Travelling new places & meeting new peoples
JAYANTA RAJAK
Research & Development for Culinary & Beverage
Durgapur
Summary
Dynamic VP of R&D at Olam International, specializing in the beverage and culinary products category within the packaged food sector, with over 28 years of extensive experience in the food and beverage industry. Driven by a strong passion for developing innovative and sustainable solutions to meet the diverse needs of global customers and consumers. Core competencies include consumer insights, food science, pricing strategy, and analytical prowess, facilitating the successful development and launch of new products for renowned brands such as Olam PFB, Del Monte, PepsiCo, and Dabur across West Africa and India. Collaborative efforts with cross-functional teams and external partners ensure product quality, safety, and compliance while striving to propel growth and excellence within Olam International and the broader packaged food industry.
Overview
31
31
years of professional experience
3
3
Languages
Work History
Head of Beverage & Tomato Products R&D, Packaged Foods Business
Olam International Ltd.
06.2012 - Current
- Company Overview: Organization involved in Dairy & Fruit based Beverage (FreshYo, Nature’s Fresh, Frumil & Yojus), Canned/Sachet Tomato Paste (Tasty Tom & Derica), Confectionary, Biscuit, Noodles & Instant Coffee (Robusta) business in West & South Africa.
- Set up a brand-new Development Center in Bangalore to support Olam’s Packaged Foods Business in Africa.
- Suitable Talent recruitment as per business requirements & and improved competency by engaging & and coaching.
- Delivery of business strategy by close interactions with the multinational stakeholders.
- Robust Innovation pipeline development.
- Team management to achieve new milestones.
- Process Validation with Tetra Aseptic line for yogurt manufacturing & Tetra Pak, Sidel Aseptic Packing line.
- Achievements:
- Olam Development Center became functional within a year with state of a state-of-the-art Pilot Plant facility for beverages, biscuits & and confectionary.
- Recruitment of the Managers and R&D resources done for the categories.
- New beverage variants launched with great success in the marketplace by decoding the consumer likings and drivers of the categories in that market.
- Increase/ maintain profitability against the steep rise of commodity prices and currency fluctuation.
- Instrumental in minimizing the impact of Candia (France) JV break-up by providing necessary technical & and business support.
NPD Process Development
Del Monte Field Fresh India Pvt. Ltd.
09.2011 - 06.2012
- Company Overview: Organization involved in Non-Carbonated Beverage (Del Monte) & Ketchup and Culinary Paste Manufacturing.
- Process Standardization for New products in NCB & Culinary platform.
- Delivery of New projects with close interaction with International & and local stakeholders.
- Implementation of New projects on wet culinary (ketchup, sauce, Mayonnaise and emulsions)
- Development of vendors & and partners to drive the productivity agenda.
- Robust NPD process implementation.
- Documentation.
- Achievements:
- Spearheading a crack team to successfully bag the McDonald’s tomato ketchup business in India & and got the recognition from the CEO.
- Process Validation with the Del Monte Tomato Ketchup line.
R&D Manager to General Manager
PepsiCo India Holdings Pvt. Ltd.
04.2006 - 09.2011
- Company Overview: Organization involved in Non-Carbonated Beverage (Tropicana) & and other new platforms.
- New product development: In NCB & New platforms like Dairy & CSDs
- Participate and understand Market research outcomes by data analysis and interpretation.
- Delivery of New projects with close interaction with International & and local stakeholders.
- Implementation of New projects (CSD, NCB & whites) as per PI standard.
- Development of vendors & and partners to drive the productivity agenda.
- Robust Innovation pipeline development.
- Documentation.
- Team management to achieve new milestones.
- Achievements:
- 10 New variants launched in the market including Tropicana 100% Mixed Fruit for which my team got the innovator & and cost saver of the year award (PepsiCo India).
- Pepsi Max test launch.
- Incorporation of a few localized vendors in the system.
- Increase profitability against the steep rise of commodity prices.
