Name & Title
Tara, Product Development Executive
Qualifications
- BSc in Food Chemistry (UCC)
- Advanced Diploma in Project Management (Dublin Business School)
- Marketing Diploma (Marketing Institute of Ireland)
Role & Key Responsibilities
I have specific responsibility for bringing Butter and Cheese Products to the international marketplace. My key tasks in this role are to work in collaboration with the Consumer Foods and the Food Ingredients Divisions within the Group, to provide technical expertise in addition to project managing both retail and industrial product concepts, from idea generation right through to commercialisation. On a day-to-day basis I work as part of a cross-functional team to drive projects through the NPD Process. This team is comprised of internal and external stakeholders, including colleagues in the Product Development, Marketing, Commercial, Technical and Packaging Teams, in addition to manufacturers, subsidiaries, customers, food research bodies and food safety authorities.
How has your career/role developed during your time-to-date in IDB?
On completion of my Food Chemistry Degree in University College Cork, I commenced employment with the IDB as a Graduate Trainee. As part of the Graduate Trainee Programme I worked in our head office in Dublin, our Technical Centre in Cork and one of our overseas subsidiaries. On completion of the Graduate Trainee Programme I returned to our head office in Dublin, where I took up a position in the Product Development Team. Since then my role has evolved to the extent that I now have specific responsibility for launching new products into both the Butter and Cheese Categories.
What do you enjoy most about working for IDB?
These are challenging times for the dairy industry and farming in general, so what I enjoy most about my position is the fact that I am playing an important part in assisting the Irish dairy industry to develop outlets for their products. What I also enjoy about the role is the sense of accomplishment it brings when a product concept is brought to life as a new product in the marketplace.
