internship.

I worked at Frito-Lay this summer as an MBA Marketing Intern, on the PopCorners team. I developed a short term brand strategy for a new sub-brand called Flex, which was their healthy protein chips.

To what degree did your internship provide you with a good understanding of the industry and function?

My internship was absolutely amazing and gave me great understanding of what it means to be a brand/marketing manager. My project was the type of work that full-time managers would be put on, condensed into 12 weeks, and I got to work with at last 5 different teams within Frito-Lay. In addition, there were 3+ mentorship opportunities, through the Kellogg network, through the MBA internship network, through broader PepsiCo, so I got to learn more about what life at Frito looked like. Finally, the internship program included Lunch & Learns, which also increased my exposure to the other organizations within the company.

To what degree did your internship provide you the opportunity to develop new skills, knowledge, or a relevant network within the company?

I had never worked in marketing before, and this summer was the perfect opportunity to put the frameworks I learned at Kellogg to good use! I also learned a lot about supply chains and product distribution. There were so many Kellogg alums at Frito, I always felt like I had people to talk to openly about what I wanted in my future career.

Did your internship experience influence or change your post-Kellogg career goals?

My experience definitely made me want to focus on marketing strategy for a career post-Kellogg. It's amazing how many roles there are just within marketing and how interesting marketing strategy is when applied in the real world.

What advice would you give current students seeking positions in the food & ag industry?

Take many trips to Target/grocery stores! Look up and down the aisles. Observe other shoppers and how they're picking up items (conspicuously, of course!) Understanding who the customer is will help you not only in the interview, but also in succeeding during your internship.

Anything else you would like to add?

It's amazing how important the Super Bowl is for PepsiCo! If you have time to watch Super Bowl, YOU SHOULD!