Senior Product Developer

apetito; Trowbridge; On-site; GBP 30,000 - 50,000; Full time

Job summary

Join a forward-thinking company as a Product Development Technologist, where your passion for food innovation will shine. Collaborate with a dynamic team of chefs and dietitians to create market-leading food products that enhance health and well-being. This role offers a unique opportunity to lead projects through the development process, driving creativity and problem-solving to deliver exceptional meals. With a commitment to quality and sustainability, this is your chance to make a meaningful impact in the food industry while enjoying a supportive work environment and competitive benefits.

Benefits

25 days holiday per year

Discretionary annual bonus scheme

Pension scheme with employer matched contributions

Life assurance worth at least 1x annual salary

Subsidised canteen

Free parking

Free turkey or voucher at Christmas

Retail discounts through apetito perks scheme

Qualifications

• Proven track record in food product development and successful project outcomes.
• Strong problem-solving skills with a passion for great food and innovation.

Responsibilities

• Manage product development projects from ideation to launch, ensuring compliance.
• Identify and deliver cost-saving opportunities while maintaining product quality.

Skills

Food Product Development

Project Management

Presentation Skills

Problem Solving

Creativity

Innovation

Team Leadership

Influencing Skills

Job description

This role could suit a Product Development Technologist looking for their next challenge and an opportunity to work within an NPD team of chefs, technologists, and dietitians with a track record of delivering market-leading food innovation.

You would work closely with key stakeholders across the business to identify, develop, and deliver new products and product improvements.

You would lead and support projects from ideation through to launch and manage them through our stage-gate development process, applying problem-solving skills to overcome challenges and deliver food products that create a competitive advantage.

This exciting role will support sales growth through a customer-focused, creative, and proactive approach to product development and effective project management.

You must have a passion for great food and a drive for continual improvement of existing meals and desserts.

Overview

This role could suit a Product Development Technologist looking for their next challenge and an opportunity to work within an NPD team of chefs, technologists, and dietitians with a track record of delivering market-leading food innovation.

You would work closely with key stakeholders across the business to identify, develop, and deliver new products and product improvements.

You would lead and support projects from ideation through to launch and manage them through our stage-gate development process, applying problem-solving skills to overcome challenges and deliver food products that create a competitive advantage.

This exciting role will support sales growth through a customer-focused, creative, and proactive approach to product development and effective project management.

You must have a passion for great food and a drive for continual improvement of existing meals and desserts.

Who we are

apetito is the UK’s leading food supplier to the health and social care sectors, serving more than 1,300 care homes, healthcare, and education settings.

Our meals are expertly crafted by our dietitians and chefs, then frozen to lock in the goodness.

Wiltshire Farm Foods, our sister company, is the UK’s largest ready meal supplier, cooking and delivering over 330 different delicious frozen ready meals across the UK.

Responsibilities

• New Product Development – Managing product development projects at all stages of the development process from idea generation to launch, ensuring compliance with our development process and company policies.
• Innovation – Proactively identifying new opportunities and innovations to improve our food offerings, 'sell in' ideas to the business teams, and manage projects through to launch to create a competitive advantage and deliver market-leading solutions.
• Product improvement (Nutrition and Quality) – Working closely with Dietitians, Chefs, Manufacturing, Category Management, and Purchasing teams to identify and deliver improvement opportunities, considering stakeholder needs.
• Cost reduction – Identifying and assisting in the delivery of cost-saving opportunities without compromising product quality.
• Team support – Deputising for your line manager, providing team leadership and project management support as required.

About you

Essential for this role:

• A proven track record of success in food product development
• Experience working with others to achieve successful project outcomes
• Successful project management experience
• Good presentation skills
• A passion for great food
• Tenacity and ability to drive projects to completion
• Creativity and innovation
• Ability to influence others
• Good problem-solving skills

Desirable for this role:

• Experience within frozen or chilled food manufacturing
• Experience within prepared meals
• Experience in identifying and delivering cost savings
• Good culinary and sensory skills
• Demonstrated commercial awareness

Company Benefits

• Competitive salary – accredited Living Wage employer
• 25 days holiday per year, plus bank holidays
• Option to purchase up to 5 additional days of annual leave
• Discretionary annual bonus scheme
• Pension scheme with employer matched contributions up to 4%
• Life assurance worth at least 1x annual salary
• Subsidised canteen
• Free parking
• Free turkey or voucher at Christmas
• apetito perks scheme including salary sacrifice options and retail discounts

Our Values

As a family-owned business, we take pride in making a real difference and creating outstanding meals.

We develop products to enhance health and well-being for our customers.

Driven by a passion for service, we are dedicated to feeding some of the UK’s most vulnerable people.

We support British food and farming, aiming for Net Zero by 2040, using ethical and sustainable produce.

Our standards are recognized by the ETI, and we are a Living Wage employer.

We embrace inclusion, empowering individuals from diverse backgrounds, and are committed to an inclusive workplace where everyone can reach their potential.