Cornwall's Crantock Bakery have expanded their New Product Development team following a surge in demand for their products. Food & Nutrition graduate Alex Batty joins the Indian Queens firm in the newly-created role of New Product Development (NPD) Technician. The move follows the appointment last year of NPD Manager Becky Hornabrook, who was brought in to expand the company's award-winning range of Cornish pasties and and bake-off products.

Crantock Bakery's Operations Director Matthew Hurry said: 'We spend a lot of time working on developing specific products for our clients - often to highly demanding specifications - and our NPD team allows us to continue with this as well as adding new lines to our range for consumers.' Becky's work has been so successful that we realised she needed some support, so we're delighted to welcome Alex Batty who will bring valuable depth of experience to the team. In particular, Alex's experience in maintaining high standards of quality assurance will be the perfect support for Becky. Alex's first task is to review the entire Crantock Bakery product range, which includes over 30 different varieties of pasty, from their best-selling traditional steak pasty to spicy chicken, halal and vegetarian options.

The company also produce over 30 types of sausage rolls, slices, turnovers, scones and hand-raised pies. Alex, who previously worked as a Food Technologist for a company supplying Tesco and Waitrose, will be refining recipes to improve flavour and ensure the most efficient usage of ingredients.She will also be working on her own projects, including the continuation of Crantock Bakery's policy to reduce levels of salt and saturated fat in line with Government targets.

NPD Manager Becky Hornabrook said: 'At Crantock Bakery there is a culture of being at the forefront of offering new concepts and ideas for our customers. Some of the ideas are quite innovative, but we spend a lot of time refining our recipes and getting them right to put them out there in front of our customers.'