TWISB Recipient Profiles – Ninfa Reinoso

Ninfa, how did you launch your career in store brands? 

I’ve spent over a decade in manufacturing.  I worked for two large CPG companies, Kraft and Coca-Cola, prior to Topco.  At those companies, I held several roles in various areas including quality, operations, production, and continuous improvement.  I also earned my black belt lean 6 sigma certification.  At a certain point, I wanted to expand my knowledge in the food industry and step outside of the manufacturing focus.  I thought having a corporate governance role was the next logical step.  And, that’s how I ended up at Topco and in store brands.

What are the biggest differences you note from CPG to private label?

Manufacturing is a crazy environment to work in!  When you’re on the production floor, you’re dealing with things day by day as they come up.  From a strategic standpoint, my role is very different. Now, I get to strategize and put processes in place more so than I could before.  There’s less firefighting and more strategic outlook.  I’m very grateful for the manufacturing experience as today I’m able to talk to suppliers in the same language and help them through issues and struggles.  I have an empathy for what they go through as I know how hard it is.  In that world, people must balance Quality, Safety, Cost, Crewing, etc.  each day.  As a part of Topco, I understand what we are asking of our suppliers and how hard it can be to realize.

What have been some personally fulfilling moments in your career? 

My most fulfilling moments come when I can guide new employees or new quality employees in becoming experts in their field or become managers themselves.  Seeing people just starting out not knowing quality or manufacturing well and seeing them grow in their career is very satisfying.  For example, I have a former colleague who is celebrating her birthday and invited people who have had an impact in her career.  I was on that invite list.  She started out as a coordinator  and now she’s a Director for a manufacturing company.

In addition, I love helping people from other functions understand and apply quality, food safety ]and continuous improvement into their business view.  Seeing how my employees and colleagues start thinking about continuous improvement, identifying the root cause to problems and making decisions based on data is very nice to see.  We’re working through some continuous improvement goals right now.  I provided training and I’m excited to see how they’re starting to use the tools now.

What did it mean to you to receive the TWISB nomination and ultimately award?

I was extremely humbled and honored.  I told my manager that even if I hadn’t won, being nominated meant a lot.  I was so happy to see my achievements and contributions being recognized.  Hopefully, I’m a role model for other women in all functions.  My family was also extremely proud to see my picture with the career description.  I’m originally from Honduras and most of my family is back home.  My grandma, uncles and aunts were celebrating in Honduras.  They were proud of me.

What excites you about the future of store brands?

I love how being in store brands is becoming a competitive advantage.  Store brands have become trusted brands in so many households.  I like how we’re able to contribute to the quality of products and to the cost; we can provide equal or better quality and affordability than national brands.  Before, national brands were seen as the only experts in the industry.

What advice do you have for people who are new or early in their store brands career?

My advice is to step out of your comfort zone.  Learn about other functions as much as you can.  Don’t work in silos.  I remember going from Quality to Production; it was eye opening.  I had these “ah-ha” moments as to why somethings didn’t work.  And, also put the end consumer first always.  We’re a team at the end of the day and we have to fill the consumer needs.