Brynn Gilbert Marketing ’23

Assistant Category Manager - Donuts & Bakery at Dunkin'

Video Introduction

 

Major: Marketing

Job Title: Assistant Category Manager – Donuts & Bakery

Company: Dunkin’

Company Description: Inspire Brands is a multi-brand restaurant company based in Atlanta, GA, which encompasses Dunkin’, Baskin Robbins, Arby’s, Buffalo Wild Wings, Sonic, and Jimmy John’s. Dunkin’ is the largest coffee and donuts brand in the US, headquartered in Canton, MA.

Did you have any initial career goals when you entered Isenberg? Were there any key moments or influences (a guest speaker, course, or extracurricular) during your time at Isenberg that changed or confirmed your career goals?  

I actually entered UMass as a Communication major with the goal of becoming a graphic designer, and I wanted to do the BDIC program to add marketing classes. During my freshman year, I realized graphic design was not the path I wanted to go down and I switched my major to marketing.
After taking my first marketing class I knew this was what I wanted my future career to be in, but I was not sure what area to explore as there are so many possibilities in marketing. Going into my senior year, I was fortunate to have a Brand Marketing internship at Dunkin’ over the summer. This internship solidified my decision to pursue a career in marketing following graduation and pushed me into the direction of Brand Marketing. During my senior year, I took Marketing 499J/K “Case Study & Internship: Tools for Professional Success” to complete my Honors thesis. This class gave me the opportunity to further explore Brand Marketing while completing a student internship with Newell Brands, and it gave me crucial hands-on experience that I have carried into my professional career.

Can you share a favorite work assignment that could help a student understand more about what you do? 

When I was an intern at Dunkin’ in 2022, my summer project revolved around exploring innovation with Munchkins®. For this project, I did competitor research along with looking into trending flavors at the time and learned about how products at Dunkin’ are brought to market. I was also able to bring one of my ideas to life in our culinary lab and present it to my team. The idea I presented was the Munchkins® Skewer. When my internship ended, the project continued on and eventually was brought to life! It ended up launching in the DunKings Super Bowl commercial this past year!

Now that you’re in this position, what aspects have surprised you that you didn’t anticipate before starting? 

One thing that has definitely surprised me is the length of the process to bring products to market. Donuts on average take 18 months to 2 years!

What inspires you about the work you are doing in your industry? 

What inspires me about the work I do, is the people who love Dunkin’. Everyone knows America Runs on Dunkin’, and seeing people get excited over our new product launches, especially products I have directly worked on, is really exciting.

What are some daily challenges you experience in your role?   

For each product, we have a set timeline with specific deliverable deadlines to hit. Staying on top of timelines requires the collaboration of multiple teams, so all projects require a lot of effort from everyone involved. There are always multiple projects running at the same time (some projects even extend out to 2026) so it is easy for something to get lost!

Is there anything you wish you had done differently while a student at Isenberg? 

I wish that I took the time to connect more closely with more professors during my time as a student. Having relationships with professors I found was very important, as they all have different and valuable life lessons/professional work experiences to share.

Networking is extremely important but can be intimidating to undergraduates. What tips do you have for getting started engaging with alum or upperclassmen?

One tip I have for engaging with upperclassmen is to get involved in student organizations during your time at UMass! During my time at UMass, I was in Alpha Epsilon Phi and I found that being involved in a sorority/student organization was the best way to get to know people of all ages on campus. You can get to know upperclassmen and keep in contact with them after they graduate. LinkedIn will be the best way to engage with alumni! Everyone in the Isenberg community is friendly and welcoming, so reaching out via LinkedIn will be the easiest.
Work Experience
  • Assistant Category Manager - Donuts & Bakery
  • Dunkin'
Communities
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