NPD Technologist, London

Job Description

Are you passionate about Bakery and new product development?

Our client has earned a place as a market leader from a strong combination of tradition and innovation. For years this Bakery Manufacturer has supplied into an impressive range of customers. It is also important to stress this business has been very resilient to the economic climate and the popularity of products shows no signs of diminishing! Now a fantastic opportunity arises to join this successful outfit…

ROLE

REPORTS TO: Manufacturing and Technical Director; Working closely with Co-Founders, Marketing, Production and our creative team

PURPOSE: Development of new & improvement of existing products from the Bakery, finished goods. You will be working closely with Commercial and Marketing teams to create and present exciting new products for launch whilst supporting with food styling, photography, food strategy & working alongside the Procurement Manager to source new and better priced raw materials.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES:

? Developing new and innovative products in line with product briefs
? Hands on kitchen concept work to develop new products as well as upgrade existing recipes and troubleshooting product issues based on customer complaints, production inconsistencies, raw material / supplier problems or nutritional targets
? Manage existing product development and improvement, and related projects including re-designs, value engineering, packaging & ingredient changes, flavour improvement with an overall view to build quality
? Researching food trends and food gift trends in the online E-commerce market, enabling us to participate in product design, benchmarking & food safaris
? Interpreting and presenting food trends to the business, making the case for new concepts to enter our short and medium term pipeline
? Manage critical paths for each launch ensuring first class execution on all product launches
? Support the Technical team to maintain product quality and regularly benchmark products
? Ensure that the correct ingredients are available on site in the correct quantity for the make-up of samples on the required day by planning and ordering ingredients from factories or suppliers
? Plan, organise and attend factory trials, pre-pros and launches, following agreed processes and standards.
? Manage recipes, costings, nutritional information, product codes & final product descriptions
? Deliver accurate and timely documentation to support customer presentations and launches
? Set up and manage feasibility meetings, bringing all relevant departments together
? Provide training & know-how to the Production team on product builds and standards
? Represent NPD at taste panels and work closely with the Technical Department on all aspects of a product development and launch
? Developing technical aspects of packaging of product to ensure safe arrival to customer
? Update product ingredients, allergens, nutritionals onto customer portals
? Finished label / artwork checking and sign off with technical department

CANDIDATE

You must have at least a year's experience in NPD specifically within the Bakery sector. Ideal experience would include scale-up and launch of multi component products within a manufacturing environment with strong commercial awareness. A Degree or equivalent would be desirable. You will be able to make your mark and be part of an expanding company, helping to change the culture to embrace growth. Indeed this role could serve as a platform for your own personal growth, and building of expertise and experience. This business is not large but very entrepreneurial meaning every member of the team is able to make a genuine difference to the business each day!

Mon-Fri Office Hours, 5 days a week on site

If you are interested in this position then please forward a copy of your most up to date CV to andrew@drnewitt.com or contact Andrew Donaldson on 0131 226 5060.