Dr. Thomas Bickel Haase

Experienced food scientist blending engineering and nutrition expertise for 7+ years. Passionate about innovating food products, promoting healthy diets, and advancing sustainable food tech.

Freising, Bavaria, Germany

About

I am a results-driven food industry expert with over six years of experience in process engineering, nutrition, and product and ingredient development. I have managed large international projects, led multidisciplinary teams, and worked directly with customers to bring products from concept and NPD stages through to successful commercial scale-up. With experience across academic and industrial settings, I combine technical depth with a strong commercial mindset. I am committed to developing sustainable, consumer-focused food solutions, utilizing a practical, technology-enabled, and team-oriented work style to improve efficiency, productivity, and business outcomes.

Experience

  • Koralo (On-site)
    • Head of Product Development
      Mar 2026 - Present · 5 mos

    • Senior Product Developer
      May 2024 - Mar 2026 · 1 yr 11 mos

      Develop and scale innovative plant-based products, including dairy and meat alternatives, bakery goods, beverages, and meal replacement, using ingredients from the co-fermentation of microalgae and fungal mycelium. Lead the transfer of processes from lab to industrial scale across international teams, plan and execute sensory and consumer testing, implement SOPs for quality assurance, and provide technical support to customers integrating products into their processes and portfolios.

  • Fraunhofer Institute for Process Engineering and Packaging IVV (Full-time · 4 yrs 7 mos)
    • Scientific Researcher
      Mar 2023 - May 2024 · 1 yr 3 mos

      Led publicly funded R&D projects in plant-based proteins, coordinating international collaboration between research centers and industry partners. Managed budgets, designed and executed experiments at lab and pilot-plant scale in Germany and Brazil, and supervised multiple student research projects. Delivered data-driven insights to interdisciplinary teams, prepared scientific reports for funding agencies, and contributed to successful follow-up project proposals.

    • PhD candidate
      Nov 2019 - May 2024 · 4 yrs 7 mos

      Led a large project funded by the BMBF, driving the full valorization of cocoa by-products and coordinating collaboration across international academic, industrial, and public-sector partners. Planned and executed technical work packages, disseminated project results at global conferences and industry events, and supervised more than six thesis and internship projects. Additionally, contributed to multiple industrial and research initiatives focused on process development, sensory quality, and sustainable raw material utilization, including drafting follow-up project proposals.

  • Ayudante de laboratorio at Lehrstuhl für Lebensmittelverfahrenstechnik TUM
    Dec 2017 - Nov 2019 · 2 yrs