Product Development Specialist

Job Responsibilities

 

Project Coordination

• Coordinate Retail, Private Label, and Club Store projects from initial customer request through commercialization and full-scale production.

• Gather, organize, and maintain project information, including customer requirements, product specifications, timelines, samples, pricing inputs, and supporting documentation.

• Support the development and renovation of products and formulas requested by Corporate Sales, Management, Customers, and internal ideation initiatives.

• Assist in coordinating communication between internal departments, including Quality, Finance, Marketing, Purchasing, Sales, Operations, and Product Development.

• Work with existing suppliers and assist in identifying new manufacturers, ingredient suppliers, and vendors for current and new FOODMatch products.

• Support project launches by helping cross-functional teams complete required tasks, documentation, approvals, and deliverables.

• Maintain and update project launch timelines to help ensure milestones, deadlines, and customer requirements are met.

• Track, organize, receive, log, and distribute new product samples, ensuring accurate documentation and timely communication with relevant departments.

• Maintain project databases, reference documents, sample logs, and shared files to ensure project information remains current and accessible.

• Assist with vendor scheduling, sample coordination, and planning of approved product deliverables for customer meetings, internal reviews, and industry trade shows.

• Help develop and update internal processes, forms, and operating procedures to improve project organization and workflow efficiency.

• Assist with other duties, projects, and responsibilities as directed by Management, demonstrating flexibility and responsiveness to departmental and business needs.

 

New Product Development Support

• Support innovation and new product development projects from concept through commercialization.

• Assist with research on product concepts, market trends, competitive products, ingredients, packaging, and potential vendor capabilities.

• Support recipe development, product prototype coordination, and sensory evaluation activities.

• Assist in tracking prototype submissions, feedback, revisions, and approvals with vendors, internal teams, and customers.

• Coordinate with vendors to request, evaluate, modify, and monitor product samples based on internal and customer requirements.

• Help ensure new product samples and supporting documentation align with brand standards, quality expectations, and project objectives.

• Assist with sourcing, testing, and validating new ingredients, materials, packaging, and processes needed for customized product development.

• Prepare and maintain project status updates, meeting notes, action items, and follow-up communications for Product Development, Product Evaluation, and Private Label projects.

• Assist with cost model inputs, basic cost comparisons and analysis, product transition planning, contingency tracking, market research, and annual reporting as needed.

• Attend food shows, vendor meetings, and industry seminars as needed to support research on trends, innovation, and prospective suppliers.

• Support Innovation Customer Meetings alongside Sales Directors and Product Development team members by preparing materials, samples, project notes, and follow-up items.

• Receive, open, track, log, and route product samples while ensuring accurate documentation and timeline communication with relevant departments.

• Assist with additional administrative, project, or operational tasks as assigned by Management.