Modern RDQ Isn't About Buzzwords, It's About Better Decisions

Monday, April 6, 2026

In this blog, Jean-Maurice shares his journey from the bread industry into LU Soft Cake R&D and then into Mondelēz RDQ (Research, Development & Quality) in Bournville. He talks about the mindset and culture of modern RDQ, how teams work closely with consumers and cross functional partners, and why RDQ at Mondelēz is such a powerful space for curious people who want to grow and make a real impact.

Tell us something about yourself and your journey at Mondelēz International.

I joined Mondelēz International in 2009 as a baker in LU Soft Cake R&D. Moving from a technically focused B2B role in the bread industry, I began my consumer journey at LU, taking on projects that grew from simple line extensions to breakthrough innovations like the Brownie range and Petit LU Moelleux.

After six years in MEU Baking category, my family and I relocated to Bournville, UK, for what was meant to be a one-year adventure that turned into a rewarding 11-year journey. Being at the heart of chocolate category development within Mondelēz International has allowed me to grow from Senior Scientist to Senior Group Leader, with experience across both regional and global roles. I have evolved every two to three years, sometimes horizontally and sometimes up the managerial ladder, always guided by passion and curiosity rather than title. Since October 2025, I have been leading the R&D Product Team for the newly formed TWTR BU (Toblerone & World Travel Retail), an exciting, agile, and dynamic group at the heart of Mondelēz innovation. I love it!

These days we hear a lot about innovation and new technologies. What does “modern RDQ” mean to you in practice?

In practice, modern RDQ means consumer-focused product developers working very closely with their cross-functional teams, especially Consumer Insights and Consumer Science colleagues, as opposed to old-fashioned technically focused scientists who would be pictured working isolated in their labs. As technical people, engineers and scientists love to solve problems and tend to fall in love with their solutions.

Modern RDQ scientists understand they should rather fall in love with the problem and dive into it first so that they define the consumer experience that will enable them to solve an identified tension. Einstein gave us a great quote that could define the modern RDQ mindset: "If I had an hour to solve a problem, I'd spend 55 minutes thinking about the problem and 5 minutes thinking about solutions."

In the FMCG industry, this translates into diving very deep into consumer tensions and expected experiences before exploring various technical solutions.

Which tools or approaches truly make a difference in RDQ and which ones tend to be just buzzwords with little real impact?

Innovation Excellence framework applied with an Agile mindset truly makes a difference for breakthrough innovations. At Mondelēz, Innovation Excellence is the path to follow, step by step, to dive into the consumer problem before jumping into solution mode. Doing it with an Agile mindset means embracing the principle of iteration quickly. By applying speed over perfection, teams aim to bring to life minimum viable prototypes that allow them to test their hypotheses, or their current understanding of a problem, with consumers. This helps them gather feedback and refine their approach for the next round of prototyping.

Agile is a buzzword when it is misunderstood as merely a fast track. However, it is a very powerful mindset when it unlocks the ability to repeat the innovation loop again and again at a fast pace, ultimately delivering great consumer experiences within a given timeframe.

As a leader, how do you foster a culture within your team that encourages critical thinking, challenges assumptions, and prioritizes meaningful impact over simply adopting the latest trend?

By focusing the team on the problem, as described previously, and never taking their ideas in front of consumers with the urge to get validation but rather to get learnings so that they can come back in the next iteration round with an even better idea to test!

What skills and mindset do you consider essential for someone who wants to work in a modern RDQ environment?

A true passion for food, consumers, and a hands-on approach are essential to thrive in a modern RDQ environment. I can grow my collaborators to navigate the Innovation Excellence framework, and they will get some of the best mentors in the industry here when it comes to anything chocolate… but the passion to embrace the FMCG pace and the drive to easily jump from the laptop to the innovation kitchen cannot be taught!

If you were encouraging potential candidates to join RDQ, what would you highlight as the most valuable aspect of working in this field?

For anyone with a passion for food and science, Mondelēz RDQ is a fantastic playground with endless growth opportunities. Given the wide variety of roles, each collaborator has the opportunity to explore and eventually thrive in a role that truly inspires them. Mondelēz assesses collaborators by skills, without boxing anybody into a specific and narrow domain of expertise. This approach enables great transversal moves and allows collaborators to explore very different facets of the business.

Within RDQ, people move between product development, regulatory, quality, chocolate making, process, packaging and more. And for anyone willing to have an international career, opportunities in other categories open up as well. On a big site like Bournville, RDQ collaborators often gain manufacturing, HR or project management experience too. For people who are curious and eager to grow, RDQ is a fantastic platform to enter and discover our business.