Innovation Manager

About the role

This position leads the development of new menu items, promotional products, and annual culinary programs for a leading foodservice organization. The ideal candidate blends creativity with operational execution, guiding food concepts from initial idea through testing, commercialization, and launch.

Responsibilities

• Lead ideation and development of new menu recipes, promotional food items, and culinary programs from concept through commercialization.
• Create recipes, develop prototypes, conduct testing, and ensure products are practical for restaurant or foodservice execution.
• Evaluate plate presentation, raw materials, product performance, and cost estimates throughout the development process.
• Partner cross-functionally with teams such as Marketing, Finance, Operations, Strategic Sourcing, Training, suppliers, and buyers to bring new products to market.
• Provide culinary and product development expertise to support broader business initiatives, operational improvements, and menu innovation projects.
• Stay current on foodservice trends, competitive activity, supplier capabilities, and operational needs through market research, restaurant visits, supplier meetings, and competitive reviews.
• Support the development, coaching, and training of product development team members.
• Ensure food safety, handling, storage, quality, and service standards are incorporated into all product development work.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Food Science, Culinary Arts degree, or equivalent professional experience required.
• 5-7 years of culinary experience, ideally with exposure to daily foodservice, restaurant, or multi-unit operations.
• Strong knowledge of culinary arts, food technology, menu development, and foodservice industry trends.
• Experience with consumer research, trend evaluation, product testing, or commercialization preferred.
• Strong understanding of food safety, proper handling/storage practices, service techniques, and basic quality assurance principles.
• Ability to develop products that can scale across operational environments.
• Ability to work cross-functionally and influence internal teams, suppliers, and business partners.