Product Development Manager

Key Responsibilities

• Lead end-to-end B2B new product development, from concept, formulation and prototyping through to scale-up and commercial launch for the cocoa products.

• Drive product innovation by identifying market trends, customer needs, and business opportunities to develop new cocoa-based solutions.

• Manage and grow a robust innovation pipeline, ensuring projects are prioritized based on customer value, commercial potential, and technical feasibility.

• Oversee IEC Lab activities, ensuring effective execution of product trials, prototype development, documentation, and compliance with food safety and quality standards.

• Act as the key technical partner to customers and internal stakeholders, translating customer requirements into innovative product solutions.

• Collaborate closely with Commercial, Marketing, Operations, Quality, and Supply Chain teams to deliver successful product launches.

• Facilitate customer innovation sessions and workshops, applying Design Thinking principles to generate and validate new product concepts.

• Develop prototypes and product applications for customer evaluation andrefine solutions based on feedback.

• Support product commercialization by managing scale-up activities, mitigating technical risks, and ensuring launch readiness.

• Provide technical expertise and product knowledge to support customer engagement and business growth.

Requirements

Qualifications &Experience

• Bachelor's degree or higher in Food Science, Food Technology, Chemistry, Chemical Engineering or a related technical discipline

• Relevant experience in product development, food innovation, applications or R&D, preferably within cocoa manufacturing environment

• Demonstrated experience taking products from laboratory or prototype stage through scale-up and commercial launch

• Experience engaging directly with customers to develop technical or product solutions would be highly advantageous

• Experience facilitating innovation, ideation or product development workshops would be beneficial

• Practical understanding of structured innovation processes, including Design to value

• Strong understanding of food quality, food safety and product development requirements

• Experience working across Commercial, Marketing and Operations functions in a matrix environment