How did you initially get into NPD?
After an awful year of studying pharmacy I decided to change from drug research into food research. I did a placement year at Ryvita working in various roles. I found the food industry more rewarding than dispensing prescriptions, and I helped develop Ryvita Multigrain and breakfast cereals. That's when I got the NPD bug.
What makes you get out of bed in the morning?
My alarm clock! I thrive in a fast pace and ever changing environment, R&R gives me a wide variety of challenges every day. I enjoy coming to work because I know every day will be different.
What are your key frustrations with working within the food industry?
Often, retailers can take a very long time to make decisions on final ranges and this puts manufacturers under a great deal of pressure to turn around specifications and artwork to deliver products on time.
How does the development process work in your company and what role do you play in it?
Category management and consumer research play a big part in our development programme. NPD, marketing and sales work closely together to identify the gaps and opportunities in the market. We then work with our brand and retail teams to turn the ideas into projects and finally products. I manage a team of 16 technicians, technologists, and NPD and project managers who in turn are managing a workload of over 200 projects each year.
How does the NPD process work in manufacturing compared to restaurants?
Restaurants are able to adapt and vary their menus to trends and available ingredients at a much faster pace. Recipe dishes in a kitchen can be tested, perfected and scaled up to restaurant volumes within days.
In food manufacturing the time and complexity of scale up is on a much vaster level with so many factors that need to be considered. For example, consistent availability of raw materials, manufacturing and engineering limitations, reproducibility of acceptable product quality, food safety, consumer research, packaging, food law compliance ...
Have you ever cooked for any celebrities?
No, but I as student I worked as a waitress and served food prepared by Anton Mosimann to the presenters of TV am at a charity polo match. A pregnant Penny Lancaster also came back of house to cool off in the chiller van!
Which creation are you most proud of?
Bringing Skinny Cow sticks over from America and reformulating the recipes for the UK market was a real challenge. The recipes used in America were packed with chemical sounding ingredients and bulking agents and I had to clean up the recipes and make them acceptable for the UK market with more typical ice cream ingredients. Five years on, the Skinny Cow brand is now worth £7.5M (Nielson, 52wks retail sales, Sept 08).
Where do you get your inspiration from?
I am a real foodie and enjoy cooking, eating out and scanning food magazines for trends, ingredients, flavour combinations and product presentations. Other food categories such as soft drinks, juices, confectionery, desserts and cakes also offer inspiration for ice cream and lolly ideas.
What direction would you like to see the industry take?
I think the food industry shouldn't be blamed for high obesity rates and the poor health of much of our nation. Ensuring the messages used for guideline daily amounts, portion control, energy and saturated fat levels are consistent would help educate consumers better. Currently there are so many versions surely the consumer can only be confused.