thebusybeeblog

My name is Maya and I am an ambitious graduate with a first class degree in Management with Marketing and I have been working in the professional business environment for the past 7 years.

My passion for marketing started in my home country Bulgaria, where I worked in sales and advertising for famous FMCG brands. Living in Bulgaria – a place rich in fruits and vegetables, also ignited my passion about health and nutrition. I was brought up in a family where my parents produced the majority of our food and I never knew the existence of artificial colours or preservatives. However, when I came to the UK, I got swamped by the fast-food trend and the low-budget student life and I changed my previously healthy diet. Until almost two years ago when I started having diet-related health issues. And this is where my journey toward healthy living began…

I set myself the goal of becoming an expert in the area by reading credible literature and most importantly personally testing every claim. With the risk of turning into a test lab bunny, I wanted to be able to advise people with similar issues and also engage with other health enthusiasts to share our challenges on the journey of healthy living. However, one thing really struck me: how can our diet and lifestyle be to blame when we are so health conscious and the medicine is so advanced? With the mass of celebrity diets, health gurus, magazines and wonder foods, surely we should be brimming with health right now!? Unfortunately, according to the NHS, 63 % of adults in England are overweight or obese which is the highest level over the past decade. In fact, a government’s Foresight report predicts that half of women and 6 in 10 men will be obese by 2050.

But the cure is not only in personal lifestyle changes. We live in a consumption society, where our food choices are influenced by the media, friends and family, and our workplace. In fact, it is the profit-driven mentality of  the majority of food companies that have put us in this vortex of unhealthy habits. The era of artificial colours and preservatives, transfat, refined sugar and fizzy drinks is what caused the obesity pandemic and with a growing list of chemicals that strip out all vital nutrients we seemed to be left with ‘plastic’ food that does nothing but saving us money at the expense of our health. I strongly believe that today’s food companies need to take a step back and ask themselves: Is it worth marketing something that can later damage consumers’ health? Don’t we all as marketers want customers for life? How can we win their loyalty if the relationship is based on impulsive buying and feelings of guilt?

Thus, I want to use my blog to share my experience in health, nutrition and fitness and also to discuss how businesses today can contribute to the well-being of society through their marketing activities. Through the power of marketing, the unhealthy habits have emerged and it is this same power that can rescue us from the obesity pandemic.

Marketing is now owned by consumers and it is time for brands to listen to customers and place their well-being at the heart of everything they do. A brand exists thanks to the people and there is nothing more precious than the loyalty of these people. We now live in the ‘Digital Social Age of Engage’ with manifold opportunities for brands to connect with consumers and tailor products to their needs. As a marketer, I am very excited about the potential of digital media to helps us better understand  consumer behaviour and create brands that ‘live’ with customers.

Through my posts I would like to invite health enthusiasts to share their experience in balanced diet and active lifestyle. I also want to engage with marketing professionals who are willing to share their success stories of using social media to better serve customers. Current students with a passion about marketing, fellow graduates and University lecturers are also welcomed to share their opinions and help me build a niche following for a blog, committed to show how with the power of social media, marketing, consumers and brands can finally walk hand in hand on the way to healthy living.

 Prevention is Better than Cure!!!

Always Buzzing,

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