Director, International Menu & Product Development

Denny's•Spartanburg, SC

About The Position

The Director, International Menu & Product Development will conduct local market evaluations to understand the individual needs of each market related to menu and messaging support. This role will determine where and when regional programs can maximize profits and lead local franchise partners to determine the best menu and limited-time offers that support Denny’s brand identity and provide profitable sustainable sales. The position will provide guidance and partner with Denny’s marketing subject matter experts to determine the best menu layout and design, and support global menu requirements with a balance of local, regional, and US ingredient sourcing. A key responsibility is to match all A-level ingredients and find suitable alternatives for ingredients with subsequent levels of proprietary status, using Denny’s standard protocol for international ingredient testing. The role will maintain a global recipe and photo database by country to ensure all Denny’s recipes are protected worldwide and can be assessed by international partners. The Director will help franchise partners source ingredients to support US programs where applicable and fill voids where necessary, and manage the supply commitment process for franchisee module participation in conjunction with Denny’s purchasing. This role will develop bi-yearly regional ideation sessions to support the efficiencies of regional programs as an alternative to an all-US calendar, and support concept ideation of recipes that meet the cultural expectations of respective countries. The Director will refine recipes and ingredient specifications to meet consumer preferences established through sensory panels and marketing research, with special consideration for execution within Denny’s operational and manufacturing limitations. Market visits will be conducted to discover issues and find solutions before a recipe, ingredient, or program is implemented. The role will verify or refine recipes submitted by international franchisees through the “New Product Approval” process and assist the Product Innovation/Product Development team with other duties as assigned.

Requirements

Must match all A-level ingredients and find suitable alternatives for ingredients with subsequent levels of proprietary status.
Must use Denny’s standard protocol for international ingredient testing.
The typical pay range for this role is: Minimum:$142,000.00 - Maximum:$195,800.00

Responsibilities

Conduct local market evaluations to understand the individual needs of that market related to the menu and messaging support needs.
Determine where and when regional programs could maximize profits.
Lead local franchise partners to determine the best menu and limited-time offers for their market that support Denny’s brand identity and provide profitable sustainable sales.
Provide guidance and partner with Denny’s marketing subject matter experts to determine the best menu layout and design.
Support global menu requirements with a balance of local, regional, and US ingredient sourcing.
Match all A-level ingredients and find suitable alternatives for ingredients with subsequent levels of proprietary status.
Use Denny’s standard protocol for international ingredient testing.
Maintain global recipe and photo database by country, to ensure all Denny’s recipes are protected worldwide and can be assessed by international partners in the event a recipe in one part of the world could be successful in another part.
Help franchise partners source ingredients to support US programs where applicable and fill voids where necessary.
Manage the supply commitment process for franchisee module participation in conjunction with Denny’s purchasing.
Develop bi-yearly regional ideation sessions to support the efficiencies of regional programs as an alternative to an all-US calendar.
Support concept ideation of then create recipes that meet the cultural expectations of respective countries.
Refine recipes and ingredient specifications to meet the consumer preferences as established through sensory panels and marketing research with special consideration of the ability to successfully execute said recipe within Denny’s operational and manufacturing limitations.
Conduct market visits to discover issues and find solutions before a recipe, ingredient, or program is implemented when applicable.
Verify or refine recipes submitted by international franchisees through the “New Product Approval” process.
Assist Product Innovation/Product Development team with other duties as assigned.