Xolile Mbatha was born in Durban. She received a BTech degree in Food technology from Durban University of Technology, a Marketing degree from UNISA and an MBA from Henley Business School. She has 18years experience in FMCG Product Development. She began her Food technology career at Rainbow Chickens in 2002. She has also worked for Nestle and Tiger Brands in the Product Development divisions. She is currently the RND Director at Kellogg SA, where she is responsible for product development, nutrition and regulatory. In 2018, she was part of a team recognised with a Kellogg AMEA President’s award for developing and renovating foods to comply with clean label ingredients.