Food & Beverage R&D Consultant | Interim Executive in Product Innovation & Flavor Science

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Summary

This Food and Beverage R&D Consultant is a highly driven senior director of product innovation with 30+ years of progressive experience in research and development and proficiency in process design, formulation optimization, and technology scale-up to deliver cost savings without compromising quality or performance. Consistent results in guiding cohesive teams of scientists and generating strategic improvements to manufacturing best practices which align products with consumer preferences. This Food and Beverage Innovation Consultant has proven strength in organizational leadership and influential decision making with innovative expertise in flavor design.

Highlights

• Product Development Leadership

• Data-Driven Research & Reports

• Cross-Functional Collaboration

• Ingredient & Product Characterization

• Regulatory Affairs & Scientific Advisory

• Sensory Science & Consumer Insights

• Strategic Industry Partnerships

• Scalable & Profitable Solutions

• Bilingual Communications

Relevant Accomplishments

• Recognized as winner of “Innovation Olympics” rapid prototyping with three concepts eventually launched under Oral
• Care Platform – Eclipse (Peppermint Raspberry, Honeydew Melon Spearmint) and Orbit (Mint Mojito) brands.
• Developed European stevia and aspartame tabletop sweetener tablet formulas and associated processes, with the Czech Republic plant commissioning completed in six months while delivering 60% cost savings vs contract manufacturing.
• Introduced flavor with modifying properties solutions which enabled 25-30% sugar reduction in 25+ projects across Kellogg cereal and snacks portfolio including technology transfer to Europe and Latin America.
• Developed a rapid cereal coating formula prototyping methodology which was adopted by Breakfast Cereal R&D as a best practice for flavor solutions screening, thus accelerating innovation efforts by 60% in collaboration with flavor houses.
• Recruited to play a critical role in enhancing the underperforming Emerging Nutrition business unit alongside the new VP with responsibility for assessment of team skills, technical gaps, and best practices. Proposed structural changes to strengthen team building and to implement an innovative R&D focus across the entire unit of eight team members with a $2M budget and an emphasis on long-term research, project/process development, new technology scouting, and customer applications support within the Snacks/Baked Goods platforms. Supported and enabled the ELEVATE strategy and provided input to the M&A function.
• Introduced Sensory and Statistics as scientific disciplines and Analytical Chemistry as a foundational research tool.
• Drove Cocoa Replace Sensory Quantitative Descriptive Analysis which led to 60+ active customer leads.
• Directly advised steps toward a patent for Cocoa Replace in Mexica/USA/Canada, the first in company history with additional uses as natural color and grain-based flavors.
• Spearheaded technical assessments of new process technology which detailed flexibility and investments.
• Realized another company feat by entering the beverage space after introducing new process techniques.
• Led efforts in development of an Ingredient Characterization protocol and building out of more robust Ingredient Value Propositions, pushing the unit to extend beyond a commodity mindset and better understand ingredient functionality and nutritional value.
• Retained sensory agency and statistician to assist in research elements including Quantitative Descriptive Analysis, Time Intensity, and Flavor Congruency coupled with SPME Headspace Analysis.
• Achieved success in reducing project timelines from over a year to less than six months and fostered cohesive collaboration across the Sales, Technical Service, Operations, and Quality departments.
• Collaborated with the marketing function to establish an Innovation Funnel and hire new talent to carry out R&D initiatives, effectively building the team from ground zero.
• Delivered the latest innovations to the Board of Directors and engaged with a diverse audience of cross-functional partners regarding powder flow properties and behavior impact.
• Spearheaded the entire unit consisting of 35 scientists working in R&D, Baking Applications, Antioxidants, Microbiology and Meats, Sauces and Dressings, and Analytical Chemistry. Improved formulation accuracy while reducing product development cycles through championing the introduction of advanced analytical techniques to assess ingredient efficacy. Worked cohesively with Procurement to implement a structured approach to supplier risk evaluation and expeditiously boosted procurement flexibility while lessening disruptions.
• Streamlined the $1.75M OPEX and $2M CAPEX budgets by introducing a quarterly review process which both identified and eliminated inefficiencies, thus yielding a 15% reduction in unnecessary expenditures.
• Improved decision making in fast-track projects by formalizing sensory and statistics as scientific disciplines.
• Effectively resolved liquid solutions in antioxidant space through close collaboration with Operations, thus bringing closure to a three-year struggle.
• Successfully overcame the Egg Wash Alternative UHT process challenges to enable an efficient product launch.
• Guided a cross-functional team of 24 scientists to improve upon starch and maltodextrin production processes while complying strictly with quality standards and ensuring seamless production efficiency. Maintained a focus on streamlining development processes and increasing the speed of deliverables by promoting the implementation of the company’s first Innovation Funnel which highlighted dietary fibers. Gathered and analyzed publication data on Resistant Starch (RS4) and determined trends and consumer preferences to influence a more compelling value proposition.
• Successfully embedded Six Sigma practices through a comprehensive strategy which targeted manufacturing operations, achieving perfect project execution on the first attempt while driving substantial cost savings.
• Drove the development of an internal analysis tool to guide the development of non-digestible carbohydrates which increased decision-making accuracy while also significantly reducing project timelines by a rate of 75%.
• Spearheaded the company’s first innovation in > 20 years by taking a resistant starch project from a five-year stall to execution and launch within just seven months.
• Directly enhanced the Operations team by introducing highly accurate and efficient analytical techniques, thus eliminating trial and error and producing diagnostics with a clear call to action.
• Generated a $2M savings by providing scientific evidence to terminate strategic partnerships of no value to GPC.
• Reduced water usage by 40% and allowed for manufacturing flexibility by implementing Statistical Process Control as a discipline and a Predictive Model for Resistant Starch Production.

Roles

• Senior Director, Product Innovation R&D
• Senior Director, RD&A
• Vice President, R&D
• Head of Customer Technical Service Americas
• Principal Scientist, Advanced Innovation/Sugar & Sodium Reduction
• Global Director of R&D
• Senior Product Development Scientist
• Food Scientist I & II/R&D Associate/Sensory Coordinator/Quality

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