Wim
From drinkable breakfast cereals and frozen vegetables to soft drinks and cheese in a squeeze-bottle, Wim Blom has helped develop a wide range of food products. Wim has worked with several Dutch food product companies since 1988, including Quaker Oats, Honig Merkartikelen, HAK, Leerdammer Company, Iglo and Heemskerk Fresh Convenience. He is currently a project manager with Vrumona, a Heineken subsidiary that produces soft drinks and sparkling waters – though he will be moving on later this year. In recent years, Wim has worked as an independent contractor, and is growing accustomed to the risks and rewards of living without a “normal steady job.” In his spare time, Wim is also developing innovative products in fields other than food. Wim, 53, lives in Warmond with his wife and two children.
Since early 2016, Wim has been a project leader with Vrumona, a producer of water and soft drinks for such brands as Sourcy, Royal Club, SiSi and Rivella. “I’m responsible for development of the products. Primarily to make sure that the recipes are developed, and that the products are right, and the information and specifications around this. He is responsible for recipe, packaging, process and other aspects of the physical product. “So that’s one main responsibility. And another one is to … improve the way of working in project mode.”
The making of a food scientist. “I studied human nutrition and food technology, at Wageningen University. I got my master’s degree there … I have an education both in consumer behavior and physiology. So what it does with your body. But also with food technology. How it works in the product itself, and also how it is produced.”
“We always work in teams with a set of people, and I’m in the middle of it.” At Vrumona, the marketing department comes up with concepts and decides “where the [trends] are regarding flavors. Or if there’s an extra variant necessary. Or if consumers need another variant: should it be still or sparkling, or should it be brand X or brand Y. And then my role is to make a briefing.”
“Regarding soft drinks, we work closely together with the flavor houses who … supply the flavors which we add to the water. So they often are big companies … and they do all the research regarding flavors, flavor types, what are preferences. So based on the briefing which I make, together with the marketeers, they do proposals … And then we make a pre-selection. And then they make samples which we will evaluate. And then we will just taste them in a small committee. And then we do some other selection. In the end, we often ask several flavor houses to respond to the briefing. It ends up with a consumer test. A test is happening today for some new flavors. So based on these results we make a decision. OK, are they good enough, and which ones are the best to introduce.”
“Two or three times [per year] we do new [product] introductions, mostly in spring and in autumn. He says can’t tell us what the next flavor will be (laughs). “I can tell you we are working on still water with flavors … Soft drinks have a high sugar content, so there’s a pressure to reduce it. And waters and flavored waters are really growing fast because it’s really a need, and it’s better for your health. So that’s really a growth market now.”
After the flavor of a new product has been decided, “then my job is also to implement it. So then it’s about, OK, is the shelf life good? Can we process it in our factory? So more the technological things that are needed. And also food safety. For the quality, stability, the shelf life, what needs to be done. So that’s also an important part of my job.”
As a project leader, Wim oversees all aspects of the physical product. “For some things, you have specialists. To see if it needs, for instance, mixing equipment for some flavors … then a process technologist will work on that. And [my role is] to find out, OK, what’s necessary to finalize things and what needs to be done? And also to see if it’s legally allowed. What text needs to be put on the label. So from start to end I’m involved.”
Before coming to Vrumona, Wim “worked for several companies, mostly A-brand companies. Like Quaker Oats, Leerdammer cheese, Iglo. In several different product groups. So I’ve developed [many] products. For instance, in cereals … the first drinkable breakfast.” Wim was lead developer of Wake Up!, a drinkable breakfast made by Brinta, a division of Honig Merkartikelen, which won the “Good Food of the Year” award in the early 1990s. “Wake Up! is a dry product to which you can add some milk. You can simply stir it and you can drink it. So it was one of the first drinkable breakfasts … I was really involved from the idea until the implementation. It took six years, so quite a long time (laughs). But it was around the start of the ‘90s and it’s still on the market. So that’s really satisfying, that it’s still a successful product. Because many innovations they come and they go … most of them don’t survive.”
“I’m interested in [projects] which combine people and some exact science. So food is really on the brink of it. It always involves people. That’s the end consumer … And I like science. So I think it’s ideal field.” In his work, Wim is most interested in practical applications of science. “I’m really focused on application. I’m less interested in fundamental science. I like to go to results and then see the results. And it should involve people.”
What he finds most rewarding about his work: “In general, I think I like it when there are choices that have to be made. And information is needed to make the right choice. So to collect the information, and to propose the pros and cons, and we need to make a decision. And then to proceed. So for me that’s the interesting part. It always involves different aspects. Different people that you need to consult or get aligned. That’s always interesting.”
