Position SummaryThe
Person in this role serves as a shared resource supporting
R&D and Retail Sales in the development and commercialization of food products and solutions for commercial customers, primarily national and multi-unit restaurant and foodservice customers, including coffeehouse concepts.
This position serves as a key link between
customers, Sales, and R&D, translating customer needs, culinary concepts, and market opportunities into viable product development projects. The Product Development Manager participates in customer meetings, product presentations, trials, and tastings, while partnering closely with R&D to move products from concept through commercialization.
Essential Duties & Responsibilities- Serve as the primary product development liaison between R&D, Sales, and commercial customers.
- Participate in customer meetings to understand product needs, culinary concepts, operational requirements, and opportunities for innovation.
- Develop, formulate, and test products hands-on "at the bench" in response to customer requests, specifications, concepts, and business opportunities.
- Translate customer requirements into product concepts, formulations, prototypes, specifications, and development plans.
- Work directly with R&D and culinary teams to create, test, taste, refine, and optimize products from initial concept through customer approval.
- Develop prototypes and samples, conduct sensory evaluations, make formulation adjustments, and prepare products for customer review and feedback.
- Coordinate and participate in plant trials, scale-up activities, and production testing to ensure products perform consistently beyond the bench.
- Identify opportunities to improve existing products through ingredient changes, formulation adjustments, process improvements, cost optimization, and enhanced product performance.
- Support Sales with customer presentations, product demonstrations, tastings, prototypes, new business opportunities, and pricing initiatives.
- Collaborate with Quality, Regulatory, Operations, Supply Chain, and other cross-functional teams to ensure products meet customer specifications, food safety requirements, quality standards, and manufacturing capabilities.
- Evaluate product feasibility, including ingredients, formulation, cost, yield, packaging, processing requirements, equipment capabilities, and scalability.
- Manage multiple product development projects while maintaining timelines, customer requirements, documentation, and commercialization milestones.
- Monitor restaurant, foodservice, culinary, and consumer trends to identify new product concepts, ingredients, applications, and innovation opportunities.
- Support the transition of products from bench development to pilot/plant trials and full-scale commercialization, helping ensure successful execution at each stage.
- Maintain accurate product formulations, specifications, samples, development records, project documentation, and customer requirements.
- Assist with troubleshooting and resolving product, formulation, quality, and customer issues through hands-on testing and cross-functional collaboration.
- Travel regularly to customer locations, product trials, meetings, culinary events, and industry events as needed.
- Perform other duties as assigned.
Required Qualifications- Bachelor's degree in Food Science, Culinary Arts, Food Technology, Business, Marketing, Hospitality, or related field, or equivalent combination of education and experience.
- 10 years of experience in food product development, culinary development, food manufacturing, foodservice, or a related field.
- Experience developing or supporting food products for commercial customers.
- Knowledge of food ingredients, product development, manufacturing processes, specifications, and commercialization.
- Experience working directly with customers and translating customer needs into product requirements.
- Understanding of restaurant operations and foodservice trends.
- Strong project management, analytical, communication, presentation, and problem-solving skills.
- Ability to collaborate effectively across R&D, Sales, Quality, Operations, and Supply Chain.
- Proficiency with Microsoft Office.
- Ability and willingness to travel regularly.
Preferred Qualifications- Culinary degree or professional culinary training.
- Experience with national restaurant chains, QSRs, fast-casual, casual dining, coffeehouse concepts, or other large foodservice customers.
- Experience taking products from concept through commercialization and full-scale production.
- Experience with food manufacturing, co-manufacturing, foodservice, or restaurant operations.
- Knowledge of food cost modeling, sensory evaluation, consumer testing, and product optimization.
- Familiarity with HACCP, GMPs, SQF, FSMA, and other food safety systems.
- Experience presenting products or concepts to customers or executive-level audiences.
- Established relationships within the restaurant or foodservice industry.
Core Competencies- Food & Product Development
- R&D & Cross-Functional Collaboration
- Customer & Commercial Acumen
- Restaurant & Foodservice Knowledge
- Project Management
- Innovation & Problem-Solving
- Communication & Presentation
- Commercialization & Execution
Physical & Environmental Requirements- Work in both office and food manufacturing environments.
- Comply with applicable PPE, GMP, sanitation, food safety, and safety requirements when entering production areas.
- Regular travel to customer locations, meetings, trials, and industry events.
- Ability to perform essential job functions with or without reasonable accommodation.
