THE fictional story of Charlie Bucket has sparked the curiosity of generations of children, introducing them to a chocolate factory that\u2019s a \u2018world of pure imagination.\u2019<\/p>\n
While the Mars Wrigley\u2019s manufacturing facility in Ballarat doesn\u2019t employ any Oompa Loompas, it does have a large staff of local people including Salil Tipre, a senior scientist in product development.<\/p>\n
In this real chocolate factory in 2022, which makes Mars, Milky Way and Snickers bars amongst many other sweet treats, Mr Tipre said imagination continues to be a big part of his daily job bringing \u201cnew product ideas to life.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAs a scientist, my role is to provide technical leadership for new product development to ensure we can continue to innovate products locally that meet the demands of our consumers,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cA typical day involves uncovering insights to inspire the development of new recipes and prototypes which are then brought to market.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m very fortunate to work with a very talented cross-functional team, with associates working across research and development, commercial, engineering, and supply departments.\u201d<\/p>\n
But Mr Tipre\u2019s favourite bit about working at the factory is getting to create brand-new and innovative treats that chocolate-lovers across Australia and the broader Asian region can tuck in to.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe most enjoyable aspect of my job is getting to work on developing new and exciting flavour combinations.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe all know how exciting it is to try a delicious new product for the first time, and I love that I\u2019m able to bring this experience to life for so many Australians, all from our factory in Ballarat,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m incredibly appreciative that I get to work with such a talented and driven group of associates and in a business that empowers us to continue pushing boundaries and creating innovative new products.\u201d<\/p>\n
Speaking of innovation, Mr Tipre and his team at the Ballarat factory have recently led the development of a sweet and salty product for the Asian region that might just make cinema goers smile.<\/p>\n
\u201cThrough our research and listening to our consumers, we identified that Aussies love mixing Maltesers and popcorn at the movies for the ultimate screen-time snack.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe embarked on making that movie experience more captivating, accessible, and convenient. We started by forming a project team at our Ballarat factory, first to develop the perfect popcorn flavour that matches well with our Maltesers.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mr Tipre said achieving the perfect taste and aroma balance of popcorn, chocolate and malt was tricky, but an undeniably joyful and delicious project.<\/p>\n
\u201cGetting the right popcorn flavour profile and at the correct intensity was technically challenging.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur Ballarat associates spent considerable time taste-testing a number of different iterations, which was quite a fun job, and provided robust feedback on likes and dislikes,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a particularly rewarding experience knowing that we are driving this innovation right from our regional Ballarat factory.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
THE fictional story of Charlie Bucket has sparked the curiosity of generations of children, introducing them to a chocolate factory that\u2019s a \u2018world of pure imagination.\u2019 While the Mars Wrigley\u2019s manufacturing facility in Ballarat doesn\u2019t employ any Oompa Loompas, it does have a large staff of local people including Salil Tipre, a senior scientist in […]<\/p>\n