Product Innovation Manager - for a leading Food Production Company
- Product Innovation Manager
- Vernon, CA
A leading Food Production company is seeking a Product Innovation Manager who is genuine, talented, and collaborative to join their ever-growing team. Do you have Management food manufacturing experience, or enjoy providing leadership, preparation, and resources to help create a high-functioning work environment? If you answered yes to any of these questions, enjoy being part company with a steady path of evolution and are looking to take your career to the next level, then apply now!
Summary:
The Product Innovation Manager- will leverage culinary knowledge and expertise in recipe and concept creation, food and flavor trends, product development, and back of house operations to deliver innovative solutions to drive growth across channels. The role will include development of products, culinary applications, and usage testing, and collaboration with internal and customer teams to deliver results.
This role will involve collaborating with multiple nation-wide, well-known, brands.
The Product Innovation Manager- should have the following skill set:
- BA/BS in Culinary/Culinary Science/Culinology/Food Science, or AA Culinary degree with significant industry experience.
- 5+ years of experience in culinary development including working with national account restaurant chains, QSR chains, and/or non-commercial customers. Experience with benchtop product development through scale-up preferred.
- Experience working with contract manufacturers on-site.
- Understanding of basic manufacturing equipment and commercialization of retail ready products.
- Comprehensive knowledge of culinary product development, menu design, and back-of-house operations for a variety of industry segments.
- Strong project/time management and organizational skills, with the ability to manage multiple projects and changing priorities and work in a fast-paced environment.
- Ability to iterate and respond to feedback to achieve internal and/or customer targets.
- Ability to work independently, take initiative, and meet deadlines without close supervision, while demonstrating a collaborative and team-oriented approach.
The Product Innovation Manager - will:
- Develop high-quality food products and applications to deliver culinary solutions across channels, with a focus on Retail.
- Includes benchtop formulation/development and scale-up via plan trials/startup.
- Product categories include but are not limited to Proteins, Meals, Appetizers, Desserts, Pastries, and Ice Cream.
- Combine a culinary/flavor-first approach with technical considerations including food safety, food stability/shelf-life, cost, nutrition, and manufacturing feasibility.
- Create paper concepts and lead development from idea through presentation-ready prototypes and applications, based on internal strategic direction and customer product briefs.
- Execute high-level culinary presentations and collaborative working sessions with customers.
- Leverage industry insights and data tools to identify, track, and share food and flavor trends to inspire and drive growth of product portfolio. Incorporate trend insights and data into daily work/projects.
- Manage projects, cross-functional communication, and timely completion of deliverables in accordance with Stage Gate process.
- Support trade shows/other events including ideation, development, and presentation of elevated samples/product applications and onsite execution as needed.
- Organize and execute product tastings for sensory evaluation, shelf-life studies, and product stability. Participate and provide input in team product tastings.
- Optimize and document recipe archive for both food service and retail applications.
- Assist in the production (and shipment, as needed) of samples for customer requests.
- Assist in batching, analytical testing, flavor screening, stocking materials, and maintaining a clean and orderly R&D kitchen.
