Deli Star Corporation, an industry leader in protein manufacturing, announced it has hired Michelle Claravall as its director of research and development. In this role, Claravall will lead operational aspects of the company’s Culinary Innovation Team, working alongside Deli Star’s chefs, culinologists and food scientists. She will help to drive Deli Star’s product development process and innovative culture of food science and culinary collaboration. She will split her time between the company’s current St. Louis Innovation Center location and its Fayetteville, Illinois, plant until the opening of Deli Star’s Food Discovery Center in City Foundry St. Louis in early 2021.
Claravall is a 20-plus-year food industry veteran with experience in product development, culinary collaboration, team-member development and supplier management for a variety of foodservice companies including McDonald’s, Kraft Heinz, Yum! Restaurants International, Vlasic Foods International and Campbell Soup Company. She comes to Deli Star from Panera Bread, where she served as new-product-introductions director, operation services. In that role she led food field-testing commercialization efforts to optimize execution of product preparation and speed of service, collaborating with culinary, marketing and supply-chain peer leaders to revive and relaunch that company’s product-innovation model.