Product Developer - Bakery

About the role

We're looking for a creative and commercially minded Product Developer to join our NPD team and play a key role in bringing innovative, market leading bakery products to life.

You'll take ownership of projects from concept through to launch, working closely with commercial, technical and operations teams to deliver outstanding products for our customers. This is a fast paced, highly collaborative role where your ability to balance creativity, quality and commercial delivery will be key.

What you'll be doing

• Lead the end-to-end development of new products, from idea through to successful launch
• Manage multiple NPD projects, ensuring delivery to time, cost and quality targets
• Partner with key customers, understanding their needs and translating these into compelling product solutions
• Work cross-functionally with sales, technical, procurement and manufacturing teams
• Drive innovation, staying ahead of food trends, competitor activity and customer insight
• Support and oversee factory trials, ensuring a "right first time" approach
• Build strong relationships with suppliers and customers to deliver best in class ingredients and outcomes
• Contribute to continuous improvement of NPD processes and ways of working

What we're looking for

Experience

• Proven experience in product development within the food industry (bakery experience highly desirable)
• Track record of successfully launching products to market
• Experience working with or supplying retail or foodservice customers
• Strong understanding of manufacturing processes and commercial drivers

Skills

• Strong project management skills, with the ability to juggle multiple priorities
• Commercial awareness and a clear understanding of customer needs and market trends
• Confident communication and influencing skills
• Ability to collaborate across teams and build strong stakeholder relationships

What makes you stand out

• Passion for food (especially bakery!) and emerging trends
• A proactive, "get things done" mindset
• Ability to challenge thinking and bring fresh ideas to the table
• Strong customer focus and desire to deliver exceptional products

Why join us?

• Work on exciting, high impact product launches
• Be part of a collaborative, forward thinking NPD team
• Opportunity to influence customer relationships and innovation strategy
• Exposure to international markets, suppliers and trends

"We're looking for someone who is not only passionate about product development, but truly customer focused, someone who can turn insight into action and help us become our customers' supplier of choice."