POSITION SUMMARY:

The Product Developer – Culinary Innovation Supervisor is an integral member of the Product Development team. The Product Developer – Culinary Innovation Supervisor will be reporting to Product Development Manager and is responsible for the development of new products, improvement of current products, management of the Test Kitchen, customer support and customer presentation, as well as ingredients management and recommendation for implementation. Product Developer – Culinary Innovation Supervisor will provide guidance and will assign task and responsibilities for PD Technologist and PD Technician and assure the areas of development are review and adjust on monthly basis and will support training and coaching.

REPORTING RELATIONSHIP & REPORTS:

This position will report directly to the Senior Product Development Manager.

ORGANIZATION:

Freshstone Brands Inc. (“FBI”) is a premier manufacturer of high-quality prepared food products that services the retail, foodservice, and co-manufacturing channels. The Company’s products include branded and private label entrees, salads, sides, appetizers, hand-held foods, and other prepared foods. FBI supplies fresh and some frozen items to major Canadian retailers for sale “behind the glass” or in packaged formats in the perimeter of the store, as well as to well-known foodservice customers, and some major branded food businesses under contract.

FBI manufactures its products in 6 manufacturing plants which are SQF Level 3 certified strategically located across Canada, giving FBI critical mass, and geographic proximity to the US market.

With its own brands, FBI services all the major Grocery, Mass, Club and Food Service customers in Canada either directly or through distributor and broker relationships. Additionally, FBI has co-developed and launched a variety of “own-label” and private label programs with a wide range of blue-chip, recognized retailers and food service companies across North America.

ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS:

· Contribute to business objectives and strategic product development by leading the product culinary development, culinary innovation, recipes formulation, concepts creation and execution.

· Incumbent will provide evaluation and improvement of existing product lines to improve quality and maximize efficiencies

· Contribute to business objectives and strategic product development by supporting formulating analysis, testing new products to meet customer requirements. Ensure the products meet standards before market introduction/launch

· Report to PD Manager results/findings/conclusions and recommendations on all new ingredients, products, and suppliers to ensure a competitive advantage

· Build direct relationships with vendors, food service and private label customers

· Follow the Product Development Process including all documentation procedures

· Responsible for assisting, trialing, evaluating and reporting on potential new products from different divisions as required

· Represent FBI in industry events, trade associations, seminars etc.

· Liaise with third party research to identify, prioritize and/or validate potential new opportunities

· Provide manufacturing, sales and marketing support

· Provide technical information and technical support to cross functions team members as required

· Participate in the evaluation and commissioning of new technology, production lines and/or related equipment

· Assist, support and complies with request and assignments of VP of Product Development and Culinary Innovation and act on their behalf as required

· Prepare samples for customer presentations, participate in product cuttings and provide support to the sales team

· Embrace and support the Freshstone Brands culture and values, acting as brand ambassador at all times

· Learns, responds to and applies current consumer, industry and competitive trends while collaborating with the Sales & Marketing team to use consumer and retail trends to deliver on emerging needs

· Delivers routine daily/weekly/monthly reporting and responds to basic and intermediate ad hoc data requests.

EDUCATION & PREREQUISITES

· Bachelor's Degree in Food Science or Food Technology or higher

· Culinary diploma, culinary education or commercial kitchen experience will be an additional asset

· 3 – 5 years of product development experience required, preferably with consumer packaged or food service packaged products

· 3 - 5 years of work experience in food manufacturing required

KEY COMPETENCIES:

· Deep understanding and familiarity with formula scaling, Plant trial, and first productions

· Theoretical and practical food microbiology knowledge

· Demonstrated cooking ability

· Working knowledge with Genesis nutritional database

· Excellent communication (written and verbal) skills

· Experience with S.O.P. generation

· High level of attention to detail

· Experience with maintaining formulations within an ERP system; Similar to a SAP environment.

· Self-motivated, proactive with perpetual curiosity

· Strong team-player

· Highly adaptable and “can do” attitude

WORK ENVIRONMENT

· Office environment (desk/ computer work) combined with kitchen (standing), both areas air conditioned in summer

· Stairs in production areas

· Occasionally working in production areas (standing), monitoring production runs or plant trials

· Some lifting – generally moderate – up to 35 lbs (accessing ingredients from supplies in cooler or on shelves)

· Occasional local travel (presentations at customer offices, purchasing ingredients or delivering samples) and possible air travel to the Canada/US from time to time (presentations at customer offices, trade shows, etc.)