Romina Bardales

- Lead and support the technical development of new and existing beverage products, taking projects from concept and formulation through to scale-up, launch and post-launch activity.

- Develop and optimise beverage formulations, applying expertise in flavour, sensory evaluation and raw material functionality to deliver products that meet consumer expectations, brand positioning and technical requirements.

- Lead competitor benchmarking and sensory evaluations to assess product differences, validate prototypes and inform product matching and quality decisions.

- Plan, coordinate and evaluate laboratory, gold-standard and factory trials, using sensory assessment and technical evaluation. Successfully coordinated five factory trials and supported manufacturing scale-up.

- Manage and review product and raw material specifications and technical documentation using AG Barr's R&D systems, developing proficiency in Hamilton Grant and recipe and raw material management processes.

- Work cross-functionally with R&D, Quality, Procurement, Marketing, Innovation, suppliers and manufacturing teams to deliver projects, align technical requirements and communicate complex information effectively across internal and external stakeholders.

- Contribute to strategic innovation projects, including Project Boat and Submarine, exploring alternative technologies to replicate FUNKIN's characteristic nitro experience while identifying significant cost-saving opportunities.

- Executed recruitment strategies that increased candidate pipelines and improved the quality and retention of new hires.

- Managed full life-cycle recruiting processes, including application and interview form completion, negotiation for offers of employment, background checks, reference checks, and new hire packs.

- Utilised diverse channels of digital and social media for recruitment.

- Created flavour systems using essential oils, plant extracts and aroma chemicals.

- Developed flavours across beverages, alcohol, dairy, protein, confectionery and savoury applications.

- Developed flavours for major brands including RXBAR, Clif Bar, Califia and International Delight.

- Led flavour creation, formula reformulation and cost optimisation for commercial products.

- Developed regulatory-compliant flavours across Natural, Artificial, N&A, WONF, Type, Halal, Kosher and Organic categories.

- Delivered flavour duplications and cost reductions while maintaining quality and production feasibility.

- Supported flavour trials and evaluated post-production results to ensure product performance.

- Managed technical documentation and supported customer and supplier enquiries, feedback, and complaints.

- Developed frozen yoghurt flavours from concept to launch.

- Led formula redevelopment and cost optimisation while maintaining quality.

- Translated bench-top formulations into full-scale production through factory trials.

- Collaborated with QC to approve first-time production.

- Collaborated with Marketing, Sales, Procurement and Production on product launches.

- Provided R&D support for customer enquiries and complaints.