The panel of judges is made up of key figures from the UK food and drink industry and includes industrial, governmental, professional and media representatives.
Ash Stretton
Food Regulatory Affairs Manager, Marks and Spencer
Ash has been in the food industry for 15+ years, working across production, operations, process, quality, technical, regulatory affairs and legal in manufacturing and retail. Ash is responsible for all things regulatory and compliance related in the food-side of M&S,
previously chair of the IFST Regulatory Group, a Fellow of the Institute, a Registered Food Safety Principal and Chartered Scientist.
Beatrice Kuschel
R&D Senior Specialist, Science & Technology Department, Nestle Product Technology Centre
Beatrice has a background in Biotechnology and holds a PhD in Enzyme Technology. Based at Nestlé’s global Product Technology R&D Centre for Confectionery and Snacking in York for the past decade, she has driven chocolate and wafer innovation and now manages early research projects with international start ups and Nestlé’s research hub in Switzerland.
Bronwyn Kemp
Head of Product & Process Science, Science & Technology Group, Unilever’s Foods Business
Dr. Bronwyn Kemp a Chemical Engineer by training is Head of Product & Process Science within the Science & Technology group of Unilever’s Foods business. Since joining Unilever in 1998, she has led global, regional, and local R&D across brands including Lipton (Pepsi JV), Carte D’Or, Breyers, Magnum, Cornetto, and AdeS - translating formulation science and product–process design into scalable, consumer loved innovations.
Chris Gilbert-Wood
President, IFST
Chris is a Food Technologist with 40 years’ experience in retail and manufacturing, working across quality, food safety and sustainability in both own label and branded supply chains. He has spent much of his career working closely with agriculture and primary processors.
A Fellow of the Institute of Food Science and Technology and a Registered Food Safety Principal, Chris is currently President of IFST. He also works as an independent consultant, supporting food businesses by applying practical experience and technical knowledge to help them meet their goals.
Elena Sharma
Food & Drink Science Team Lead, Product Innovation, Campden BRI
Elena is Food Science Team Lead at Campden BRI, overseeing multidisciplinary projects in product development, process optimization, and complex quality problem-solving for FMCG clients. Her team applies root cause analysis methodologies, site visits, and advanced micro- and macro-structure testing to deliver robust, sustainable solutions across a diverse product range, including ingredients, plant proteins, cereals, snacks, bakery, sauces, chocolate, confectionery, meat, dairy and more.
With 20 years of international experience in the food and chemical industries, she has held technical, regulatory, product development and project management roles at multinational companies including Sigma Aldrich, Nestlé, Mondelez, and Mars internationally. Her career highlights include development of double emulsions for culinary applications (Nestlé), a patent on clean-label starch in jellified bouillons (Nestlé), and the launch of the first non-HFSS snacking bars in the UK (Mars).
Gavin Sharman
Product Development Manager, Weetabix
Gavin has 25+ years’ food development experience with breakfast cereals and products, he has wide know-how implementing product change from concept through to manufacture across ideation, recipe creation, quality management through to process solutions. Gavin currently leads a team of product developers accountable for delivering recipe change for Weetabix’s iconic brands whether that be new products or key renovation.
James Huscroft
Unbeatable Quality Manager – Analysis & Testing, Warburtons Ltd
James is the Unbeatable Quality Manager for Analysis & Testing for Warburtons Ltd, responsible for leading our Research & Innovation Laboratory - overseeing ingredient, flour and finished product testing, analysing the data behind our quality, and scanning the horizon for new technologies to help Warburtons keep raising the bar. James completed a PhD in Food Science at the University of Nottingham prior to joining Warburtons and is also a former Ecotrophelia UK Finalist back in 2016.
Laetitia Rocha
Global Foods R&D Product Director, PepsiCo
Laetitia currently leads a global product portfolio transformation agenda. In the last 20 years, she has managed a broad range of projects from change management, front-end innovation, technology innovation to product launch, in Europe and Africa, for several FMCG.
