Product Development Specialist

Sobeys; Mississauga; On-site; CAD 70,000 - 100,000; Full time

Job summary

Sobeys in Mississauga, ON is seeking a Product Development Specialist to drive the end-to-end development of Our Brands products. You will translate customer insights and market trends into compelling product concepts that align with brand standards and category strategies.

You will lead multi-disciplinary teams, manage supplier partnerships, and ensure quality and on-time launches. Strong culinary or food science background and 5+ years in product development are required.

Qualifications

• 5+ years in product development, culinary innovation or food manufacturing.
• Experience with deli meats, cheese and processed products is an asset.
• Understanding of food safety principles and CFIA standards is helpful.
• Ability to translate insights into product opportunities and handle multiple projects.

Responsibilities

• Drive end-to-end product development within assigned categories.
• Translate customer insights and trends into differentiated product concepts.
• Lead cross-functional teams to ensure quality, timing and launch readiness.
• Manage supplier partnerships and raw materials to optimize cost and value.
• Review performance post-launch and identify opportunities for optimization.
• Collaborate with Marketing, Regulatory and Category Management on launches.

Skills

Cross-functional collaboration

Presentation skills

Communication

Problem solving

Attention to detail

Project management

Education

Culinary, Food Science, or Food Technology degree

Tools

Microsoft 365

Excel

PowerPoint

Job description

Sobeys is full of exciting opportunities, and we are always looking for bright new talent to join our team! We currently have a full-time opportunity for a Product Development Specialist. This role is based out of our office in Mississauga, ON.

Here's where you'll have an impact:

• Drive the execution of Our Brands product development within assigned categories, creating innovative, high-impact products that strengthen brand equity, support regional needs and build long-term customer loyalty.
• Translate customer insights, category opportunities, culinary and marketplace trends into clear product propositions and differentiated concepts that address defined customer needs.
• Demonstrate strong commercial acumen and understand how product development decisions influence cost, sales, margin, penetration, velocity, distribution and overall portfolio productivity.
• Lead the end-to-end product development process, ensuring alignment with sensory, brand and ingredient standards while delivering high-quality products on time and supporting speed to market.
• Maintain accountability beyond launch by reviewing product performance, customer feedback, consumer complaints, sensory quality and competitive positioning, identifying opportunities to optimize, renovate or rationalize products throughout their lifecycle.
• Build strong supplier innovation partnerships by understanding supplier capabilities, emerging technologies and innovation pipelines, while constructively challenging partners to deliver differentiated products, improved quality, greater value and faster speed to market.
• Support supplier sourcing and resourcing initiatives by providing product development and technical input to ensure the right supplier capabilities are aligned with product and category needs.
• Provide packaging feedback related to product suitability and functionality, and ensure artwork is accurate within areas of Product Development responsibility and aligned with brand standards.
• Request and manage product samples and key information from suppliers, maintaining organized and appropriately rotated samples within designated Product Development areas.
• Conduct marketplace and competitive product assessments to identify trends, benchmark product performance, support concept development and strengthen competitive positioning.
• Collaborate with Category Management to identify and prioritize Our Brands opportunities aligned with category strategies, while actively exchanging product and innovation ideas through regular planning and review sessions.
• Attend and/or lead key Our Brands events, effectively presenting product concepts and finalized products to internal and external stakeholders.
• Attend industry trade shows and supplier facilities to identify innovation opportunities, oversee plant trials and support successful commercialization.
• Work closely with a multi-disciplinary team, including Quality Assurance, Brand Management, Regulatory, Design, Marketing, Corporate Sustainability, Operations and Category Merchants, to successfully develop and commercialize Our Brands' products.

#LI-Hybrid

What you'll offer:

• Culinary, Food Science, Food Technology education or equivalent demonstrated industry experience.
• 5-8 years of progressive product development, culinary innovation and/or food manufacturing experience within the food industry.
• Experience working with deli meats, cheese and processed meat products is a strong asset.
• Strong understanding of food safety principles and their application within product development and food manufacturing.
• Working knowledge of Canadian food regulations, including CFIA standards of identity, is an asset.
• Experience developing, reviewing and managing ingredient and finished product specifications.
• Working knowledge of food certifications and related product requirements.
• Proven experience managing critical paths, project timelines and key development milestones from concept through commercialization.
• Strong understanding of food, customer, category and marketplace trends, with the ability to translate insights into relevant product opportunities.
• Strong passion for food and innovation, with a curious mindset and the ability to identify opportunities, bring forward new ideas and continuously improve products and ways of working.
• Experience working directly with suppliers and manufacturing facilities to develop, troubleshoot and commercialize products.
• Strong commercial acumen with an understanding of how product development decisions can impact cost, margin, sales and overall product performance.
• Strong problem-solving and decision-making skills, with the ability to assess product and technical challenges and recommend practical solutions.
• Strong cross-functional collaboration skills with the ability to build effective relationships with internal teams, suppliers and other business partners.
• Strong presentation and communication skills, with the ability to clearly communicate product recommendations and influence a variety of audiences.
• Highly organized, able to manage multiple projects and competing priorities while maintaining attention to detail and meeting key milestones.
• Comfortable working in a hands-on product development environment, including evaluating, handling and organizing product samples.
• Ability to travel as required, with a valid driver's licence and access to a vehicle.
• Proficient in Microsoft 365 applications, including Teams, Outlook, Word, Excel and PowerPoint.