Marloes has been passionate about food-related topics since childhood and always knew that she wanted to work in this field. After graduating with a Bachelor’s degree in Health, Nutrition and Dietetics, she completed a Master’s degree in Health-Food Innovation Management at the University of Maastricht. As part of her degree, she founded a project aimed at improving fiber consumption in the Netherlands by creating food products with health claims such as reducing cholesterol: “I liked the project so much that I decided to carry it on after my studies by creating Oatelli, my own company“. She worked there for almost two years while joining Joannusmolen, a baby food company, developing new products. “After the first two years of running my own company, I realized how important working in a team was to me. I also wanted to gain more experience in a bigger company, broaden my knowledge and skills. So I left to seek new challenges“. Marloes joined the Ÿnsect group in August 2020 following an exchange with Tom, the Managing Director of the Dutch branch of the group. “I got in touch with him on LinkedIn. He was looking for a Product Manager and I was looking for a new challenge. I didn’t know anything about insects, but when I looked into the company, I knew I wanted to be part of it!”
Marloes has several responsibilities: “I’m a Product Manager, but I also work with R&D on the development of new products, as well as with sales. I’m the link between the technical departments and the sales people“. By joining the group, Marloes is fulfilling a childhood dream: “It was important to me to work in a purposeful, health-focused field, but above all, to work on taste! Ÿnsect combines all three!” For her, the versatility and adaptability of her position – aligned with the company’s values – necessitates being very flexible: “ You have to be able to change your state of mind, to react according to what is happening and above all, to accept that everything does not go as planned sometimes: you can be working on a certain topic one day, and the next day, everything is completely different“. This constant hustle and bustle, the interaction with different departments and constant innovation are the things Marloes likes most about her daily life at Ÿnsect . “In the Netherlands, we have an expression that describes multitaskers as millipedes. I would describe myself as one“.
It’s no surprise that her best memory since joining the group is the development of one of its flagship products: “Developing the burger is really a memory I’ll cherish for a long time. I loved developing the idea, the multiple very serious and critical tastings with the teams, exchanging ideas and suggestions with them, but also participating in the presentation of the product to customers. In fact, today, when I make burgers, it is not unusual for me to use our own ingredients! It’s a very special feeling to consume products that you have developed yourself“.
