Product Developer

The People Co; England; On-site; GBP 30,000 - 45,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading international ingredients business in the UK is seeking a Product Developer to drive customer-led projects and internal innovation from concept to commercialization. The ideal candidate will possess a degree in Food Science and have over 2 years of NPD experience, focusing on delivering technically viable and innovative solutions while collaborating closely with customers and teams.

Qualifications

• Around 2+ years’ experience in end-to-end NPD, ideally within food or nutrition.
• Strong understanding of ingredient functionality (e.g., vitamins, flavours).
• Confident managing projects from scoping through to implementation.

Responsibilities

• Lead customer product development and internal innovation projects.
• Scope projects thoroughly to define requirements and approval criteria.
• Conduct sensory assessments and evaluate stability.

Skills

Ingredient functionality

Formulating products

Project management

Strong communication skills

Sensory assessments

Education

Degree in Food Science or related discipline

Job description

The Company

An international ingredients and nutrition business witha strong reputationfor quality, technicalexcellenceand customer collaboration.
Operating across a broad range of nutrition and product solutions, they work closely with leading brands in the food,drinkand wellness industries.

With continued growth and a busy innovation pipeline, the team is now looking for aProduct Developerto support customer-led NPD projects, internal innovation, and end-to-end development from concept through tocommercialization.

The Role

AsProductDeveloper,you’llplay a keypartin delivering innovative,compliantand commerciallyviablesolutions across the business.
You’lltake ownership of projects from scoping and formulation to trials, customer approval and first production, ensuring products meet the agreed quality,costand regulatory standards.

This is a hands-on, varied position suited to someone who enjoys problem solving, technical creativity and building strong relationships with customers and internal teams.

Key Accountabilities

• Lead customer product development and internal innovation projects from concept to launch.
• Scope projects thoroughly, ensuring requirements, cost expectations and approval criteria are clearly defined.
• Formulate products across categories
• Provide nutritional and formulation support to internal teams and customers.
• Conduct sensory assessments, stabilityconsiderationsand organoleptic evaluations prior to customer submissions.
• Assess ingredient functionality and stay aligned with market trends andnew technologies.
• Support the onboarding and approval of new raw material suppliers in collaboration with Quality and Procurement.
• Lead and support trials at internal and external manufacturing sites; attend first productions to ensure smooth scale-up.
• Provide technical support to sales when meeting customers or addressing product queries.
• Contribute to continuous improvement initiatives across the full product development cycle.

Person Profile

• Degree in Food Science, FoodChemistryora relateddiscipline.
• Around 2+ years’ experience in end-to-end NPD, ideally within food, beverage,nutritionor ingredient solutions.
• Strong understanding of ingredient functionality (e.g., vitamins, minerals,flavours, sweeteners, additives).
• Experience formulatingproducts
• Confident managing projects from scoping through to implementation and launch.
• Strong communicationskills with the ability to work directly with customers and translate technical requirements.
• Comfortable running trials, supporting scale-up and working cross-functionally across Technical, Quality,Salesand Procurement.
• Curious, proactive, and passionate about innovation,sustainabilityand continuous improvement.