Sandie Deas Ray, Nadine Lim and Elsa Storts are three consumer-packaged goods (CPG) leaders who are all at different stages of their careers. They’re also all part of the same power team, a group of industry members who attended CSP’s Convenience-Store Women’s (CSW) Event and who meet throughout the year to solve challenges that women in the workplace face.
In this episode of “At Your Convenience,” Lim, e-commerce manager at Temple, Texas-based McLane Co. Inc.; Deas Ray, vice president of foodservice sales and marketing at Frisco, Texas-based Ruiz Foods Inc.; and Storts, trade show and event manager for Austin, Texas-based BeatBox Beverages, get candid about mentorship.
Below is just a snippet of their conversation, which covers how to find a mentor, how to push your career to the next level and more.
This transcript has been edited for length and clarity.
Nadine Lim: I'm with McLane Co. I'm an e-commerce business development manager, and I have been trying to figure out how I fit in this convenience industry. I don't necessarily have a big background in CPG (consumer-packaged goods) space, but it's something I'm learning right now. But in 2024, I was invited to the CSW event as a rising star. And we were broken up into these different power teams. The power team I got assigned to was revolving around mentorship and sponsorship. We came up with a team name. Our team name is going to be “CSW Level Up.” This power team is composed of individuals across multiple different industries. We're talking about 7-Eleven, BeatBox Beverage, Casey's, Keurig Dr Pepper, EG America, Cumberland Farms, McLane and Ruiz Foods. Those are just a few of them. But we're really looking forward to building content that's focusing on enabling you and your journey through a mentorship or sponsorship, whether it be internal or external. Joining me on today's episode is Elsa Storts. She is a trade show and events manager with BeatBox Beverage. And then we also have Sandie Deas Ray, our vice president of food service business unit at Ruiz Foods.
I figured we'd jump right into it. I like to make this a little bit more fun. Let's take this as if we're speed dating. You got two minutes. Tell me your CPG story. Who wants to go first?
Sandie Deas Ray: I'll go first. I lead the foodservice sales and marketing team at Ruiz Foods. And I've been with the company for a little over 10 years. Prior to Ruiz Foods, I was at General Mills in my last role. I led the position of marketing director for convenience stores and in-store fresh bakery channels. And then over my 20-plus year career, wow, 20-plus years in the foodservice industry, I have been fortunate enough to be both a mentee and a mentor. So really looking forward to sharing some learnings and tips.
Lim: Yeah, sounds like you've seen a lot done a lot. Elsa, what about you on your end?
Elsa Storts: I'm a little different. I'm very fresh into my c-store journey as well, similar to you Nadine. I began my CPG journey with an Anheuser-Busch distributor in Phoenix, Arizona, where I had the opportunity to work with my current company, BeatBox Beverages, as a marketing manager. So, after three years, I decided to move and change the course of what I was thinking I should do in regard to the CPG beverage industry. And I decided to take a job as a trade marketing manager with BeatBox here in Los Angeles for our national accounts. So focusing on chains and all that good stuff. That's where I really, really fell in love with the c-store channel is getting to work with all those amazing chains through my relationships with them at BeatBox Beverages. And so now I have been at BeatBox for almost two years. And I've had my role changed since then, because I do very much love the networking and aspect of the c-store space and events and things like that. I'm currently the trade show and events manager here at BeatBox, which also allows me to do a ton of trade shows with our c-store partners. So that's kind of where it got started.
Lim: That's awesome. Yeah, and it's funny because I'm looking and hearing your stories right now and I'm thinking, boy, am I the black sheep? Like, this is my first go around in the CPG space, guys. I came from industrial distribution. It was a boy’s club. It was bearings, beltings and chains. Like this is a whole new world for me. But it's a very colorful and exciting one for sure. But I'm just thinking back like at the round table when we were assigned our power groups, right? I was thinking there, sitting across, I think it was 12 different individuals thinking, ‘What the heck am I doing? Like, what can I contribute to this mentorship and sponsorship program?’ I'm more of a mentee than anything, similar to you also, right? Like, what is it that we could possibly contribute to this?
Storts: I totally agree, Nadine. Like I said, I've been in the CPG, the consumer-packaged goods, industry for about five years now, but I still consider myself a mentee. There's things I'm consistently learning each day. My age and my greenness tend to show from time to time in that sense, but that's nothing to really be afraid of. That's something to kind of home in on. And, you know, holding a variety of roles kind of works to your advantage in those moments. I think being a mentee is how you take those roles and those opportunities and turn them into a career.
Lim: I agree with you 100%. I believe when I sat down at that table, that was our opportunity as a mentee to really learn from the best of the best, right? You see CSW literally placed me at a table filled with individuals who have tons of experience and talent and knowledge on how to get to that next level. They've proven it. They've lived the journey. But I do feel like in this moment of time, my three years with the CPG industry, I feel like I've stalled a bit, right? Is this a midlife crisis for me? I've done the legwork, I've listened, I've learned, I've put in the late nights, I've memorized and decoded as many acronyms as I possibly could remember in the CPG space—because there are so many—but I still can't figure out how to get that next level. Like, has anybody else experienced this, like Elsa, Sandie, even, like, have you ever had that feeling before of just feeling stalled?
