Product Development & Formulation
Lead development of wet pet food products including:
- Complete & balanced diets
- Complementary/topper products
- Functional nutrition products
- Treats and specialty formulations
Develop formulations aligned with:
- AAFCO nutrient profiles
- NRC recommendations
- FDA/CVM regulations
- Customer and retailer requirements
Work with internal and external nutritionists, veterinarians, and formulators to optimize:
- Palatability
- Nutritional performance
- Texture and appearance
- Ingredient functionality
- Cost targets
- Evaluate novel proteins, seafood ingredients, functional inclusions and emerging nutrition trends
Wet Pet Food Processing & Manufacturing
Serve as technical lead for wet pet food manufacturing processes including:
- Retort systems
- Thermal processing
- Sterilization validation
- Emulsion systems
- Mixing and batching
- Filling and seaming
- Texture and viscosity management
- Support manufacturing scale-up and commercialization activities.
- Troubleshoot production, quality, formulation, and process-related issues.
- Collaborate with operations teams on continuous improvement initiatives.
- Support new production line commissioning and optimization.
Regulatory, Quality & Food Safety
Ensure products meet all applicable:
- AAFCO requirements
- FDA regulations
- State registration requirements
- Labeling compliance standards
- Import/export standards
Partner with QA and regulatory teams on:
- Ingredient approvals
- Product claims
- Nutritional substantiation
- Feeding protocols and studies
- Shelf-life validation
- HACCP and food safety systems
- Support customer technical documentation and specification management.
Ingredient & Supply Chain Collaboration
- Work closely with procurement and supply chain teams on:
- Ingredient functionality
- Cost optimization
- Alternative sourcing
- Supplier qualification
- Raw material specifications
- Evaluate seafood ingredient quality including tuna, fish oils, fish meals, and related marine ingredients.
- Understand ingredient variability and its impact on formulation and manufacturing performance.
Packaging & Commercialization
- Support packaging development for:
- Cans
- Multipacks
- Pouches
- Sachets
- Partner with commercial teams to align product architecture with market positioning and retailer requirements.
- Assist with technical customer presentations and OEM business development opportunities.