HUDSON, WIS. — Jim Mitchell has been named director of product engineering at Ciranda, Inc.

His relationship with the organic ingredient supplier spans more than a decade. In 2008, Mr. Mitchell began working as a technical consultant for Ciranda’s organic and non-GMO syrups, starches and fibers. He advised on practical uses for organic tapioca syrup with a concentration on frozen desserts, snacks bars and gummy confections.

He previously spent seven years at Creative Research Management, where he innovated processing technologies for food ingredients and finished consumer goods. He designed and built a production facility for syrups and non-dairy milk bases in 2004, which led to his first patent for whole grain milk. Most recently, he was co-founder at PicoBrew, Inc., a company aiming to commercialize home brewing automations. He operated as chief science officer for liquid processing systems at PicoBrew, which earned him an additional 10 patents.

In his new role, Mr. Mitchell will apply his experience in food engineering and functional carbohydrates to guide Ciranda’s new product development and provide technical support to the company’s customers and manufacturing partners.

“Jim is an expert in his field with a deep knowledge of food and beverage production,” said Hans Friese, founder at Ciranda. “We are very fortunate that his journey led him back to us.”

Ciranda is a supplier of certified, organic and fair trade ingredients with expertise in flours and starches, syrups and sweeteners, cocoa and chocolate, oils and shortening, coconuts products and lecithin.