Each month, we put the spotlight on a Tirlán Ireland employee and for our September newsletter, we spoke to Kathrin Pasold

German-born Regional Sales Manager for EU, Kathrin Pasold, never tasted cheddar cheese before she began working with Tirlán in April 2018. She was head-hunted from a private label sports nutrition company to fill the expanding role, which sees her work from her base in Northern Germany and cover a territory spanning Germany, Austria, Netherlands, Belgium, Scandinavia and Eastern Europe.

“I am across all Tirlán products – cheese, butter, everything. Protein enriched foods in particular are a huge growth area and since I joined, it’s fantastic to watch this market growing and to contribute with our high-quality raw materials. This trend is expected to last as consumers pay more attention to their diets and I hope we’ll extend our range of Whey Protein Concentrate and Isolates in the near future to grow our market share and return value for our farmer owners.

“This is a very busy role, but I absolutely love it. I work in a very motivated team. We look after a wide range of customers, just to name a few: producers of the McDonalds cheese slices, cheese formatters that slice or grate our premium-coloured cheddar for the food service and retail markets all over Europe, blending specialists that service yoghurt and Ready-to-Drink producers for high protein products you’ll find in nearly all supermarkets, producers of protein bars or ready to mix CPG (consumer packaged goods), ice-cream and also the chocolate industry. No two days are the same and it’s not a 9 to 5 job. I wouldn’t have it any other way.

“The change to Tirlán didn’t impact me as much from a customer viewpoint. They knew they would be getting the same high-quality product and service and that was really their focus.

“I’m very happy in my role. The best part is working with so many different types of people from different regions of the globe. It is great to be out and about again, meeting people and having face to face conversations. I really missed that part of the work. The most challenging part sometimes is our pace and inflexibility when it comes to customer requests. But I am convinced we’ll improve continuously.”

Kathrin lives in a farmhouse which is over a century old and renovating it has been a major project. She is immersed in nature and to unwind, she loves tending to her chickens and cats, photographing nature and packing the car and heading to the North Sea which is only an hour away.

“This job is great and offers so much variety. I am a cheese lover, but never tasted cheddar before I began here. As a consumer, it’s great to understand a bit more how it’s made and the important job our farmers do every day to deliver good quality milk. I like that we sell our ingredients to so many industries. When you go to a supermarket, it’s amazing to spot the final products on the shelves and from time to time, remember the bumpy road of getting there.

“The German and Irish people are different in some ways but very alike in others. When I come over on my own or with customers, we are always made feel welcome and included. Tirlán is truly a global company and our understanding of different cultures, different markets and different ways of doing things is what makes us special, makes us stand out and will future-proof what we do for a long time to come.”