Scaling Chef Craft into Food Products with Kaylah Farina, Product Development Manager at Sigma US (#115)

Kaylah Farina is the Product Development Manager at Sigma US, where she leads innovation projects for Bar-S Foods Co. She develops a wide range of meat products for retail and foodservice, including high-protein snacks and bold new concepts like a chili cheese dog burrito, which she describes as a mess-free chili dog on the go. Before moving into product development, Kaylah trained and worked as a chef. That experience continues to shape how she approaches recipe formulation and testing. She is also Chair of the Cactus Section of the Institute of Food Technologists, where she supports collaboration and community across the industry. In this episode, we talk about how product developers take ideas from concept to commercialization, how to collaborate effectively with chefs, scientists, and business teams, and how relationship-building can be the key to solving production challenges. Kaylah also shares how her background in theater gave her a unique edge in her career, and why empathy and adaptability are essential skills in the food industry. Shownotes Kaylah Farina: LinkedIn Bar-S Foods: Website/ Instagram / YouTube / TikTok / Sigma US: Website *** NEXT EPISODE TO CHECK OUT  #101 – Matt Thell, Global Strategy & Innovation Leader at General Mills Inc *** SIGN UP FOR WEEKLY FOOD INDUSTRY CAREER TIPS → Sign up for the newsletter *** COOL THINGS TO CHECK OUT  Explore FoodGrads Career Guides (Ebooks)  Get Career Advice (Blog) *** CONNECT  Connect on Twitter  Connect on Instagram  Connect on LinkedIn  Connect on TikTok  Subscribe on YouTube *** SAY THANKS  Leave a review on Apple Podcasts  Leave a rating on Spotify