Job Description

The primary objective of this position is to contribute to the development of various categories within the Fresh Foods department, including breads, cakes, desserts, and both sweet and savoury confectionery items. Responsibilities encompass overseeing recipe development, coordinating factory trials, drafting specifications and costings, sourcing packaging materials, negotiating costs, and overseeing product launches. In addition to spearheading new product development initiatives, this role involves continuous research and competitor analysis to gain insights into our customers' preferences regarding fresh food offerings.Job Advert Details
Job Category Food Service
Job Objectives

• Engage actively in delivering innovative Fresh Foods products, ensuring they drive innovation, enhance core growth, maintain consistent high quality, provide value for money, and ultimately surpass our customers' expectations.
• Ensure alignment with the overarching product development process within Fresh Foods, ensuring that product ranges are developed in accordance with agreed-upon product direction while adhering to brand values.
• Take charge of and support the product development process across all aspects, including recipe development, conducting factory trials (which requires traveling), drafting specifications and costing, packaging, negotiating costs with buyers, and product launches.
• Conduct continuous product, consumer, and competitor research, providing input and implementing various supplier strategies, including reformulating existing products for enhancement.
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams in commercial, technology, and planning to launch competitive and profitable ranges.
• Provide essential inputs for packaging development requirements, collaborating with the Packaging and Marketing Department on concepts, packaging, and the new product development process.
• Collaborate with the technical team to establish and continuously enhance quality standards and technical product specifications through local and international benchmarking to ensure compliance.
• Foster and enhance the relationship with the production team to uphold quality standards, internal systems, process flows, and traceability from raw product receipt through production to finished goods.
• Cultivate sustainable, mutually beneficial long-term relationships with suppliers to acquire the best products and inputs.
• Interface with the Quality Assurance Department regarding GMP, HACCP, ISO standards, specifications, customer complaints, and other quality matters.
• Offer ongoing factory support to address any product-related technical challenges and improve production processes.
• Delivering innovative bakery and confectionary products.
• Manage product development process and timeline across all aspects, including recipe development, conducting factory trials (which requires traveling), drafting specifications and costing, packaging, negotiating costs with buyers, and product launches

QualificationsQualification at a Culinary School (preferred) or BSc - Consumer/Food Science or BTech - Food Technology and/or other relevant Nutritional Sciences, Dietetics and Culinary related or equivalent to
ExperienceMinimum 3 years experience in a similar role (Product Development / Production / Technical Specification / Quality Control)
Development experience within the mentioned categories will be advantageous.
Including experience and exposure:
2-3 years Product Development in a foods FMCG manufacturing / production environment - preferably in fresh foods.
1-2 years exposure to developing food products from inception, through production to the launching stage, improving new and existing products (highly advantageous)
Computer Literacy - Gmail, Google sheets, Google Docs, Google Slides (preferred)
Knowledge and Skills

• Amazing product flair - creating and managing Fresh Food products (user stories, acceptance criteria etc)
• Understanding of food and the production process - a foodie - passionate about the production process including new products and refinement opportunities.
• Strong relationships - including interpersonal skills and EQ. Display a strong team spirit. Ensure that all individuals, team members, and stakeholders feel valued, motivated and equipped to deliver, develop and build a meaningful career in the team.
• Commercial and financial acumen - basic understanding of the role this plays in the process
• Collaborative partnering - build relationships both internally and externally. Open, honest and direct, is comfortable in giving and receiving constructive feedback. Think and act independently as well as collaboratively.
• Operational efficiency - Diligently staying on top of the details and understanding how they fit into the big picture. Process driven and methodical.
• Exceptional communication - approachable, adopt a range of influencing and negotiation styles to facilitate and deal with various scenarios internally and externally

Shoprite Holdings