Innovation & Product development Specialist

QSRP group; Assago; Hybrid; EUR 40,000 - 44,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Gross Annual Salary Range From 40.000 

€ until 44.000€

Yearly Bonus Based on Company Perfor m

Discounts for company restaurants

Job summary

Burger King Restaurants Italy is seeking a driven professional to lead the Food & Beverage innovation pipeline from concept to market launch. You will drive brand growth through new products and improved offerings while shaping new consumption occasions.

Responsibilities include managing end-to-end projects, collaborating with suppliers, internal teams, and regulatory bodies to ensure compliant, successful launches and market fit across Italian markets.

Qualifications

• Degree in Business, Marketing, Food Science and Technology, or related fields.
• 3–5 years of experience in Product Development, Innovation, Brand Marketing, or similar roles in Food & Beverage, FMCG, or QSR.
• Strong passion for the food sector and sensitivity to consumer trends.
• Excellent analytical, organizational, and project management skills.

Responsibilities

• Build and monitor the innovation pipeline in line with business objectives.
• Develop new Food & Beverage products: manage innovation projects end to end, including ideation, development, testing, and launch.
• Identify market trends, analyze consumer behaviors and needs, understand changes in consumption occasions, and monitor competitor activities.
• Manage relationships with suppliers, partners, and internal stakeholders.
• Collaborate with Brand Standards and Legal to ensure production procedures comply with company and safety standards; guide Food Safety, HACCP, and food regulation processes.

Skills

Strategic product development

Project management

Analytical skills

Team collaboration

English proficiency

Education

Degree in Business, Marketing, Food Science and Technology

Job description

Location: Assago, IT, F520057

Company: Burger King Restaurants Italy

About the company

Join QSRP: where the good growth happens

Burger Kingis part of QSRP ( Quick Service Restaurant Platform ), a company dedicated to delivering mouthwatering food experiences to our 100 million customers annually through our 1,200+ restaurants and 7,000 employees throughout 9 key countries. Our product offering proudly represents a culturally diverse selection of Burgers through our US-style Burger King and Belgian-rooted Quick restaurants, French style O'Tacos, Vibrant burger brand G La Dalle, Dunkin: the world leader in coffee and donuts, Chopstix: one of the most recognized Asian QSR brands in the UK,.

About the position

The person will be responsible for developing the Food & Beverage innovation pipeline, from concept generation to market launch, contributing to brand growth through new products, improvement of the existing offer, and development of new consumption occasions.

Main responsibilities:

• Build and monitor the innovation pipeline in line with business objectives.
• Develop new Food & Beverage products: manage innovation projects end to end, including ideation, development, testing, and launch.
• Identify market trends, analyze consumer behaviors and needs, understand changes in consumption occasions, and monitor competitor activities.
• Manage relationships with suppliers, partners, and internal stakeholders.
• Collaborate with Brand Standards and Legal to ensure that production procedures comply with company and safety standards. Understand and guide Food Safety, HACCP, and food regulation processes, including labeling, nutritional and health claims, and European food regulations.
• Collaborate with Operations, Supply Chain, Procurement, and Finance to ensure project feasibility.
• Coordinate product testing, including concept tests, product tests, consumer research, tastings, and operational validations.
• Support the definition of costs, pricing, P&L business cases, and economic assessments.
• Collaborate with international teams to adapt global innovations to the Italian market.
• Analyze sales KPIs following the launch of a new product.
• Support Brand Management in the ideation and evaluation of optimal advertising plans for the launch communication of a new product or development project.

What do you bring

• Degree in Business, Marketing, Food Science and Technology, or related fields.
• 3–5 years of experience in Product Development, Innovation, Brand Marketing, or similar roles in Food & Beverage, FMCG, or QSR.
• Strong passion for the food sector and sensitivity to consumer trends.
• Excellent analytical, organizational, and project management skills.
• Collaborative mindset and ability to manage different stakeholders.
• Good command of English.
• Experience in the QSR or Food Service sector (nice to have)
• Knowledge of food cost principles and product development processes (nice to have)
• Experience in supplier management and innovation processes (nice to have)

As an individual you are

• Curious and consumer-minded, with a genuine passion for food, trends and innovation.
• Hands-on and pragmatic, able to turn ideas into structured actions and workable solutions.
• Collaborative and comfortable working across different functions, cultures and levels of seniority.
• Well organised, reliable and attentive to detail, while keeping sight of the wider business objective.
• Analytical and commercially aware, with the confidence to challenge constructively using facts and evidence.
• Adaptable and resilient in a fast-moving environment where priorities may evolve.
• Proactive in asking questions, sharing ideas and taking ownership of your deliverables.
• A clear communicator who builds trust and keeps stakeholders aligned.

Why join us on your journey?

• Contribute to our mission of becoming the market leader in QSR sector
• Plenty of career growth opportunities across all our international head quarters
• Become part of a company where learning and development is in the heart of the culture
• Loads of fun initiatives with your colleagues, many of them focused on giving back to the community
• We believe in a flexible and hybrid work model, but we also offer a modern and cool office environment for you to thrive in
• We care about diversity, equity and inclusion and make everyone feel equally welcomed

You also get these benefits:

• Gross Annual Salary Range From 40.000 € until 44.000€
• Yearly Bonus Based on Company Performance and Personal Objectives
• Discounts for company restaurants

All applicants will receive consideration for the job with no regards to race, color, religion, gender, sex (pregnancy included) and sexual identity and orientation, age, nationality, citizenship, physical or mental disability, military status, family or marital status, medical condition, or any other basis protected by national or local laws and regulations.

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