The Knuts sisters: a dream team for dairy cream

Image of Heidi and Karen unleash your nature
Paragraphs

Title
A dream team for dairy cream

Content

You might well do a double take if you drop by the spray-can expertise centre in Lummen (Belgium), the heart of FrieslandCampina’s whipped cream product range. That is because identical twins Heidi and Karen Knuts work here.

The ladies form a dream team. Heidi and her team think up new spray-can technologies, while Karen and her team keep a keen eye on quality. Together with their colleagues, they have put Lummen on the map: the whipped cream and spray-can technologies produced in Lummen travel all over the world! Curious about the story of the innovative twins? 

Title
A shared passion

Content

Heidi and Karen Knuts are not only identical twins but also colleagues. They share their looks, and they share a passion for good food. So it is hardly surprising that they both came to work at FrieslandCampina. “We grew up together and we both played volleyball. Later, we both graduated from the same chemical engineering program."

We now both work at FrieslandCampina in Lummen. But apart from that, we lead separate lives, you know!

We like a challenge!

Heidi has now been working at FrieslandCampina for 24 years. As a manager, she leads a great development team that, among other things, focuses on cream emulsions and spray cream. 

Photo at the office Heidi and Karen

Content

The technology of (spray) cream is complex, and that is why I like the field so much: my work brings many challenges.

A few years later, Karen applied for a job as well. “I started with a few years in quality management and have been Quality Assurance/Quality Control manager for the past six years. I make sure that all products meet the quality requirements and ensure food safety. Besides producing for FrieslandCampina brands, we also supply many major customers around the world.”

Title
Our work stays exciting

Content

There is a lot involved in producing and innovating in the cream landscape. “We need to consider ease of use and think up new trendy flavours. Moreover, each customer has their own wishes regarding feel, taste, look, format, design, price acceptance and performance! There are plenty of challenges to make our work exciting!”

Innovative

The twin sisters like to tackle these challenges, and they have had great success in doing so. “Since we are always innovating, and thanks to our high-quality standards, we’ve been market leaders in the cream sector for years. We are seeing a global increase in demand for our (spray) creams. Recently, we made our production completely halal. This means we can now export whipped cream to many other Asian countries, for instance under the Debic brand.”

Plant Belgium

Content

We are seeing a global increase in demand for our (spray) creams. 

Title
Winner’s mentality

Content

Karen and Heidi being twin sisters also brings advantages at work. “We complement each other well and can quickly adapt to further the customer’s interests. 

Thanks to years of team sport, we’ve had a winner’s mentality ever since we were kids.

When we face challenges, we never give up. We feel sure that, along with our great teams, we can always find the solution together."

Country Context
global