Culinary Development Manager

Location: Manchester
Overview: We are recruiting an experienced and commercially driven NPD Category Lead to join a leading food manufacturing business based in Manchester. This role is responsible for leading and delivering the category innovation pipeline, ensuring the successful development and launch of high-quality, commercially viable food products that align with customer expectations and business growth objectives.The successful candidate will take ownership of category strategy and pipeline delivery, working cross functionally with Technical, Operations, Commercial, Procurement, and Process teams to deliver products from concept through to launch. This is a highly customer facing role requiring strong leadership, commercial awareness and a passion for food excellence, innovation and continuous improvement.This is an exciting opportunity for an ambitious NPD professional who thrives in a fast-paced food manufacturing environment and enjoys leading teams, influencing stakeholders and driving innovation at pace.About you…• Strong experience delivering end to end product development within a food manufacturing environment.• Previous experience managing retailer or customer-facing development projects and customer expectations.• Commercially aware with strong understanding of costings, margins, category performance and business growth objectives.• Proven ability to lead multiple projects and priorities within a fast paced environment.• Strong understanding of factory processes, scalability, operational constraints and factory ready product development.• Passionate about food quality, innovation and delivering products that exceed customer expectations.• Excellent communication and presentation skills with the ability to influence customers and internal stakeholders.• Strong understanding of market trends, competitor activity and customer requirements within the food sector.What will you be doing?• Owning and managing the category innovation pipeline aligned to customer and business strategy.• Driving delivery of commercially viable products from concept through to launch, ensuring alignment to customer expectations and commercial targets.• Prioritising development activity and resources to focus on the most commercially valuable opportunities.• Monitoring pipeline progress, launch performance, project risks and delivery timelines to ensure successful execution.• Acting as the key NPD and Innovation contact for customers within the category.• Leading customer presentations, innovation sessions and development meetings to strengthen customer relationships and position the business as a trusted development partner.• Championing food quality, taste, and product excellence across the category, ensuring products are benchmarked against market-leading standards.• Driving creativity and innovation while balancing commercial delivery, operational feasibility and customer requirements.So, what can they offer you?An opportunity to join a forward-thinking and growing food manufacturing business where innovation, food quality, collaboration and continuous improvement are at the heart of everything they do.You’ll become part of a dynamic and supportive team with the opportunity to lead category innovation, influence customer strategy and develop commercially successful products within a fast-paced environment. This role offers the chance to make a significant impact by driving product excellence, developing high-performing teams and contributing to business growth through innovation and customer partnership.We are keen to speak with experienced NPD Category Leads, Senior NPD Managers, Innovation Managers, Product Development Managers, Senior Development Technologists, Category Development Managers or Senior NPD professionals from the food manufacturing sector who live within Manchester, Salford, Bolton, Oldham, Rochdale, Stockport, Warrington, Wigan, Preston, Leeds, Liverpool or surrounding areas.How to ApplyIf you have the desired qualifications and experience, please send your CV quoting re JO/TNT/2716 or call 0161 399 1575 / 07830 944145 for a confidential discussion.True North Talent is recognised as a trusted supplier of permanent, contract and interim recruitment services to the food manufacturing and FMCG industries. Our teams of specialist recruiters operate across food manufacturing Operations Jobs, food manufacturing Engineering jobs, food manufacturing Technical jobs, food manufacturing NPD jobs, food manufacturing Supply Chain jobs and food manufacturing Commercial jobs. We may hold your data, as per our privacy policy detailed on our website.We are only able to consider candidates who have the legal right to work in the UK at the time of application. Unfortunately, due to the high volume of applications we receive, we can only contact successful applicants.

Location: Merseyside
Overview: Great opportunity for a Packaging Technologist to join a leading food manufacturer in this unique opportunity. About You: You will need to be qualified in material science, engineering or another science-based subject As Packaging Technologist, you will possess experience in food, FMCG packaging An interest and knowledge of sustainability Exceptional organisational skills Excellent communication skills What will you be doing? Day to day support the NPD Team, trials, sample request, specification requests, speak to suppliers, artwork review. Managing packaging development trials and launches. You will work collaboratively across the teams in the business and packaging suppliers. The successful Packaging Technologist will build strong relationships with packaging suppliers and keep up to date with all packaging trends Liaise with suppliers to ensure specifications and legal requirements are met. What can they offer you?This is a great business to work for. Opportunities exist within not only your department but in the wider business too.We are seeking applications from talented Packaging Technologists, Sustainable Packaging Technologists, Junior Packaging Technologists, Materials & Packaging Technologists and Packaging Innovation Technologists who live within Merseyside, Birkenhead, Liverpool, Ellesmere Port, ChesterHow to ApplyIf you have the desired qualifications and experience, please send your CV quoting re CH/TNT/2680 or call 0161 399 1575 / 07899 686690 for a confidential discussion. True North Talent is recognised as a trusted supplier of permanent, contract and interim recruitment services to the food manufacturing and FMCG industries. Our teams of specialist recruiters operate across food manufacturing Operations Jobs, food manufacturing Engineering jobs, food manufacturing Technical jobs, food manufacturing NPD jobs, food manufacturing Supply Chain jobs and food manufacturing Commercial jobs. We may hold your data, as per our privacy policy detailed on our website. We are only able to consider candidates who have the full legal right to work in the UK. Unfortunately, due to the high volume of applications we receive, we can only contact successful applicants.

