Food Product Development Lead

Co-op Group; Manchester; Hybrid; GBP 40,000 - 48,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Annual bonus

Pension

Company car

Onsite gym

Product discounts

Stream

Early access to pay

Virtual healthcare

Training & development

Cycle-to-work

Job summary

Co-op Group is seeking a Product Development Manager for the Manchester area. The role is a 12-month fixed term contract with hybrid working, offering £40,000 to £48,000 plus benefits including a company car.

You will lead the development of own-brand products, working across supplier sites and internal teams to deliver innovative, high-quality items for customers. You’ll analyse market trends and consumer insights to shape product ranges over an 18-24 month planning horizon and build strong

Qualifications

• Considerable experience of working in a product development role within the food industry.
• Passion for food and innovation with trained sensory skills to taste and analyse food.
• Strong communication skills with the ability to build positive relationships across all business areas.
• Creative thinking with strong commercial insight and understanding.
• Deep customer and category knowledge with ability to analyse and interpret data.

Responsibilities

• Work as part of our product development teams to create innovative, high quality, customer-centric products.
• Interpret internal and external data, insights and trends to create product ranges suitable for the Co-op customer.
• Build relationships and influence key partners within supplier base, trading teams and technical teams.
• Attend factory visits to understand manufacturing capabilities and future opportunities and feed back to the team.
• Keep up to date with the wider retail landscape and market trends to deliver efficiencies.
• Consider commercial implications throughout development to ensure products taste great and meet high-quality standards.

Job description

Co-op Group is seeking a Product Development Manager for the Manchester area. The role is a 12-month fixed term contract with hybrid working, offering £40,000 to £48,000 plus benefits including a company car.

You will lead the development of own-brand products, working across supplier sites and internal teams to deliver innovative, high-quality items for customers. You’ll analyse market trends and consumer insights to shape product ranges over an 18-24 month planning horizon and build strong