Experience

The Griffin's Food Company

• New Zealand
• Food and Beverage Manufacturing
• 1 - 100 Employee

• New Product Development Manager

  • Apr 2015 - Present

  Manage the Griffins Food Company Branded Product Development Team with 6 direct reports.Ensuring our NPD, CI and value creation projects meet key milestones through the stage gate process. I have supported 2 production sites based in Auckland with 5 different technology portfolio's (Biscuits, Crackers, Bars, Extrusion and Chips). Representing Griffin’s on The New Zealand Food and Grocery Council.

• Senior Product Development Technologist

  • Mar 2011 - Apr 2015

  ROLE FUNCTION Responsible for researching, developing and implementing cracker, biscuit and extrusion product development projects for Griffins, private label and export brands; ensuring they meet company targets and customer needs. KEY RESPONSIBILITIES Organize trial loading, new raw materials and CAPEX installation calendar for the entire product development department at Papakura, which gets presented at the WIP and NPD Product Forum meetings.Managing project budgets including product development, capital project and technical department stationary budget. Collecting and inputting trial data into cost cards and reviewing outputs with the project manager, cost accountants and factory manager. Manage one direct report, conducting regular 1:1’s and supervising their product development projects. Ensuring critical technical documentation such as Ingredient, Allergen and Nutrition panels are 100% accurate on documentation and artwork and are compliant with local and/ or international food standards. Initiated and maintained the Technology and Development hyperlink table to ensure short and quick access to critical technical documentation for the technical team. Griffin’s Papakura Voluntary Incidental Trace Allergen Labelling (VITAL) allergen and HSNO hazardous substance approved handler.KEY ACHIEVEMENTSManaged the implementation and upgrade of the Griffins Papakura Innovation Kitchen on budget and on time, to increase the department’s ability to innovate and upscale product development to production. Increased production output on a twin screw extrusion line by 30%, whilst improving product quality, reducing waste and carton weight variance. Show less



Walter & Wild

• New Zealand
• Food & Beverages
• 1 - 100 Employee

• Product Development Technologist and Nutritionist Hubbards Foods

  • Mar 2009 - Mar 2011

  Hubbards Foods KEY RESPONSIBILITIES Communicated with key internal and external companies regarding product development projects including production, marketing, sales and quality to ensure we met development timelines. Lead technologist running complicated multiple stage factory trials from the creation of semi ingredients, right through to blending and packing. Technologies included: baking, extrusion, syrup making, flaking, puffing and blending. Managed project budgets, ran product development costing models which were presented for final approval and sign off to the product development manager and CFO before product launch. Ran commissioning trials on new production equipment to ensure products meet sensory and consumer needs. Conducted sensory research and shelf life testing schedule for all Hubbard’s products. Developed new packaging as part of the product development process and ran packaging trials to ensure product integrity through the supply chain. Hubbard’s Nutritionist and main point of contact for customer nutritional inquiries on the Hubbard’s website, social media and phone. KEY ACHIEVEMENTS Developed Hubbard’s Real Cereal which won the following categories at the NZ Food Awards in 2011: Zespri Food Product Innovation Awards - Overall Section Winner, ATEED - Cereals and Breads Award and the Massey University - Healthier Choice Award. Refined the Hubbard’s Product Development Nutrition policy and developed the Hubbard’s Nutrition Footprint to identify key products that would need re-development. Mentored a Saint Kentigern College Year 12 Food Technology Student for the NZIFST/Crest Product Development Project, who later decided to study Food Technology at Massey University in 2011. Show less



Griffins Foods Ltd

• Food and Beverage Services
• 1 - 100 Employee

• Product Development Technologist

  • Feb 2006 - Mar 2009

  KEY RESPONSIBILITIES Liaising with key departments regarding product development and alternative material projects, through the Griffins development stage gate process including organising and running factory trials at Wiri, Papakura and Lower Hutt. Collecting and inputting data into cost cards and reviewing outputs with the project manager, cost accountants and factory manager. Ensuring critical technical documentation such as Ingredient, Allergen and Nutrition panels are 100% accurate and comply with local and/ or international food standards. Assisting with sensory analysis projects including consumer, shelf life and alternative material testing.KEY ACHIEVEMENTSAssisted with the commissioning of 4 new biscuit and cracker production lines installed in 2007 transitioning >50 biscuit and cracker SKU's during the closure of the Lower Hutt manufacturing facility. Helped deliver $1M of raw material cost out initiative projects. Presented and helped validate Griffins Foods product development nutrition mapping model to key stake holders including: Otago University, Massey University, The New Zealand Nutrition Foundation and the Heart Foundation.The successful launch of many products including Toffee Pops Desserts and Uppercuts Vege Chip Range. Show less

• Sensory Technologist

  • Feb 2005 - Feb 2006