Working as part of a project team “is the perfect environment for this kind of thing … because however experienced you are, whenever you go to a specialist or someone who really needs to do the job, it’s always surprising. You can’t predict which details are necessary. The input from different people always makes it different. That’s really the interesting part.” He also feels a sense of satisfaction when he sees a concept end up on a supermarket shelf. “That’s a gratifying thing, yes.”
Changes he’s witnessed in his industry: “Many things [have remained] the same. Regarding what needs to be done. I think what maybe has changed is the speed … It needs to go faster and faster … from idea to implementation. There’s really a need to speed up or have more innovations … it’s a business necessity. To grow, you need to satisfy the clients. The retailers are our first customers and then the consumers … you see that if you are innovative, then you are a preferred supplier. And you get [your product] on the shelves. So there’s a necessity there.”
Until 2013, Wim always had “normal” terms of employment, but since he’s mostly worked as an independent contractor. At Vrumona, “I started off as an independent professional. I was hired to fill in the gap, to do the development. And now I have [an interim] contract there.” Wim’s decision to take a job depends on the content of the job, not on whether it’s an interim or permanent contract. So he's flexible regarding the type of contract, but not on the content. “Sooner or later [working on the same product line] gets less interesting to me. Or my fit with the company is less. So then I move on to another job. You see that in recent years it’s easier to part from both sides … there’s less of a difference between a regular contract and hiring someone.”
“You see that’s it done more often. A long time ago it was more confidential, or it was not [common for companies to hire people] for development. I think that’s changed in recent years. It’s easier to hire independent people to do innovations.”
“You have the choice to either stick with a company and [make] concessions regarding what you want to get out of a job … I’m more the radical type, so I really push to get things done like I think they should be done. And if it’s not [happening] then I like to move on.”
“At one moment I decided it’s better to move on [and] try working as an independent professional. And I found it’s relatively easy to do it like that. Although it gives, of course, uncertainty … But you need to take a bit of a chance or have some confidence [that] in the end you will” be successful.
To be independent, one needs to be comfortable with a certain amount of insecurity. “Yes, that’s true. But then again it’s really something you need to get used to. But I think [this is true] not only for independent people, but also for employees. You should not be comfortable or sit back and think ‘I just will fill my time until the pension.’ Or at least I’m not that kind of guy.”
Does the Netherlands have a rising entrepreneurial culture?: “Where I work there are a lot of striving people who are really motivated to … really make changes. That’s the aim, that they make a difference. But in every company there are also a lot of people who are satisfied with where they are, and they are very happy if nothing changes. I think there are more people who are happy when things continue … I think it’s human nature. People are always hesitant if things change. Beforehand they don’t like it.”
To what extent is innovation driven by money?: “That’s not a big issue here I think. It’s something which comes along. I think people really want results, and want to see things done. That’s for one group who are more the leaders. It’s most important that they make achievements and money is secondary … But also there’s [a growing number of] people [for whom] the work-private balance is also important. And you see it throughout all levels. You see slowly more and more that people take a day off … and that you can also combine it with a good job.”
Work/life balance: “I work long hours, but I do it consciously. I also take time for my private life. So I have kind of a balance which I’m content with.” Wim typically works four days a week in the Vrumona office, located in Bunnik, and spends one day per week at home in Warmond. “On my free day I often do work. But, yeah, in the end I’m happy as it is. I really regard it as a bonus when I have the extra day off … But management is also open [to flexible work schedules].”
Wim would like more time to develop innovative products in areas other than food. “I already have some ideas for innovation … for which I’d like to get the intellectual property and sell to companies. So that’s a thing which I intend to do on my free days or in between jobs, and which I don’t have much time for now.”
Wim believes “things you use in the house and around the house” are ripe for innovation. “It’s more industrial design … if you have a bit of a dull area where there’s not much innovation, I’m certain you can come up with … really good ideas. And especially very simple ideas which are already used in different areas, and which you just move to another area … An innovation in one field can be something already known in another one. So it’s about the combination of things. I aim for really simple innovations.”
As a tinkerer, Wim often sees common household objects that can be improved. “Yeah, that’s really one of my things. I always want to do things differently or more easily. Or find solutions if they’re not there. So if I can’t buy or find the thing which I have a need for, I just make it myself.”
More information about Wim Blom is available at www.innovatorblom.com.
