Kim Sparks

Kim Sparks is a Food Technologist with over ten years’ experience in the Fast-Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) industry. She is currently the Quality Manager at the artisan Adelaide Hills cheese producer, Udder Delights Australia, where she ensures the company’s products meet quality standards and customer expectations. She takes pride in having worked with iconic brands that feature in many people’s fridges and pantries.

Kim says, “It’s a great feeling when you tell someone where you work, and their first response is ‘I love your products!’"

Some of the products that Kim has helped get onto supermarket shelves and into our kitchens include new Tim Tam varieties, San Remo Vegan Ravioli and Udder Delights Smoked Flavoured Brie. She also helped to transition the manufacturing location of products including Wagon Wheels and Dare Iced Coffee, previously made interstate, over to South Australian manufacture sites. 

“A part of the excitement is working through the journey with the team and bringing it to life,” she says.

While relocating an entire manufacturing operation sounds like a ‘big picture’ job, detail is the most important factor when it comes to brands we know and love. Kim was involved in daily sensory meetings during the South Australian Wagon Wheel commissioning, carefully comparing the new product made in SA with its original, to ensure that there was no significant difference. This included everything from counting the number of ripples on the top of each wheel to monitoring how the texture of the product changed in the weeks after production.

Testing Wagon Wheels is only the beginning when it comes to sweets – Kim has been in no shortage of sugary situations during her career. She has been up to her elbows in chocolate when helping to feed a new wire conveyor through a chocolate enrober, and was once sprayed head-to-toe with marshmallow syrup after a pump failed during a Milk Royals production run.

Of her less sticky jobs, Kim is most proud to have been on the judging panel for the SA Dairy Awards in 2024, and be part of an industry reference panel that helped develop online training modules for use in the dairy industry. Kim’s team at Udder Delights was awarded the ‘Most Outstanding Dairy Product’ at the SA Dairy Awards in 2023, the same year she coached and led  the team in their win of the 2023 Dairysafe Food Safety Culture Award for ‘Most Exceptional Food Safety Journey’.  

Although she has been extremely successful, Kim was never firmly decided about what career she wanted to pursue after high school. Her career goals quickly changed from wanting to work in hospitality to aiming for a career in medicine. She switched her university preferences at least three times before settling on Forensic Chemistry.

Her decision to transfer degrees came during the first few weeks of university, when an analytical chemist spoke about determining pesticide residue levels in juice.

“I was blown away by how technical the food industry could be, and immediately started taking steps to transfer to a Food Science degree.”

Kim’s experience in Food Science program was varied, as her classes moved back and forth between University of Adelaide’s many campuses, including Waite and Roseworthy, and she learnt a wide range of skills. “Learning the ins and outs of communications, including the development of project plans and reports, was a skill I continue to use to this day,” she recalls.

Whilst this shift back into food was somewhat unexpected, Kim had always had an interest in food and cooking from a young age, working in a local country pub on weekends and watching the cook throw amazing meals together.

This interest was crucial – during her three-year degree Kim and her cohort made many different products including bread, beer, wine, confectionery, smoked meats and cheesecakes, to better understand the food manufacturing process.

Kim says that if you are looking for a varied career in food, with the ability to move into several different pathways, then food science and food manufacturing might be a perfect fit.

“Over my career to date, I have worked in several different departments including Quality Assurance/ Technical, Operations, Continuous Improvement and Planning / Scheduling. Food manufacturing is fast paced, and projects and challenges are constantly changing, and it’s the opportunity to work with well-known products and brands.”

 Recently, Kim has even done several customer-facing events with Udder Delights, and has enjoyed the chance to speak directly with people about their favourite products… and sometimes even help them try something new.

“It’s a great feeling when someone tells you they don’t like blue cheese, only to buy a wedge from you after you’ve taken them through a tasting.”