Freelancer profile translated to English.
Back to original languageAbout Mekkaoui
Most food industry projects don't die from a lack of ideas. They die between the lab and the production line — between what marketing promised and what production can deliver, between a margin that worked on Excel and an unforgiving industrial reality.
I've spent ten years operating in this friction zone, first in industry (Labeyrie, Saupiquet, Coca-Cola) and then directly supporting agri-food SMEs.
What I do in practice:
— Industrialization diagnosis: Clearly state whether a recipe can be produced on actual equipment, before any commitment.
— Reformulation and techno-economic optimization: Balance quality, stability, and raw material cost to achieve a finalized, industrializable formulation.
— Industrial transfer: Fine-tuning critical parameters (pH, emulsion, Brix, viscosity), pilot trials, reproducibility.
— Regulatory compliance and product stability (additives, allergens, expiry dates, microbiology) at every stage.
Recent projects: Complete overhaul of an industrial sauce range with a 56% reduction in raw material cost and formulation validated through customer tasting.
Available immediately for an audit, a one-off project, or long-term support. A 20-minute call is enough to determine if your project is feasible — and how.
French
Native or bilingual
Arabic
Native or bilingual
English
Conversational
Italian
Conversational
Can work on-site
Nîmes (up to 50km), Montpellier (up to 50km), Marseille (up to 50km), Toulouse (up to 50km), Paris (up to 50km)
Experience
- HEAVENFOODR&D Consultant / SupportAGRICULTUREFebruary 2025 - May 2026 (1 year and 3 months)Paris, FranceManaged the R&D and industrialization of a food sauce range (mayonnaise, ketchup, samurai, brava) for an agri-food SME — from existing audit to delivery of validated formulations and client-level technical dossiers. End-to-end responsibility: design, optimization, compliance, and transfer to production.Key achievements:
- Industrialization diagnosis: Critical audit of the inherited formulation and demonstration of its non-viability on the target production equipment, redirecting product strategy before any industrial commitment.
- Integral reformulation over 8+ tracked iterations, balancing sensory quality, emulsion stability, yield, and raw material cost — leading to a finalized formulation validated for customer tasting.
- Raw material cost optimization: Modeling of raw material cost across all production formats and quantified sourcing leverage of -56%, ensuring price competitiveness.
- Process mastery and industrial transfer: Definition of critical parameters per sauce (pH, emulsion, Brix, viscosity), pilot trials, and process fine-tuning for production reproducibility.
- Product preservation and stability: Multi-barrier system (preservatives + pH barrier), validation of shelf life through accelerated aging and microbiological testing in a COFRAC-accredited laboratory.
- Regulatory compliance: Mastery of additive levels (EC 1333/2008), flavorings (EC 1334/2008), allergens, and INCO labeling (EC 1169/2011) — a non-negotiable requirement at every stage.
- Supplier sourcing and negotiation: Material comparison, recommendation of documented alternatives in technical specifications, and continuous updating of the cost model.
- LABEYRIE FINE FOODSAll-Round Production Manager / Head of Production (Site Closure Context)AGRICULTUREJanuary 2020 - December 2021 (1 year and 11 months)Wisches, France
- Supervised two production lines (salmon filleting and packaging).
- Following the announcement of the permanent site closure during the Covid-19 pandemic, took over overall production responsibility for nearly 10 months.
- Managed industrial continuity until the last day: strict adherence to tonnage targets per line to meet customer commitments.
- Managed teams in a sensitive social context: maintained engagement, provided transparent communication, and supported employees.
- Actively participated in discussions with employee representatives (CSE) and management regarding closure negotiations.
- Coordinated between production, HR, quality, and management.
- Monitored quality, safety, continuous improvement, and operational priorities.
- LABEYRIE FINE FOODSFIRST TEAM LEADERAGRICULTURENovember 2018 - December 2019 (1 year and 1 month)Wisches, FranceManaged teams in an industrial food context.
- Assigned positions, managed schedules, and coordinated workflows
- Ensured quality, hygiene, safety standards, and procedures
- Monitored performance (productivity, materials, variances)
- Onboarded and developed new operators
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Education
- GREEN BELT LEAN MANUFACTURING CERTIFICATIONECAMCERTIFICATION GREEN BELT LEAN MANUFACTURING
- CERTIFICATE OF ENTREPRENEURSHIPUniversity of Brittany Occidentale2017CERTIFICAT DES ENTREPRENEURIALES
Skill set
Categories
- Other