Hey There!
I'm Gordon. I believe every amazing food or drink business starts with a good story. Thank you for spending some time to read mine now, and I look forward to learning about yours soon.
My Professional Background
With over 11 years of experience in product research & development across various categories in the food industry, I bring a wide range of knowledge and expertise to the table.
Throughout my career to date, I have held various roles within various B2C and B2B food manufacturing companies, honing my technical skills and multi-disciplinary collaboration skills; something that is integral to how I connect with wholesale suppliers, co-manufacturers, analytical testing labs, and brand creatives that I continuously work with day to day in this consulting business.
Alongside continuously building Plantify Food Consulting, I've embarked on an entrepreneurial journey (very similar to the one you're about to pursue) in 2022 as a Co-founder (Sales & Marketing) of Heartful Flavours, a startup dedicated to putting people's heart health first with healthy no added salt or sugar Asian meal base seasonings. Within this role I held until Dec 2024, I was intimately involved in understanding consumer needs, developing a strong brand identity, and developing "best-for-you" products to market, among many other things within the lean startup environment. This hands-on experience helped me enhance my consulting business to more intimately understand the challenges and opportunities facing startups and small food businesses today, particularly in the rapidly evolving health and functional food & drinks space.
Since Sep 2019, I've worked with over 50 different food and beverage clients, on a variety of projects in new product development and reformulation. Products I have worked on include: functional and electrolyte drink powders, protein bars, spreads, protein enriched drinks, snacks, nootropic drinks, breakfast granolas, frozen and chilled desserts, and many other product types.
My Formal Qualification
I hold a Bachelor of Science (Food Science and Technology) (Hons) from The University of New South Wales, Sydney.
How the Business Started
This technical consulting business stemmed from a lifelong dream to do good for the world by helping food and beverage startup brands build new products that prioritise convenience, health, and sustainability, with my expertise and extensive experience in product development across the packaged food and beverage industry. For too long, retailers have prioritised the big household brands, and more than ever before, consumers are instead choosing more switched-on, innovative challenger brands that actually make them feel heard.
