Culinary Manager

Key Responsibilities:Drive Product Innovation - Identify market trends, customer needs and category white spaces, and translate insights into commercially viable product concepts with the Chef’s Kitchen and R&D teams.Take Products from Concept to Launch - Own the end-to-end product journey from concept to first customer sale, coordinating R&D, Procurement, Production, Packaging and Regulatory while ensuring launch readiness.Build the Product & Brand Experience - Develop compelling packaging, photography and digital assets with chefs, designers and creative partners, ensuring consistency, compliance and strong brand presentation.Build the Commercial Story - Create compelling sales propositions and pitch materials that communicate customer value, category fit, differentiation and commercial opportunity across Retail, Hospitality and Foodservice.Demonstrate & Champion the Product - Lead internal tastings and customer demonstrations, partnering with chefs and Sales to showcase products effectively and build customer confidence.Own Category & Product Performance - Drive portfolio performance through regular analysis of revenue, volume, margin and SKU productivity, leading renovation, pricing, optimisation and delisting decisions where required.Build Customer Engagement - Own customer feedback and engagement processes, partnering with Sales, Customer Service, QA and Supply Chain to turn customer insights into better products, stronger relationships and new opportunities.RequirementsBachelor’s degree in Business, Marketing, Food Science, Culinary Management or a related field.10+ years of experience in Category Management, Product/Brand Management, NPD or commercial roles within F&B, FMCG or food manufacturing.Strong understanding of NPD, food production and food safety fundamentals.Proven track record of taking products from concept to development and successful commercial launch.Strong stakeholder management and influencing skills, with the ability to work cross-functionally with R&D, Chefs, Sales, Supply Chain and Operations.Strong analytical and commercial skills, with proficiency in Excel, presentations and project-tracking tools.Ability to translate data and insights into clear commercial actions and recommendations.Comfortable managing creative, design, photography and packaging outputs to bring product propositions to life.