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Alice Birch (History 2013) is a Product Developer at Marks & Spencer excited by her upcoming work on the retailer’s cakes range.

When she graduated from the University of Cambridge, Alice was unsure of what career she wished to pursue. She decided to join the Digital Graduate Scheme at M&S and subsequently progressed into other roles within the company, but these were not her piece of cake. After developing a love of cooking during the Covid-19 pandemic and attaining an Essential Cooking Certificate from Leiths School of Food & Wine, Alice discovered the position of Product Developer, which would allow her to put her newfound interest in cooking to good use by creating new items of food for the retailer’s successful M&S Food arm.

To begin this career path, Alice returned to a starter role at M&S as a Product Development Assistant. “It was a bit of a risk, because I thought it was quite a step back to go to the bottom of the ladder again,” she says. “Typically, from a career perspective, you feel like you should be climbing the ladder rather than straying around.”

Fortunately for Alice, this was a risk very much worth taking. She has found a career which excites and enthuses her, having now worked in product development for three years. Most of this time has been spent working in the Food on the Move range, which includes sandwiches and salads, but she has recently been promoted to developing cakes, a much broader category.

It is the variety of the role which particularly appeals to Alice. On various days of the week, she may be found visiting one of M&S’s many suppliers across the country, scrolling through Instagram to research trends in the food market, or tasting a wide array of submitted goods to test their quality. Her personal claim to fame is that she has even had the chance to feature twice in ITV’s Inside M&S at Christmas, showcasing her development of two Christmas sandwich favourites: the Christmas Club Sandwich in 2022 and the Brie-LT in 2023.

From brainstorming ideas for new products and receiving submissions from suppliers, to taste-testing foods and ensuring that they can be produced en masse in a factory, the process of turning an idea into a perfected item on a supermarket shelf typically takes over a year. In the case of seasonal product ranges such as Christmas food, it can even take up to 18 months – Alice is already strategising for Christmas 2025!

She says: “It’s very satisfying when you see a product launch. Obviously, it can take a very long time, but a big part of that is because of the care and attention we take as well as the level of quality we strive for as a retailer. We want to bring really innovative new products that customers haven’t seen or tasted in the UK market.”

Alice also greatly enjoys the creative nature of the job. “I have a lot of autonomy to shape product ranges at M&S, and ultimately these products are special to a lot of people,” she adds. “It makes me feel super proud to work for M&S and really happy to work in a job that brings a lot of joy to others.”

Alice believes that, for creative people such as herself, finding a career which allows them to embrace their creativity is the recipe for happiness. She says: “I think you just need to try things. It can feel a bit scary at first, but you don’t need to have things figured out by the age of 25. Things can fall into your lap a lot later in life, and if you don’t try you won’t know. And don’t be afraid to take risks. You’re graduating from an incredible university with good degrees, and there will be opportunities – it’s just about finding one that really suits you and your personality.”

To see more of Alice's cooking and baking, visit her .