How I Learned Brand Relationships from the Founder of Britains Biggest Frozen Retailer
The Mission Statement That Taught Me Everything About Brand Relationships
What I learned about brand relationships from working retail at 18
I was 18 when I learned what a brand really was. Not from a marketing course or a business book, but from a laminated piece of paper stuck to every door at Iceland Frozen Foods. Every shift for years, I’d push through those doors and high-five Sir Malcolm Walker’s mission statement—dozens of times a day.
Most people think their first job teaches them how to show up on time and deal with difficult customers. Mine taught me something completely different: the foundation of authentic brand relationships. Those weren’t just corporate words on a wall. They were principles I was literally touching and internalizing every single day.
Thirty-five years later, I still have that laminated mission statement in my office. It’s the blueprint for everything I teach about sustainable business relationships.
Here’s what high-fiving that mission statement taught me.
The Daily Ritual That Changed Everything
Picture this: an 18-year-old Emma, rushing to start her shift, pushing through the staff door, and smacking that laminated sign with the palm of her hand. Every. Single. Time.
Sir Malcolm Walker's mission was simple but profound:
"Iceland's aim is to provide profitable growth and long term customer satisfaction by selling the widest possible range of frozen foods, all offering honest value in a clean environment with friendly efficient service."
I didn't realise it then, but I was absorbing a masterclass in authentic brand relationships through pure repetition. Those weren't just corporate buzzwords on a wall, they were principles I was literally touching and internalising dozens of times every day.
Learning from an Entrepreneurial Legend
Sir Malcolm Walker's journey from selling roadside strawberries to building Iceland into one of Britain's fastest-growing and most innovative retailers perfectly embodies the kind of authentic growth I witnessed. His entrepreneurial spirit wasn't just inspirational, it was baked into the company's DNA.
Iceland is recognised as one of the best companies to work for in the UK, and standing behind that checkout counter, I felt it every day. This wasn't just a job, it was an education in how authentic values create genuine workplace culture.
Working at the checkout, I encountered every slice of life: families carefully counting pennies, rushed parents grabbing quick meals, elderly customers who'd been shopping with us for decades. Each interaction taught me something about human behaviour, financial realities, and the true meaning of customer relationships.
Even Iceland's famous slogan, "That's why mums go to Iceland" wasn't just clever marketing. It was a deep understanding of real customer needs and values. Standing at that checkout, I was on the front lines of this customer-first philosophy, watching how authentic brand relationships played out in real time, with real people, making real decisions about their daily lives.
What Sir Malcolm Walker Really Taught Me
Long-term customer satisfaction. Not quick wins or flashy campaigns, but sustainable relationships built over time. At 18, serving customers who'd been shopping at Iceland for years, I watched this principle in action daily.
Honest value. In a world where everyone was promising everything, Sir Malcolm Walker's brand committed to something simpler but more powerful—genuine worth for money. No tricks, no false promises, just honest value.
Clean environment with friendly efficient service. This wasn't about perfection—it was about respect. Respect for customers' time, money, and experience.
These weren't marketing slogans. They were relationship blueprints.
The Morning Walk That Sealed the Deal
Before the store opened each day, we'd walk the floor. Not as employees checking stock, but as customers experiencing the space.
We'd see what they saw, feel what they felt, notice what confused or welcomed them.
Most businesses talk about "walking in the customer's shoes" as a metaphor. I did it literally, every morning, for years.
This daily practice taught me something that no amount of customer surveys or focus groups could: authentic relationships start with genuine empathy. You can't fake understanding someone's experience, you have to live it.
The Foundation Everything Else Built On
Every difficult client conversation I've navigated, every brand partnership I've helped salvage, every authentic relationship I've helped build, they all trace back to those principles I absorbed at 18.
When I help creators avoid burnout in their client relationships, I'm drawing on Sir Malcolm Walker's wisdom about sustainable, long-term thinking.
When I teach authentic value creation, I'm channelling those lessons about honest worth.
When I emphasise genuine service over flashy tactics, I'm high-fiving that mission statement all over again.
What This Means for Your Brand Relationships
Here's what 35 years of living Sir Malcolm Walker's mission has taught me about building authentic brand relationships:
Start with principles, not tactics. Your brand values aren't marketing copy, they're relationship blueprints. What principles will you high-five every day?
Think long-term from day one. Quick wins might boost your metrics, but sustainable relationships build your business. Are you optimising for next quarter or next decade?
Make empathy a daily practice. Don't just talk about understanding your audience, regularly experience your relationship from their perspective. What would it feel like to work with you?
Honest value never goes out of style. In a world of flashy promises and inflated claims, authenticity is your differentiator. What genuine worth are you bringing to every relationship?
Why I Kept That Piece of Paper
I kept Sir Malcolm Walker's mission statement for 35 years because it wasn't just my first job, it was my first education in what authentic branding actually means.
While my peers were learning business theory in lecture halls, I was learning business reality on shop floors.
While they studied case studies about customer behaviour, I was living it, breathing it, high-fiving it into my daily routine.
That laminated piece of paper represents something you can't buy, can't download, and can't fast-track: genuine, experiential understanding of what makes relationships work.
The RSL framework I teach today?
It's the natural evolution of those principles I high-fived into my consciousness at 18.
The Mission Continues
That 18-year-old high-fiving a mission statement had no idea she was getting a master's degree in relationship building. She just knew she was part of something bigger than selling frozen peas and fish fingers.
Thirty-five years later, I realise Sir Malcolm Walker wasn't just building a frozen food empire, he was creating a blueprint for authentic business relationships that would shape everything I'd do afterward.
The mission statement is still in my office. I still high-five it sometimes, remembering the teenager who learned that authentic brands aren't built on promises, they're built on principles you live every single day.
What principles are you high-fiving into your daily practice?
With courage and conviction,
