Starting a Career with Flavor
This year, 37 interns and co-ops hired from across the United States and Canada worked via remote internships in various departments as part of Keurig Dr Pepper’s (KDP) campus programs. From developing a roadmap on how KDP’s diesel trucks can successfully transition into an all-electric model to applying high-level data to inform strategic brand decisions, this year’s summer interns and co-ops successfully gained valuable and practical career skills while supporting KDP’s strategic business needs.
Started in 2018, KDP’s internship and co-op program is dedicated to providing hands-on experiences by integrating student hires into KDP teams. They are paired with specific KDP team members who provide networking support, career guidance, functional expertise and mentorship.
With COVID-19 restrictions preventing our interns and co-ops from traveling or physically working at KDP locations, KDP planned fun and engaging virtual events to get them acquainted as a cohort. For example, KDP kicked off the summer with an ice breaker where teams were asked to craft the most efficient instructions for creating a peanut butter sandwich. Other events included virtual trivia, goal setting workshops, presentation lunch & learns, conversations with R&D teams, and even meet & greets with senior leaders, like CEO Bob Gamgort and CMO Andrew Springate.
Here are a few examples of the contributions our interns and co-ops made at KDP this summer:
Sales
The Sales Intern focused on growing some of KDP’s beloved brands at large convenience store partners, such as 7-Eleven, by leveraging analytical skills. These creative solutions are helping to increase brand recognition and market share of Crush and Schweppes.
R&D
The Research and Development Intern helped the team better understand the powdered beverage-brewer interface by investigating new coffee alternatives. In addition to virtual lab tours, the R&D team provided guidance by sending at-home lab equipment, such as beakers, thermometers, and reusable K-Cup pods.
Finance
The Finance Intern designed overviews and documentation of a new system to unify financial reports, creating KDP’s Gross Margin Forecasting. With the team’s support, our finance intern gained a new sense of confidence leveraging raw financial data and turning them into useful insights.
Legal
The Legal Intern worked on a variety of projects, such as contract negotiation, data privacy and cybersecurity laws. In addition, the intern attended trial preparations and tabletop exercises, where KDP runs through the processes of a hypothetical data breach.
HR
The Talent Acquisition Intern supported the Human Resources team with various campus branding recruitment materials and internal communication assets. Due to the virtual environment, the team has helped to drive engagement for summer cohort by planning events, like a graduate student roundtable and an intern team step challenge.
Supply Chain
The Supply Planning Intern integrated a new software to improve the product and taste of Green Mountain Coffee. By utilizing this new software, the intern is strategizing sustainable and time-efficient approaches to increasing the size of KDP’s roasting coffee bags.
To see more, check out this video recapping and recognizing the many accomplishments of our Summer 2021 interns and co-ops. Cheers to our team of interns and co-ops for bringing fresh perspectives and making a meaningful difference here at Keurig Dr Pepper!