- Demonstrated first time in PepsiCo India region, Hot filled PET without Preservative for 100% Juices and cereal particulate inclusion in Aseptic Tetra for dairy-based beverage
Manager Development
Surya Fresh Foods Ltd.
06.2005 - 02.2006
- Company Overview: Organization involved in Non-Carbonated Beverages (Fresh Gold) & and biscuits (Priya Gold) manufacturing.
- Validation & and smooth operation of the New Tetra Pak Line.
- 8 New variants developed & and established in the market (Fresh Gold).
- RM Sourcing.
- Artwork development for label claim & and approval.
- Monitoring Quality Control activities in the RM, Processing line, and Finished Beverage production.
Development Chemist to Senior Scientist
Dabur Research Foundation
03.1996 - 05.2005
- Company Overview: Organization involved in Ayurvedic Medicines, Consumer Health Care products, Beverages (Real), and Confectionary (Hajmola) manufacturing.
- NPD i.e. Table tabletop prototyping, Sensory analysis, Stability study for Fruits and vegetable products, Confectionary, and juices.
- Interpretation of consumer research results and delivery products.
- New vendor development, Raw material sourcing.
- Transfer of technology from lab to production.
- Artwork approval for Packaging development.
- Validation of process & products.
- Documentation.
- Achievements:
- Development of Real Fruit juices, Capsico Chilli Sauce, Lemoneez, Hajmola candy variants Fun2, Rose syrup & Dabur Glucose (Orange Flavor).
- Process Validation with Tetrapak for Homemade Tomato Puree at Dabur Nepal.
- Develop of local source for frozen Pineapple concentrate at NERAMAC (Tripura), Lychee from Patna, and pink guava from Bangalore.
- Successfully solving sedimentation problem in Homemade Lemoneez.
Trainee Technical Officer to Technical Officer
Swiss Health Foods Pvt. Ltd.
01.1995 - 02.1996
- Company Overview: Organization involved in hardboiled confectionery, soft-boiled confectionery, and chocolate manufacturing.
- NPD for Chocolates & candies.
- Manpower utilization.
- Product quality improvement.
- Achievements:
- Development of paper-like thin sugar coating in white chocolate (KID Club).
- Development of Liquid chocolate in Ice-cream industries.
Education
M. Sc. - Food Science & Technology
G B Pant University of Agriculture and Technology
01.1994
B.Sc. - Agriculture
Visva Bharati
01.1991
Skills
Constructive team engagement
TRAINING
- Flavor Training at Valhalla, USA.
- Fruit Juice & Nectars Training at Doehler Research Centre in Germany & and Holland.
- Sensory evaluation of food products at Danisco Research Centre in Denmark.
RESEARCH PROJECTS (M.Sc.)
Use of biotechnological application to manufacture processed cheese spread (Process parameter standardization & product development).
Accomplishments
- Documented and resolved [Issue] which led to [Results].
- Supervised team of [Number] staff members.
- Collaborated with team of [Number] in the development of [Project name].
- Achieved [Result] by introducing [Software] for [Type] tasks.
Interests
Traveling new places and reading books
Seeing different places and interacting different people and their food habits
Timeline
Head of Beverage & Tomato Products R&D, Packaged Foods Business
Olam International Ltd.
06.2012 - Current
NPD Process Development
Del Monte Field Fresh India Pvt. Ltd.
09.2011 - 06.2012
R&D Manager to General Manager
PepsiCo India Holdings Pvt. Ltd.
04.2006 - 09.2011
Manager Development
Surya Fresh Foods Ltd.
06.2005 - 02.2006
Development Chemist to Senior Scientist
Dabur Research Foundation
03.1996 - 05.2005
Trainee Technical Officer to Technical Officer
Swiss Health Foods Pvt. Ltd.
01.1995 - 02.1996
B.Sc. - Agriculture
Visva Bharati
M. Sc. - Food Science & Technology
G B Pant University of Agriculture and Technology