Robert H. Spiegel
Graduate engineer in food technology, MBA from ESCP Paris. In the food and ingredients industry since 1995, across production, process engineering, product development and international B2B sales.
In 1995 I was selling soluble wheat protein to sausage manufacturers at Tate & Lyle. Plant protein is not a trend I discovered in 2019; it has been the subject of my entire working life.
Career
Industry and machinery
Positions including Amylum/Tate & Lyle, Intersnack and leading machinery manufacturers. This is where the dual perspective that shapes my work comes from: the food manufacturer's view of the product and the equipment supplier's view of the process.
Viridi Foods, 2016 to 2023
Founder and managing director. Built and operated a plant for dry fractionation and air classification, designed for 5,000 tonnes per year. Protein concentrates at 45 to 65 percent protein content and starch fractions, from the first raw material contact through to delivery.
Spiegel Technology Consult, since 2024
Independent consulting for food manufacturers, ingredient producers, equipment suppliers and investors across German-speaking and wider European markets.
Key areas
Plant proteins and starches · Side streams and their valorisation · Dry fractionation and air classification · Extrusion · Milling · Drying and moisture control · Sensory and debittering · Scale-up and industrialisation · Market studies and market entry · Due diligence · B2B sales in the ingredients business
Publications
Technical article: Sensory quality that convinces – improving the taste of protein and starch concentrates from legumes