Food Range Development and Innovation Manager

About the Role

BWG Foods UC is on a mission to transform convenience food with a focus on enhancing the Food-to-Go offerings. This role is perfect for a commercially savvy, innovative, and consumer-oriented professional passionate about developing and shaping comprehensive food propositions that delight customers and foster growth for retail partners.

As a Food Proposition & Innovation Manager, you will take ownership of the entire food proposition lifecycle across deli, fresh food, grab-and-go, and emerging food concepts. This extends beyond mere product development to encompass all aspects of the customer experience including menu design, branding, packaging, digital ordering, merchandising, service, and in-store execution.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead the development and ongoing refinement of BWG's Food-to-Go range, ensuring it stays distinctive, up-to-date with consumer demands, and compelling across various eating occasions such as breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snacks.
• Establish and maintain an innovation pipeline targeting future growth areas.
• Advocate for healthier eating options and integrate emerging food trends.
• Conceptualize forward-thinking convenience food propositions that create a sustainable competitive edge.
• Drive new food concept development stages from ideation through pilot testing, refinement, and nationwide introduction.
• Monitor evolving food trends, ingredients, formats, and technology to maintain BWG’s innovation leadership.
• Forge strategic relationships with suppliers to co-develop innovative food solutions ensuring commercial success.
• Prepare comprehensive business cases demonstrating return on investment for new propositions.
• Manage hands-on product development efforts, including benchmarking and sensory evaluations.
• Collaborate closely with suppliers to optimize products via iterative enhancements aligning with customer appeal and commercial goals.
• Evaluate competitor offerings, consumer feedback, and market conditions continuously to identify innovation opportunities.
• Design integrated food propositions addressing product range, menu structure, branding, packaging, digital ordering systems, merchandising, and operational standards.
• Partner with Commercial, Retail Operations, Marketing, and Supply Chain teams to successfully launch and sustain new offerings.
• Analyze commercial results, customer satisfaction, and retailer adoption metrics to drive ongoing improvements.
• Support retail partners with execution strategies, operational guidelines, and best practice sharing for flawless implementation.

Success Metrics

• Deliver compelling food propositions winning across key consumption occasions.
• Introduce innovative concepts that enhance retailer growth and profitability.
• Maintain a robust innovation pipeline supporting BWG’s long-term expansion goals.
• Enhance customer satisfaction through outstanding food experiences.
• Successfully roll-out commercially viable concepts that distinguish BWG in the convenience food sector.

Why BWG?

This position offers a unique chance to influence the future landscape of convenience food in Ireland. Collaborating with top suppliers and multidisciplinary teams, you will help develop next-generation Food-to-Go solutions that resonate with customers and empower retailers.