Location: North West
Overview: We are seeking a Senior NPD Technologist/NPD Manager for this FMCG manufacturing business, who has outstanding processes and procedures in place and a customer service level to be extremely proud of. That said, they can do better, and this is where this role comes in. The Senior Team on site are in touch with everything that happens in the factory and are well thought of by the shop floor staff. Requirements:• As NPD Manager, you will possess a Degree in Food Science or a related discipline• Previous experience in an NPD or product development role.• Able to manage multiple projects in a fast-paced environment. The Opportunity • Oversee and manage NPD projects from concept to launch• Coordinate communication between internal teams, suppliers, and customers• From early concepts, kitchen trials, factory trials, launch, post-launch tweaks• Turning a bench-top recipe into something that works in a factory without killing taste, cost, or shelf life• Making sure products hit margin targets and can be produced reliably• Monitor market and consumer trends to inform new product ideas.• The NPD Manager will manage innovation pipelines and timelines So, what can they offer you? This is a lovely company to work for. They have a number of staff who have been here 10+ years and are as enthusiastic about the company today as they were when they startedAs a business they can boast a low staff turnover as it really is a nice place to work. They’re looking to pay c£45,000 to £50,000 depending on experience, plus a host of benefits. How to applyIf you're interested in this opportunity, please submit your CV via the link provided quoting reference CH/TNT/2453We’re looking to speak to Senior NPD Technologists, NPD Managers, New Product Development Technologists, Senior New Product Development Technologists etc within Greater Lancaster, Preston, Clitheroe, Burnley, Blackburn and the North West. True North Talent is recognised as a trusted supplier of permanent, contract and interim recruitment services to the food manufacturing and FMCG industries. Our teams of specialist recruiters operate across food manufacturing Operations Jobs, food manufacturing Engineering jobs, food manufacturing Technical jobs, food manufacturing NPD jobs, food manufacturing Supply Chain jobs and food manufacturing Commercial jobs. We may hold your data, as per our privacy policy detailed on our website. We are only able to consider candidates who have the legal right to work in the UK. Unfortunately, due to the high volume of applications we receive, we can only contact successful applicants.

Location: UK
Overview: Our client is seeking a creative Interim Development Chef to develop their products that meet the evolving needs of consumers in their category. The Candidate:• Experience as a development chef within a food manufacturing environment• Expertise in recipe development and culinary innovation, preferably in a fast paced food manufacturing business• Excellent problem-solving skills and ability to work in a fast-paced, dynamic environment• Proficient in cost management and production efficiency strategies• Strong communication and collaboration skills The Role:• Recipe development and innovation, creating and developing insight led new ready meal concepts, working as part of the development chef team, innovate with new ingredients, cooking techniques, and packaging solutions to differentiate products in the marketplace• Continuously refine products based on feedback from consumer panels, customer • Develop recipes that meet target cost parameters while maintaining high quality and taste standards• Work with procurement teams to source cost-effective ingredients without compromising on quality• Provide training and support to production staff on the implementation of new recipes and techniques• As the Development Chef, support a culture of innovation and continuous improvement within the NPD team The Offering:Day Rate, dependant on experience, plus expenses. We are seeking applications from Development Chefs, Innovation Chefs, Product Development Chefs, Menu Development Chefs, R&D Chefs, Research and Development Chefs, Food Innovation Chefs. True North Talent is recognised as a trusted supplier of permanent, contract and interim recruitment services to the food manufacturing and FMCG industries. Our teams of specialist recruiters operate across food manufacturing Operations Jobs, food manufacturing Engineering jobs, food manufacturing Technical jobs, food manufacturing NPD jobs, food manufacturing Supply Chain jobs and food manufacturing Commercial jobs. We may hold your data, as per our privacy policy detailed on our website. We are only able to consider candidates who have the legal right to work in the UK at the time of application. Unfortunately, due to the high volume of applications we receive, we can only contact successful applicants.