Meet Maustaja’s product development team – Johanna Myllykangas

8.8.2018

Johanna Myllykangas works as the head of the six-person product development and quality team at Maustaja. Johanna is an engineer in food technology and has an MA in food biotechnology and nourishment. She has worked at Maustaja for seven years already.

How does a product development project typically proceed?

There is no such thing as a typical product development project, as every project is carried out according to the client’s needs. A project can begin from our ideas, or just as well from a clear vision that the client has. Our job is to design a competitive product that is fit for the industry and meets the goals in taste and texture. The test kitchen phase is the most important for the project, as that is when we create the real tastes from mere ideas and top ingredients. When the recipe and the calculations have been polished up, we prepare the product information, the label, and choose the package. It always feels great to see the ready-made product emerging from our preparation and packaging line! New products are delivered from Pyhäntä to retail trade, as well as food service and industrial clients every week.

What is the best thing about your job?

Every day, I get to work with top professionals of different industries from Finland and the rest of the world. The cooperation with clients and my own team is the best part of this job – it gives me so much energy! We spar each other while we work.

What do you consider to be the most important current trend in the food industry?

I think the most important thing right now is that responsibility has gained a bigger role than before. The traceability of ingredients, the transparency of supply chains, as well as ethics are becoming more and more important to consumers and our clients.

How do you spice your own food?

Even in my kitchen at home, I always begin cooking with clean, high-quality ingredients. In my busy every-day life, meals that are fast to cook are often the most popular. However, I always want my meals to taste good!