Innovation Manager

Gü Desserts | Certified B Corp™; Greater London, Bishop's Stortford; Hybrid; GBP 65,000 - 90,000; Full time

Job summary

Gü Desserts | Certified B Corp™ is seeking an Innovation Manager to own and drive NPD, EPD and packaging projects from concept through to launch. You’ll work with Technical, Operations and Commercial teams to turn insights into compelling product concepts and delicious experiences.

The role suits an experienced NPD professional who can manage multiple projects, balance consumer needs with feasibility, and communicate progress clearly as you champion innovative desserts that excite shoppers and

Qualifications

• Proven experience in product innovation and NPD/EPD within a food manufacturing environment, ideally with short shelf-life or chilled products.
• Strong project management skills and the ability to manage multiple projects and priorities simultaneously.
• A real sense of ownership — you take responsibility, maintain project grip and proactively drive actions through to completion.
• The ability to turn consumer, market and category insight into clear, actionable ideas.
• Strong communication and stakeholder management skills, with the confidence to ask questions, seek clarity and follow through.
• Good commercial awareness and analytical capability, including experience with financial assessment and business case development.
• Strong cross-functional collaboration skills and the judgement to know when to move things forward independently and when to seek input, alignment or escalation.
• The ability to sell the story — creating compelling concepts and visual narratives that get people excited about an opportunity.

Responsibilities

• Lead innovation projects end-to-end, creating robust project plans, managing dependencies, actions, risks and critical decisions to keep projects moving.
• Turn insight into ideas, using consumer, market and category understanding to identify opportunities and shape compelling product concepts.
• Stay close to the market, bringing inspiration from store visits, competitor activity, category trends and wider market analysis into the innovation process.
• Bring concepts to life, developing confident concept papers, kitchen briefs, visual stories and storyboards that clearly communicate the consumer opportunity and product experience.
• Work across the business, building strong relationships with Technical, Operations, Commercial, Procurement and other key stakeholders to make sure the right people are involved at the right time.
• Test the opportunity, coordinating initial feasibility assessments and developing the commercial rationale needed to understand whether an idea can work — and what it will take to make it happen.
• Keep a firm grip on projects, proactively tracking progress, following up actions, identifying emerging issues and working with teams to find practical solutions.
• Challenge and ask questions, seeking clarity early, bringing recommendations and escalating decisions when additional support or alignment is needed.
• Lead projects through the stage-gate process, ensuring the right information, actions and criteria are in place at every stage.
• Communicate clearly, bringing together complex project information and translating it into concise updates on progress, risks, decisions and next steps.
• Help create products people love, balancing consumer desirability, technical feasibility and commercial opportunity to turn promising ideas into successful launches.

Skills

NPD/EPD

Project management

Ownership

Consumer insight

Stakeholder management

Commercial awareness

Analytical capability

Cross-functional collaboration

Storytelling

Job description

Location: Shepherd's Bush / Bishop's Stortford / Hybrid

Ready to make your mark at Gü?

At Gü, we believe dessert should be anything but ordinary.

We’re passionate about creating indulgent, innovative desserts that make people stop, savour and come back for more. Behind every Gü product is a combination of brilliant ideas, consumer insight, commercial thinking and a relentless focus on getting the details right.

We’re looking for an Innovation Manager to help us turn great ideas into exceptional products.

This is an opportunity for an experienced NPD professional to take ownership of exciting innovation projects — from the first spark of an idea through to launch — working with talented teams across the business to bring new products, experiences and packaging to life.

What you’ll be doing:

As Innovation Manager, you’ll own and drive allocated NPD, EPD and packaging projects, building clear plans and keeping momentum from concept through to launch.

• Lead innovation projects end-to-end, creating robust project plans, managing dependencies, actions, risks and critical decisions to keep projects moving.
• Turn insight into ideas, using consumer, market and category understanding to identify opportunities and shape compelling product concepts.
• Stay close to the market, bringing inspiration from store visits, competitor activity, category trends and wider market analysis into the innovation process.
• Bring concepts to life, developing confident concept papers, kitchen briefs, visual stories and storyboards that clearly communicate the consumer opportunity and product experience.
• Work across the business, building strong relationships with Technical, Operations, Commercial, Procurement and other key stakeholders to make sure the right people are involved at the right time.
• Test the opportunity, coordinating initial feasibility assessments and developing the commercial rationale needed to understand whether an idea can work — and what it will take to make it happen.
• Keep a firm grip on projects, proactively tracking progress, following up actions, identifying emerging issues and working with teams to find practical solutions.
• Challenge and ask questions, seeking clarity early, bringing recommendations and escalating decisions when additional support or alignment is needed.
• Lead projects through the stage-gate process, ensuring the right information, actions and criteria are in place at every stage.
• Communicate clearly, bringing together complex project information and translating it into concise updates on progress, risks, decisions and next steps.
• Help create products people love, balancing consumer desirability, technical feasibility and commercial opportunity to turn promising ideas into successful launches.

What you’ll bring:

We’re looking for someone who is as comfortable shaping an idea as they are driving a project.

• Proven experience in product innovation and NPD/EPD within a food manufacturing environment, ideally with short shelf-life or chilled products.
• Strong project management skills and the ability to manage multiple projects and priorities simultaneously.
• A real sense of ownership — you take responsibility, maintain project grip and proactively drive actions through to completion.
• The ability to turn consumer, market and category insight into clear, actionable ideas.
• Strong communication and stakeholder management skills, with the confidence to ask questions, seek clarity and follow through.
• Good commercial awareness and analytical capability, including experience with financial assessment and business case development.
• Strong cross-functional collaboration skills and the judgement to know when to move things forward independently and when to seek input, alignment or escalation.
• The ability to sell the story — creating compelling concepts and visual narratives that get people excited about an opportunity.

Because ordinary isn't really our thing.

At Gü, innovation isn't about simply putting another product on the shelf. It's about creating those moments when someone opens the fridge, spots a Gü and thinks, “Yes. I want that.”

You’ll be joining a business where creativity, consumer obsession and commercial thinking come together — and where your ideas can make a tangible difference to what we put into people's shopping baskets and onto their dessert spoons.

If you’re an experienced innovation professional who loves turning insight into ideas, ideas into products and products into experiences people can't resist, we’d love to hear from you.