Product Development Manager

Co-Op Company; Manchester; Hybrid; GBP 40,000 - 48,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Annual bonus

Company car

Hybrid working

Pension contributions

Onsite gym access

Staff discount

Job summary

Co-op is seeking a Product Development Manager to join our Brand team in Manchester, delivering own-brand products aligned to an 18–24 month planning horizon. You will build relationships with suppliers and cross-functional teams, analysing insights to shape future ranges and opportunities.

The role offers hybrid working with UK stores exposure and a focus on quality and value across the Co-op portfolio. You’ll lead product development initiatives, collaborate across functions, attend supplier

Qualifications

• Extensive experience in product development within the food industry.
• Trained sensory skills to taste and analyse food.
• Strong communication skills to build relationships across the business.
• Creative thinker with commercial insight and data interpretation ability.
• Deep customer and category knowledge with data analysis capability.

Responsibilities

• Work within product development teams to create innovative, high quality, customer‑centric products.
• Interpret data, insights, and trends to shape product ranges and innovations.
• Build relationships with supplier base, trading teams, and technical colleagues.
• Attend factory visits to review trials and understanding manufacturing capabilities.
• Keep abreast of retail landscape and market trends to drive efficiencies.
• Ensure products taste great and meet high‑quality standards.

Skills

Product development experience

Sensory analysis

Strong communication

Creative thinking

Data interpretation

Job description

Product Development Manager

£40,000 to £48,000 plus great benefits, including company car (Work Level 6A)

12-month fixed term contract

Manchester city centre, hybrid working - splitting your time between home, coming into the office 2/3 days a week, and visiting supplier sites as required (find out more about our hybrid working policy at https://jobs.coop.co.uk/hybrid-working-policy).

We’re looking for a Product Development Manager to join our co-op Brand team to help us to deliver own brand products that delight our customers and keep up with their changing needs. In this role, you’ll research and deliver innovative, high quality, great value for money products, aligned to our strategy across an 18-24-month planning horizon.

Why this role matters

As a Product Development Manager, we’ll look to you to build positive relationships with key partners and collaborate with cross-functional internal teams and our supplier base. You’ll analyse insight to understand future opportunities and continually review the market, our supply base, and our competitors to help shape and deliver the future of our own brand proposition. This is an amazing opportunity to gain valuable exposure and see the products you develop in thousands of co-op stores across the UK.

What you’ll do

• Work as part of our product development teams, to create innovative, high quality, customer‑centric products
• Interpret internal and external sources of data, insights, and trends to create product ranges and Innovation appropriate to the co-op customer.
• Build relationships and influence a range of key partners within our supplier base, trading teams, and technical teams
• Attend factory visits to attend product trials, understand manufacturing capabilities and future opportunities, feeding this back to the team and business
• Keep up to date with the wider retail landscape, keeping in tune with market trends and competitor performance with a focus on delivering efficiencies
• Consider commercial implication throughout the development process, making sure the products you develop taste great and deliver against our high‑quality standards
• Be a brand ambassador for the co-op brand range

What you’ll bring

We’re committed to making our roles as accessible as possible, so we only ask for the minimum criteria. To thrive here, you’ll need to bring:

• Considerable experience of working in a product development role within the food industry, across multiple food categories
• A 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
• Creative thinking, with strong commercial insight and understanding
• Deep customer and category knowledge with the ability to analyse and interpret data

Why co‑op?

At co‑op, we’re owned by our members. And because we’re owned by you, we can do right by you. So when you join us, you’re not just taking a job, you’re joining a movement. We’re an organisation that puts people and communities first, and we’re powered by purpose. We want this to be a place where you can thrive, so you’ll also receive:

• An annual bonus (based on personal and business performance)
• 28 days holiday (rising to 32 with service) plus bank holidays
• A pension with up to 10% employer contributions
• Company car
• Access to a subsidised onsite gym (at our Manchester HQ)
• 30% discount on co‑op products and 10% off other brands
• Stream - early access to a percentage of your pay as you earn it
• Virtual healthcare including GP appointments, mental health support, nutrition and fitness advice
• 24/7 colleague support service
• Training and support for your development and career progression
• Cycle‑to‑work scheme

A place you’ll belong

We’re building diverse and inclusive teams that reflect the communities we serve. We welcome applications from everyone and are committed to creating a workplace where colleagues can feel like they belong, supported by our inclusive policies and the ways we work.

We’re proud to be part of the Disability Confident scheme and offer interviews to disabled candidates who meet the minimum criteria for a job. If you need any adjustments during the recruitment process, we’ll support you.

Learn more about our recruitment process at jobs.coop.co.uk/apply-process and our inclusion commitments at jobs.coop.co.uk/diversity-inclusion

Please note that we may close applications for this role early.