Deas Ray: Yeah, I've been there. I reflect on earlier stages of my career. I was at Ford Motor Company straight out of grad school and then went on to General Mills. And in both organizations, I was a mentee. I would tell you I was learning and absorbing, and I had gotten to a position that I couldn't level up. I was working hard. I kept to myself. I was traditionally a private person. I was delivering results. I was outperforming my peers, but I couldn't break through to that next level. And it was someone who literally tapped me on the side. You know, I was open about what I was endeavoring to do. I didn't ask her to be a mentor in a sense, but she stepped to me and was like, made me realize that what I was doing was just not enough to get the promotion, right? It wasn't just doing the work, keeping your head down.
My success in advancing my career in those organizations was attributed to their coaching, their guidance, the safe space from a mentor who made me understand what I needed to do to level up, break that mold. And the other things that are required within an organization, yes, success and performance is a baseline, but there's more to it. And a mentor can help you see your blind spots, right?
Lim: Okay, but that's the tricky part, right? I'm in an organization, we do have some mentorship programs, but they're not necessarily aligned to my skill set or my career. I don't know about you Elsa, does BeatBox offer mentorship programs currently?
Storts: Not currently. I think specifically I'm very fortunate. I work for a company that listens to me when I ask for something. And so I think the start of a mentee journey can be kind of daunting. Like you don't really know where to start or what to do. I think you first have to really evaluate the amount of support you can get from the current company that you work for. And then if that's not working for you, you can move on to other outlets.
But I really think starting your mentee journey, I know it's daunting and scary, but being able to have that kind candidness and that conversation with your leaders and leadership, that really begins to snowball because whether you believe so or not, if you bring up an idea that could move the needle forward for your company, 9 times out of 10, leadership is extremely receptive to it.
Deas Ray: If I may add something to that Elsa, because, you know, in my experience, the term being a mentor was new for me in that organization. And it didn't come until I was more mature in my career when I realized what this person was doing. It was someone that, you know, I had met having a conversation. And again, the advice was not necessarily formal, but she stepped in to say, ‘what's happening?’ In an organization, people are always talking about people. And so she was vested enough to come up and pull me aside to say, the organization and people and leaders, they don't know you, right? Because people promote those that they know, that they like, that they trust. Consistent performance, as I mentioned before, is a base requirement.
What are your values? What are you about? What are you sharing? And then once they get to know you, right? You have common goals, common aspirations. They know what you're about. They have to know what you aspire to be. So you have to be okay when you're trying to raise your hand that I want to mentor or be a mentee. Know what you are striving for. Know what your strengths, your opportunities and skillsets you are looking to develop. And then you can share those with your supervisor, your manager, your functional leaders.
Lim: Love that you said that, Sandy. I feel like there's a huge difference between saying, ‘Man, I want to be a mentee, come find me,’ right? Versus like, ‘I want to be a mentee, but I'm coming with a plan and a vision of where I want to be in the next one to five years. I'm coming in with a plan and I need coaching.’ I think it's a very different story.
Deas Ray: Mm-hmm. Yeah.
Storts: Exactly.
Deas Ray: I mean, couldn't have said it better than anything, just great articulation of what you need to do.
Storts: Yes, and I'm sorry to kind of piggyback off of that too as a mentee, it was really funny because in my earlier roles in my early CPG journey, I didn't really, to Sandie’s point, know that I could even have a sponsorship or a mentorship. You know what I mean? And so when I moved I did a whole life change and started at BeatBox beverages. It was very much a big supportive group and a wonderful team of people who I trusted. And I didn't know at the time that they were molding me for greatness, but you start to realize that a year in. And then once my role had changed, I had expressed interest to my vice president that I would like to learn more about this certain role. And they listened to me and they hired a wonderful individual who's also a woman who has taught me so much in her five months at BeatBox. I feel very fortunate to work under her and learn from her and her experiences. So I think it's asking the right questions once you realize how things are kind of moving forward for you. Like keep up the good work, but then also really establish relationships with those you trust within your company.
Lim: Yeah, but does it even have to be restricted to just in your company? Like I have a mentor for my time in the industrial space and he was wonderful. He did something very similar. Tapped me on the shoulder and said, ‘Let's try something different.’ And he pushed me to learn so many different things all at once. But it was just that gentle nudge of somebody seeing me and saying, I think you can do this differently. Why don't you try it and get uncomfortable or get comfortable with being uncomfortable? And that really pushed my growth.
Storts: Exactly.
Deas Ray: Absolutely And maybe a lot of times people will go into a company, and if they're smaller, mid-size they may not have a formal program and, just like Elsa said, have a conversation. Of course, start by knowing what you need to be mentored in and what you're trying to achieve but talk with your HR your manager and ask, ‘I would like to be coached or have guidance or assistance with developing these skill sets.’ But if they say they don't have one and they don't have the resources to dedicate to that, don't stop there. It's like you said, Nadine, go out. The second option is to go outside. Friends, colleagues, peers, even individuals, if you're going to CSW, that is an amazing resource. Professionals that across the organization, across levels, across the industry. Be hungry, stay hungry, and find an opportunity to tap into the resources that are around you.
Interested in learning more about the C-Store Women's Event? The next one takes place Nov. 3-5 in San Antonio, Texas. Click here for more information.
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