“The big difference these days is the magnitude and the complexity of the challenges facing the food industry, and the fact they all seem to be happening at the same time.”
So says Dr Kaly Chatakondu, AAK’s Commercial Director for Food Ingredients in the UK and Ireland.
There is no doubt that the food industry is facing multiple challenges on multiple fronts but three key themes stand out: sustainability, health, and the cost of living.
All of us in the food industry are searching for potential answers that could help us overcome them, and satisfy consumer demand.
But here’s the big twist in the tale – it is suggested the answer to all three of those huge challenges could lie in fat.
It may not be the answer you were expecting, but in this episode of the Food Matters Live podcast, made in partnership with AAK, we explore the idea and discuss fat’s potential role in all three areas.
Interested in finding out more? Sign up to meet AAK at the Food Matters Live Events in Ascot and Dublin.
Dr Kaly Chatakondu, Commercial Director for Food Ingredients UK and Ireland, AAK
Dr Kaly Chatakondu is Commercial Director for AAK serving all food manufacturers and all food sectors in the UK & Ireland. He has a doctorate in chemistry and 35 years’ international experience in the business development and commercialisation of food ingredients and technology.
Kaly and his team at AAK are engaged in identifying trends and solving problems in the food industry on behalf of AAK’s customers, using technology based on plant oils and fats. Issues such as EU Deforestation Regulation, the cost of cocoa and dairy ingredients, or reformulation to make products healthier, are some of the many issues the AAK team are engaged with at their customers.
The team calls on the support of over 15 Customer Innovation Centres, and thousands of speciality oil and fat blends manufactured worldwide by AAK.
Kevin McAlister, Customer Innovation Manager, AAK
Kevin McAlister has worked in oils and fats for more than 30 years across a variety of technical, laboratory, quality, food safety and product development roles.
He has been at AAK for 7 years, working with a wide range of customers on solving their challenges and introducing new innovations.
Kevin and the Innovation team at AAK are currently working on reducing the fat contents in finished foods, reducing saturated fat, extending shelf life, making finished products palm-free, lowering carbon footprint, reducing sugar and reducing mineral oils in technical products, such as candles, tyre additives and transformer oils.
Jodie Spriggs, Customer Innovation Manager, AAK
Jodie Spriggs is a Customer Innovation Manager at AAK, with over 25 years’ experience of working in the food industry.
With experience of all aspects of product development, from ideation through to launch, Jodie’s focus is on innovation, in both the branded and own label arenas.
She has worked too across a wide range of categories, as well as with ambient, chilled and frozen products. Jodie can bring technical and marketing experience to bear on the projects she leads.
