How Malta's new food scientist is changing the food industry

In this MaltaToday exclusive, we met with Jeanette Cameron, the food scientist behind Elty Food, to understand what food technology is and how she plans to change the local market. Jeanette says she can give businesses the tool kit they’ve been needing to leave their competitors behind (and a lot of that done in just one hour of working with her).

This is a really interesting time that you’ve brought Elty Food and food technology to Malta with EU standards coming into place. How are you helping the local market get onboard with this?

We help the food industry by connecting the right knowledge with execution. Basically our services cover the complete process from purchasing raw materials to seeing that final product on the shelf.

Ok so I have this idea to create an amazing new drink using local ingredients and I want it to hit International markets like the US and Australia. Where do we start?

That’s a great question. We actually start with the end in mind. Where do you envision your product being consumed and by whom? If you want to target female health conscious consumers who are on the go then the taste, ingredient composition and packaging of the drink are completely different to a product for macho men who want to hang out with his friends. Of course marketing plays a big role, but first you need a quality product.

So I bring you my recipe and you help me make it even better?

We improve the end quality of your product. Most ‘damage’ is actually done during processing meaning that fantastic raw materials can end up leading to an inferior quality product if you don’t understand what happens during the production process. The other way around is even more important; inferior raw materials can’t make superior end products. It’s a balance between the right recipe and the optimum processing in order to achieve maximum results.

How do you help me enhance my flavours and quality?

First we taste and test the product together and ask you what you would like to have enhanced. We set up a plan and help you get to the desired state of the product. Since you are always the specialist of your own product, we make sure to give you effective and fast results by working with other professional product specialists of that area. Why? Because we don’t like losing time to mess around.

Their product will be better than their competitors. Why? They benefited of the skills and were not afraid to invest these 6 hours into their product.

Perhaps more importantly, how do you help me create a product that is better than my competitors?

By setting you up with our specialists. A great example is the tailored special service package of our bakery engineer who happens to be in Malta to lecture at the Cake Technology Seminar. We invite one of the world’s best Bakery Engineers with a track record of successful international products. She prepares in detail at her own bakery lab and comes fully loaded with the right information and recipes. She provides in house training as well. Within 6 hours of solid practical training she can turn a lingering problem around. Their product will be better than their competitors. Why? They benefited of the skills and were not afraid to invest these 6 hours into their product. Believe me I have seen it. This is game-changing investment. 

For not even €5, you'll have a complete label with layout, printed out with all correct information plus a professional website appearance.

Okay, say I have a small bakery in Malta with a vision to grow into a micro-chain. I have some package design in place like a logo but I don’t have nutritional labels. Where do we start?  

We can make the complete labels for you, or we guide you through our easy nutritional software package named Elty Nutritics. It's user friendly software and delivers complete EU compliant nutritional labels. It also has a very beautiful interface for companies that are showcasing their products online. Large manufacturers as well as butcher shops, sandwich shops and pastizzerias can benefit hugely. This software is already used by companies like Radisson, Costa Coffee, Weight Watchers and even Danone. The best thing is that for not even € 5, you’ll have a complete label with layout, printed out with all correct information plus a professional website appearance. Try it for yourself at www.eltyfood.com/eltynutritics and get your free trial now.

That’s truly an extraodinary price and there’s a free trial...

Yes, completely free! Try it for yourself! To be honest, during my days as a product developer we calculated all these Nutritional Values in house. With over 300 changing recipes I dreamt about having such a program working for me. And now it’s here! I am sure every entrepreneur has looked around to see what an outsourced nutritional label will cost. Our prices are only a small fraction of that, with the advantage that you keep all recipes in-house!

Can you tell us about some of your food product development in the past, I know you said you developed A branded European drinks?

I was the senior product developer for award winning and A branded juice and soft drinks. I have made them all. From energy drinks, to juice drinks to juices.

I know you are having a cake and biscuit technology seminar. Love those words together – cakes and technology. It really is a science. So, what can bakeries, bread companies, hobbyists, aspiring entrepreneurs, businesses small and large really get out of this seminar? What will be some of their biggest takeaways?

Yes, I liked the words as well. Everyone who attends will leave with a broadened perspective and a deeper understanding of dough, emulsifiers, the baking process and the many options and techniques there are in Bakery World. We will give tools on how to understand and work through different challenges. A special segment will be dedicated to healthy alternatives. We all know that if you make a cake and decide to take half of the sugar away, the cake won’t be nice. You will have the correct and practical understanding of why and how some ingredients actually behave in the baking product. To be honest, I personally think that anyone who misses the chance to attend will feel very sorry if they notice that the competitor who did come is stealing away clients with improved or even healthier pastry products, especially now with the holidays around the corner.

What is your vision for Malta’s food industry? How do you see it evolving and your place in this picture?  

My vision for the Maltese food industry is a thriving food manufacturing climate with food and drink product quality that competes with other European countries

My vision for the Maltese food industry is a thriving food manufacturing climate with food and drink product quality that competes with the other European countries. In this scenario there is room for innovation and growth but we only need a solid knowledge basis for that. It is vital to be able to deliver and make certain foods ourselves, otherwise we will become more and more dependent on import goods and trends. Consumers are highly educated and demand a certain quality. I have spoken to many entrepreneurs and all of them are striving to grow and reinvent their products and services. And the role of Elty Food is to help those who are willing to invest in knowledge.

Since you have worked with some huge international companies as well as pushing small businesses off the ground, can you tell us what are some of the things holding a company back from creating successful products?

There's often the issue of top management not listening to their employees who are physically working with the product and know what needs to be improved on. Management doesn't want to invest in certain skill courses if it doesn't pay off right away. At the same time, many of the world’s most successful products were invented by dedicated employees who felt valued and correctly educated.

Jeanette will be hosting a Cake & Biscuit Technology Seminar this month. This exclusive training will be provided by an International Bakery Specialist who is a skilled bakery engineer from the Netherlands, specialised in cake and biscuit technology and is a professional product developer for large international companies.

Definitely sign up as a gift to yourself, company and future before her offer expires. You and your team will learn invaluable skills that will help propel you on the path to success. For more information check out EltyFood Cake & Biscuit Technology Seminar.