Heritage Meets Modern in Premium Food

Q1. Could you start by giving us a brief overview of your professional background, particularly focusing on your expertise in the industry?

I have more than 15 years of experience in brand management, business transformation, and food innovation, including ten years at Nestlé across Angola, Kenya, South Africa, and the UAE.

I began in brand management with MAGGI, where I learned the fundamentals of building a food business—understanding consumers, managing a P&L, setting prices and turning strategy into execution. I later moved into innovation and transformation roles, building an innovation PMO for East and Southern Africa, advising the regional CEO on portfolio strategy, and leading the centralization of innovation delivery across 19 MENA markets.

Today, I am Director of Innovation at Bateel, focused on premium food and bringing new relevance to a strong heritage brand. Much of my work involves deciding where to invest, building the right products, and helping teams move from ideas to commercially successful launches.

Q2. What is one consumer signal you would watch today that most food companies are still underestimating—and why could it matter commercially?

I would watch the shift towards smaller, more intentional moments of indulgence.

Consumers are not necessarily abandoning premium food, but …