People

Janis Sinton

Founder & Director

Janis and her husband, Roger, founded TasteTech together in 1992 when Roger identified a niche in the food flavourings and ingredients market for microencapsulation technology. It became the foundation of a business plan which saw them build a successful company together until Roger’s sudden death in 2007 forced Janis to step in as the managing director.

Since then Janis has built upon her deep understanding of the business, with TasteTech continuing to grow at an impressive rate. To this day she is very involved with the day-to-day running of TasteTech, helping the team to create and deliver the best possible products for our customers.

When it comes to leisure time, Janis’ grandchildren are top of the list, but she also enjoys golf, walking and cycling. Janis is chair of her local hockey club, Clifton Robinsons, the ‘best in the west!’

Rob Sinton

Commercial Director

Rob joined his family business after university in 2007. Since then he has achieved a master’s degree from Bristol University in business change, strategy and leadership. Rob works very closely with his mother, Janis Sinton, on the day-to-day running of the business.

His role also includes overseeing the operational aspect of the customer journey, from point of order to delivery of the finished product. Rob invests a lot of his time focusing on an efficient supply chain – ensuring the production and QC departments have the correct raw materials, to the right specification and at the right price, to guarantee a continuous and smooth production flow.

Rob is a big fan of Italian food and enjoys spending time with family and friends. He is a keen runner and is always active.

Tessa Murphy

Head of People & Performance

Tessa joined TasteTech in 2019 after many years of working across the food industry specialising in change management and strategic thinking. She uses that knowledge to develop and drive TasteTech’s commercial strategic plan, ensuring growth and financial benefits are delivered.

She leads all people functions across the business, either directly or through team management. Tessa’s expertise benefits every corner of the business, across recruitment, strategy, culture, learning and development, change management, business growth, and employee relations.

Tessa is obsessed with food, travel, her family and her dog Ernie! She loves any food that’s cooked well and made with quality ingredients.

Dr Gary Gray

Head of Technical

Gary heads up the technical function at TasteTech and has a deep understanding of the possibilities for TasteTech encapsulation. He works directly with global customers to ensure our products meet their technical requirements.

He also focuses on current and developing legislation, specialising in food additive and food flavouring regulations so that he can guide the development of new products for customers.

The knowledge gained during his MSc and DPhil at York, which focused on oxidation, has proved invaluable in the flavouring and encapsulation industries.

Gary runs occasional half marathons for charity and enjoys Italian food and discovering new vegetarian recipes with his family.

David Payne

Head of Finance & Systems

As the TasteTech Financial Controller, David is responsible for the financial management of the business. He has 15 years’ experience working in SME manufacturing businesses developing internal financial teams and systems that improve the financial performance and helping deliver sustainable long-term growth.

His focus on the financial strength of the business enables us to take a long-term view on projects, working with customers to build partnerships that deliver value to all involved.

Outside of work David loves going for a walk, and his favourite food is roast beef.

Lee Shanahan

Supply Chain Manager

Lee has worked for TasteTech for many years, starting as a Confectionery Technologist and more recently as a Key Account Manager. Lee now manages our Supply Chain and Customer Service teams, to ensure the smooth operation of our daily business. He is committed to making sure our customers get the best from us.

He has extensive knowledge of TasteTech products and processes and continues to look for improvements in our operations during this period of growth in our business.

Lee is experienced in the application and production of our products across multiple industries and strives to set TasteTech apart in a competitive and challenging industry.

In his spare time, Lee plays tennis and padel. He is a huge fan of Major League Baseball and supports the Chicago Cubs. 

Rob McCarthy

Sales Support Manager

Rob manages a host of opportunities within the sales pipeline, providing support, advice and information to our customers and helping them work effectively with TasteTech products.

He supports customers to understand the full features and benefits of TasteTech products and technologies, allowing them to create innovative new products or solve problems within current manufacturing processes.

Rob loves spending time with his young daughter and is a big sports fan, supporting Bristol Rovers and the San Francisco 49’s (to varying degrees of success). Rob enjoys most food and likes trying new cuisines. However, his absolute favourite is a bowl of very hot and spicy Mexican chili.

Lynne Sinton

Key Account Manager

Lynne has a Bachelor of Science degree in Food Business (UCC Ireland) and has worked in the food and drink industry for the past 14 years. Her roles have included food regulations, brand and category management, and product management.

At TasteTech she builds technical partnerships with our customers to solve their manufacturing issues by offering a solution from our extensive range of encapsulates, or through creating a brand-new bespoke ingredient.

Lynne loves to travel, cook and play tennis. Her favourite cuisines are Italian and Spanish, although the best food she has ever eaten was in Cape Town!

Joan Mestres

Business Development Manager

Alongside a degree in Biochemistry and an MBA , Joan has over 25 years of experience in the chewing gum industry. Before joining TasteTech he worked in both technical and commercial roles at leading companies in the field of ingredients, flavours, raw materials and machinery.

Joan has visited over 100 chewing gum companies worldwide, advising on new product development as well as technical and production issues. Joan uses his vast industry knowledge to advise customers on the perfect TasteTech product, as well as application formulation, production process and market trends.

Outside of work Joan is a certified Advanced PADI Scuba diver and has dived in more than 25 locations worldwide. He enjoys travel, especially off the beaten path and loves Japanese food and culture.

Mark Smith

NPD Manager

Mark has been a food technologist for 25 years, and works to provide flavour, ingredients and process-based solutions to our customers globally.

At TasteTech he ensures the NPD team is an effective extension of our customers’ NPD processes, helping them to develop fantastic tasting and consistent finished products.

He supports our customers right through the NPD process from product formulation to processing parameters, food legislation to flavour creation.

He likes most food and is particularly fond of BBQ’d Souvlaki lamb skewers. Outside of work he spends lots of time with his family. He is a keen swimmer, however, his real love is motorcycling, and he has a Suzuki GSXR-1000.

Simon Phillips

Senior Flavourist

Simon has been obsessed with food his whole working life. After working in restaurants, he decided to expand his technical knowledge of food at university (Food Science and Technology BSc at Cardiff Metropolitan University), and after graduating with an interest in functional food ingredients, joined TasteTech as a food technologist.

He works within the flavour development team, where he uses a wide variety of raw materials to enhance our customers’ products with a range of exciting flavour profiles, in a format to suit the product. Simon works closely with our customers to develop flavourings which meet the high expectations of the consumer, whilst also meeting the technical requirements of the manufacturer.

Simon loves cooking, trying new foods and collecting kitchen gadgets. Between meals, Simon occasionally goes to the gym and does a little weight-lifting.

Paul Sellars

Flavourist

Paul’s role at TasteTech is in the creation of innovative flavours. He works closely with customers to develop a deep understanding of the flavour requirements of their products. Paul then compounds the different chemicals that make up flavourings to suit each customer’s brief.

Paul considers himself a bit of a foodie, but if pushed he would have to choose a rib-eye steak with all the trimmings. He loves spending time at his caravan in East Devon where he enjoys kayaking, paddle boarding and fishing.