Marlene Celis Email & Phone Number

Windermere, Florida, US

• Work on Innovation and Renovation of salad kits and fruit snack products from inception to commercialization.
• Provide project leadership in the development of new products eg. Superfoods Salads, Gourmet Bowls and Chiquita Apple Sweet Bites for healthy and indulgent snacking.
• Improve existing products by optimizing product formulas or attributes. Involved in costing out the finished product, providing nutritional profiles and reviewing the product graphics for accuracy.
• Develop supplier relationships to scope out new ingredients for the creation of new salad concepts.
• Ensure accuracy of our finished Product Specifications and alignment with our manufacturing plants.
• Conduct plant trials for the commercialization of new salad kits as well as testing and evaluation of new packaging films.

Veendam, Groningen, NL

• Conducted customer visits to cheese manufacturers in Wisconsin and provided technical support and potato starch recommendations that could improve efficiencies and yields.
• Did work with the Center for Dairy Research in Wisconsin to test several starch based solutions for processed cheese.
• Provided Tech support for various food categories such as Dairy, Confectionary, Bakery, Sauces and Dressings.

Chicago, IL, US

• Dairy Technology, Cheese & Dairy
• Process Cheese experience working with iconic brands like Velveeta and Kraft Singles.
• Texture Systems Project Lead to develop unique texture systems for Processed Cheese products enabling cost savings of $20 MMM while making quality improvements which resulted in a Patent for the Improvement of Process.
• Leveraged my extensive knowledge of texturizers to deliver productivity savings across several cheese & dairy categories.
• Scoped out new ingredients and technologies to fill productivity pipeline and drive innovation.
• Project Leader on a Dairy Fat Sparing Project to lower saturated fats in processed cheese products while enabling cost savings.

Vevey, CH

• Served as the Ingredient Specialist and primary supplier contact for all Vegetables, Grains, Starches, Hydrocolloids and Sweeteners for Nestle Prepared Frozen Foods
• Provided ingredient recommendations and support to product developers working on Stouffers, Lean Cuisine, Hot Pockets and Buitoni products.
• Worked with Procurement and Quality to approve new suppliers and address supplier issues.
• Ran plant trials for ingredient approvals and for NPD (New Product Development) projects.
• Worked with the Spec Author and our Suppliers to ensure the accuracy of Ingredient Specifications

Wayzata, Minnesota, US

• Technical responsibility for Sauces and Dressings and the Convenience Foods Category
• Conducted customer visits and gave technical presentations on Carbohydrate Chemistry
• Technical lead for Cargills most successful Yogurt project for a major Yogurt manufacturer which resulted in improved texture and flavor release in the product. Solution was implemented in the US and in Europe.
• Provided customers with technical expertise and support on starches and hydrocolloids for their application and manufacturing process
• Product development experience with starches, starch derivatives and hydrocolloids in sauces, dairy, pie fillings, puddings, dry mixes, dressings, frozen entrees, canned products and bakery applications.
• Excellent presentation skills acquired thru years of delivering customer technical presentations as well as putting together internal training seminars for Sales and distributors.

Master'S Degree, Food Science

Bachelor'S Degree, Biotechnology