Food & Beverage Innovation Manager – UAE

Costa Coffee; Dubai; Hybrid; AED 200,000 - 300,000; Full time

Job summary

A major coffee brand is seeking a Food & Beverage Innovation Manager to drive product development across the MENA region. This role requires a minimum of 5 years experience in food innovation, strategic thinking, and a strong understanding of market trends. Candidates should be fluent in English and ideally have HACCP qualifications. The company offers a hybrid work environment with attractive perks including a share investment plan and private healthcare.

Benefits

Annual discretionary bonus scheme

Share Investment Plan (SIP)

Private medical cover

50% discount in all Costa-owned stores

10% pension match

Qualifications

• 5+ years experience in food and beverage innovation, menu development, or category management.
• Proven track record of launching new products from concept to market.
• Comfortable with travel and flexible hours.

Responsibilities

• Lead end to end development of food and beverage products from insight to launch across MENA.
• Partner with franchise teams to optimise ranges.
• Adapting global innovations to local market needs.
• Ensure product compliance with food safety standards.
• Support seasonal campaigns and innovation launches.

Skills

Food and beverage innovation

Strategic thinking

Commercial awareness

Understanding of food regulations

Menu planning

Consumer trends

HACCP qualified

Fluent in English

Job description

Food & Beverage Innovation Manager – UAE

At Costa Coffee, we’re on a mission to reimagine coffee experiences across the globe. From bustling cities to local communities, we’re creating meaningful coffee moments, powered by innovation and driven by purpose.

As a proud part of the Coca-Cola system and working hand in hand with our pioneering partners, we’re in over 50 countries and counting. Whether it's served in-store, from a machine, at home, or on the go, every cup is thoughtfully crafted by our passionate teams who put heart into every moment.

Our teams truly make a difference. Whether it's pioneering new tech for the perfect pour, launching award winning campaigns, developing exciting new menu items, or supporting our people to grow – together, we stir up success.

As a Food & Beverage Innovation Manager – MENA, you’ll lead the development and optimisation of Costa’s food and beverage portfolio across the region, creating a commercially strong, operationally feasible, and brand-aligned offer that delights customers and drives partner profitability.

With inspiring experiences, development programmes, and our apprenticeship scheme, your career can grow far beyond the day-to-day.

What you’ll do

Being a Food & Beverage Innovation Manager is about so much more than bringing our coffee to the world. It’s your chance to stir up real success – which means you’ll be:

• Leading end to end development of food and beverage products from insight to launch across MENA.
• Partnering with franchise teams to optimise ranges and embed Costa’s F&B vision and standards.
• Adapting global innovations to local market needs through trend analysis and consumer insight.
• Ensuring product compliance with Costa’s Technical Partner Policy and food safety standards.
• Supporting seasonal campaigns and innovation launches with toolkits, SOPs, and training.

Who you are

It’s your unique ingredients we’re interested in:

• A proven expert in food and beverage innovation, ideally with regional experience across MENA.
• A strategic thinker with strong commercial and operational awareness.
• Strong understanding of food regulations, menu planning and customer trends
• Proven track record of launching new products form concept to market
• 5+ years experience in food and beverage innovation, menu development, or category management, HACCP qualified, fluent in English (Arabic is a plus), and comfortable with travel and flexible hours.

So, why Costa?

We didn’t become a global coffee brand by sitting back. When you work here, you join a community that values passion, progression, and integrity—with some brilliant perks to sweeten the deal. We work in a hybrid environment, giving us the flexibility to balance life while still spending meaningful time together and building strong connections:

• Own a piece of Costa’s success by becoming a share owner in Coca-Cola with our Share Investment Plan (SIP)
• Annual discretionary bonus scheme, based on business results and individual contribution
• A smart pension that saves you money on tax and national insurance, and matches your contributions up to 10%
• The Costa Financial Support Fund, supporting team members who find themselves in unexpected financial pressure
• 50% discount in all Costa-owned stores, and 25% off in other participating stores
• Private medical cover thanks to our Private Healthcare scheme

And that’s not all. Explore even more of our perks here: https://bit.ly/costaperks

We believe in living life with heart and that starts with our people.

By showing up as our authentic selves, we create a culture where everyone belongs. We celebrate diversity in all its forms and are committed to building an equitable and inclusive environment - one that embraces the unique blend of experiences, identities, and perspectives each person brings.