Flavors and Opinions
“This job has taught me a lot about both the industry and wines in general,” says Norex Product Manager Tiina Tuukkanen. “I came into this industry completely from the outside. Previously, I mainly knew wines as red, white, and bubbly. Nowadays, I have a different perspective, and swirling the glass, smelling, and looking at the color are all part of drinking wine.” Although her understanding and knowledge have deepened along the way, one thing hasn’t changed. “Still, the most important thing is the taste and your own opinion. If you think a wine is good, it’s good. If it’s bad, you don’t have to drink it, no matter how much the professionals rave about it,” Tiina points out.
The eternal question: does the label matter? “I might actually buy my wine based on the label,” Tiina laughs. “If the label is so fun that it makes you stop and go back to the bottle, then absolutely! In fact, the first big thing I got to influence as a product manager was the label change for Parés Baltà Brut b. It was amazing to think about what the product should look like. If you compare the old and the new now, the difference is radical—and in a really good way! The bottle looks nice and stands out on the shelf.”
From Big to Small
“At first, coming to work here was a culture shock,” says Tiina, who moved to Norex from a large company. Accustomed to hundreds and thousands of colleagues, she remembers looking at her coworkers and wondering if this was everyone. Now the situation just makes her laugh. “Compared to a large company, I like a small one very much. This is the right company size for me: I know exactly who to go to for what. It’s also lovely that everyone is close by; we have a tight-knit group and a great team spirit.”
Tiina has only good things to say about her employer. “I’ve been given so many opportunities, and I’ve been given big and significant projects to lead. I started as a product coordinator and rose from there to product manager duties. I see it as my skills being trusted and a belief that I can do the work here.”
According to Tiina, another difference between a small and a large employer is the relaxed atmosphere. “In my previous company, there was a strong work atmosphere, but we didn’t do anything together in our free time. Here, the difference isn’t so stark,” she reflects.
Even though the alcoholic beverage industry has its own peculiarities, Tiina doesn’t see much difference between marketing and selling wines compared to the products she worked with before. “People who aren’t in the industry might idealize this field on some level. Personally, I don’t see it as different when you think about the basic work,” she reflects. “We also need to get new products onto the market; we also need to innovate and constantly look for something new. So, this sounds more glamorous than it is: it’s a lot of crunching numbers in Excel,” Tiina laughs, but notes that daily life is certainly not boring.
So, what does Tiina plan to do next—has she seen it all? “Definitely not,” she laughs. “I’ve enjoyed this so much that it hasn’t even crossed my mind to look for something else. I still have a lot to learn and experience.” The trade fairs in Paris at the beginning of the year are also a new milestone in Tiina’s career. “Through that, I get to influence my own portfolio through potential new principals. I’m growing into this role more and more all the time, and there are plenty of challenges.”