Martin MacFarlane
RD&I Director, Magnum Ice Cream Company
After 21 years in various R&D roles in Unilever, ranging from product safety and sustainability focus across Personal Care and Foods to Product Development and Innovation in Ice Tea and Ice Cream, Martin is now Global Head of Ingredients & Formulation for the Magnum Ice Cream Company. In this role he is responsible for a team who develop ingredients, recipes and technologies to give superior and new consumer benefits and experiences.
Matthew Bandar
Head of Technical – Meat, Fish, Poultry & Eggs, Tesco
Matthew has over 11 years’ experience in the Food Quality & Technical team at Tesco, following a successful seven-year career within the facilities management sector. At Tesco, he has held various Head of Technical positions across both Fresh & Ambient product areas. Matthew is currently responsible for leading a team within the Meat, Fish, Poultry & Eggs category, managing supplier strategy, supply chain resilience, food quality & safety, as well as close links with sustainability & agriculture initiatives.
Phil Skop
Head of Product Development & Innovation - pladis global
Phil brings over 17 years of experience in R&D within FMCG organisations and has a strong passion for product innovation. He has a diverse background that spans snack foods, healthcare, personal care, homecare and R&D operations management. Before joining pladis he was responsible for innovation and technology development across several snack platforms at PepsiCo, and prior to this he worked in various global and regional roles within Boots Healthcare and Reckitt. In his current role he leads a product development team responsible for developing & delivering global breakthrough savoury innovations across pladis.
Richard Brain
Open Innovation Lead – Europe, Mondelez International
Rich brings two decades of experience in Food R&D and Technical roles, spanning diverse categories including Prepared Fruits & Desserts, Sandwiches, Coatings & Seasonings, and Confectionery. He spent twelve years at Mondelēz, contributing to R&D Product and Process teams by scaling up and launching products for iconic brands such as Cadbury, Milka, and Cote d'Or. His prior experience includes global customer support for technical coating challenges and launching products for major UK supermarkets. Currently, Rich serves as the Mondelēz Open Innovation Lead for Europe, driving strategic partnerships to integrate external expertise into the business.
Sarah Loxton
Product Development Manager, Sainsbury’s
Sarah has had over 30 years experience in product development, having spent much of it at M&S. She is currently at Sainsburys where she manages the Deli/picnic categories as well as Top tier Italian meals. Her current portfolio includes on-trend sharing plates ranges and planning for health and top tier future launches.
She is a hands on creative thinker and do-er who loves the challenge of turning trends into products. Over her time in product development she has managed complex projects from end to end, achieving high selling and popular products while supporting and mentoring colleagues to deliver excellence. She has learnt the art of building-in discernible and relevant quality to products and developing and implementing focused product strategies.
Her experience in all corners of the food industry has equipped her with an in-depth understanding of product innovation, from implementing a veggie strategy in M&S Percy pig sweets to the viral M&S Love sausage for Valentines to Taste the Difference Discovery top tier steak range at Sainsburys.
Verena Schwick
Scientific & Regulatory Affairs Senior Manager UK & Ireland, Coca-Cola
Verena has over 15 years’ experience in Scientific and Regulatory Affairs in leading food companies including Kraft Foods, Mondelez and Pladis. As a Senior Manager for Scientific & Regulatory Affairs at the Coca-Cola company, her responsibilities include ensuring compliance of formulations, ingredients, products, packages, labels, claims, and communications for the UK, Ireland and European Innovation. Verena is also supporting regulatory advocacy initiatives.
Preliminary judging
All entries will be carefully reviewed and then shortlisted by a panel of judges with expertise in new product development:
Vince Craig (Chair)
Managing Director, Meadowbrae Technical Services
Carol Phillips
Retired Professor
Julian Cooper
Owner/ Director, 342 Consulting Limited
Kelvin Thomson
Consultant and Workplace Assessor/Trainer, Pinnacle Food and Drink Services
Simon Chattock
Head of Vendor Assurance, Compass Group UK & Ireland Ltd
Steve Timms
Commercial Development Manager, Food & Nutrition, Brenntag UK & Ireland
If you are an IFST member and would like to be put yourself forward as a preliminary judge, please contact us by emailing education@ifst.org.