In November of 2022, David Lloyd was the proud recipient of the IFST sponsored Scientist Of The Year at the FDF awards. Here he tells us about his career journey in the food industry and provides some valuable tips and observations for anyone looking to make a success in the sector.
We congratulate David Lloyd on his award and look forward to hearing more about his future successes. David is a member of IFST.
Background 
I am currently responsible for leading Huel’s Research & Development (R&D) efforts using science and technology.
Huel is one of the fastest-growing food businesses in the UK, making nutritionally-complete, convenient, affordable products with a philosophy that embraces minimal impact on animals or the environment.
Prior to the 3.5 years to this point spent working for Huel, I spent 5 years working for Unilever in their R&D team primarily on ice cream but also ready-to-drink iced tea innovation.
By academic background, I studied Chemical Engineering at Loughborough University followed by obtaining an Engineering Doctorate (EngD) in Formulation Engineering from the University of Birmingham. My doctorate involved working with food emulsions and other colloidal systems which play an important role in many food products.
Explain your work in a few sentences?
The role is a broad mixture of activities from devising the future direction of R&D to generating scientific ideas to help solve difficult product challenges. It involves a lot of external collaboration with businesses and academics to explore new ways to make Huel products even better or drive cost saving. R&D is extremely powerful for helping businesses stay ahead of the competition and I feel privileged to help steer such a fast growing and successful business into the future.
How did you get to where you are today working in the food industry?
Entering the food industry entirely was for me an interesting cocktail of luck, timing, enjoyment of cooking and the skills picked up on the way. Chemical engineers don’t often end up in the food industry but with my EngD at Birmingham, I had a lot of exposure to different companies like Unilever, Cargill, Nestle and Mondelez. My supervisors Ian Norton and Fotis Spyropoulos certainly played a role in building my interest of food processing and microstructural development which impact food quality significantly.
At school or during my undergraduate degree, I hadn’t necessarily thought about working in the food industry primarily as I wasn’t aware of the huge variety of jobs within it. However, it is a fantastic place to be especially now with so many exciting developments like plant based meals, zero alcohol beverages, non-thermal technologies, new ingredients by precision fermentation and more! There’s a multitude of start ups who will be the companies of the future to work for so it’s exciting to be a part of that.
Overall, my career within the food industry has been shaped by receiving really good advice from a number of managers over the years, as well as my appetite for a challenge and taking a risk in order to learn and experience something new.
Tell us what lessons you’ve learnt in your pathway.
The main lesson I’ve learned is to keep challenging and pushing yourself. If you’ve reached a point where you are no longer feeling stretched (and therefore not learning or developing), it is potentially time to move on to something else. The broader the range of experiences you have whether that be different environments like a large multinational or a small start-up, or different product categories, it helps to see new perspectives and keeps things interesting. Finding a company whose values will truly believe in is also really critical to help maintain your motivation.
Another lesson is if you must raise a problem for discussion, it is equally if not more important to also be armed with some solutions and outcomes where possible. People will appreciate it even if the situation is dire because you’ve offered a way forward.
Lastly, I’ve learned to not take work too seriously all the time, as whilst there’s a time and a place for being serious, work can be fun too and you should try to enjoy it as much as possible.
Given your background in engineering, how does it feel to have been recognised as a scientist at the FDF awards?
It was a great honour to be recognised for my scientific contribution to the food industry and many thanks to the IFST for sponsoring the award. There is an overlap between science and engineering so it can be difficult to draw a line between them. Food products and whether customers like or will buy them depends on the combination of ingredients and processes used with both equally important. Being able to switch between what will happen within a food product at a microstructural level versus how it can be manufactured consistently and efficiently is helpful. A lot of engineers are very proud to be engineers and likewise for scientists but for me it is not so black and white. A younger me would say engineer though!
What challenges have you faced in your career?
As with any career, there will always be challenges but fortunately to date nothing has been insurmountable. Often it is in your own hands to overcome anything that may be causing an issue by changing approach or taking a new direction to go around the problem (or through it).
R&D by its nature is always tackling difficult challenges so often projects can fail but if 100% of your projects are successful, you’re not pushing the boundaries of science and innovation. You have to be willing to try new things which if can be landed, can have a big impact to the business.
On a personal level, you will never be completely in agreement with your colleagues and certainly I’ve had debates and discussions which have been challenging. It’s important to listen and be respectful of other views but at the same time, don’t let it drag you down. People can see the same thing in very different ways.
What advice do you have for anyone aiming for a position of leadership or an expert in their field?
I think there’s always room to learn and broaden your knowledge. It’s rare for anyone to be a complete expert in anything so it’s important to listen and read around where possible to build a wider perspective. Experts also need to also be able to communicate ideas to different levels of depth depending on the audience otherwise the knowledge won’t be passed on. Confusing people with complicated ideas and language will switch people off rather than on.
In terms of leadership, one of the most important things is to try and lead by example and set the standard. Being willing to muck in and support others I have always admired as a leadership quality, and it is something I try to follow. It’s important to maintain dialogue and be approachable as discussing matters openly and honestly can often drive resolution. Lastly, to present a clear vision or purpose that people will find intrinsically motivating. When people are motivated by the why, they will go above and beyond to deliver.