Manager, Sauce, Licensing & Culinary Applications

Ocean Spray•Lakeville, MA

64d•Onsite

About The Position

The Manager of Sauce, Licensing and Culinary Applications, leads the global product development of sauce innovation & brand maintenance, supports licensing efforts and provides culinary support and global culinary connectivity with strategic partners in collaboration with cross functional business partners underpinned with food science fundamentals and culinary creativity. This role is accountable for Ocean Spray Cranberry Sauce formulations and innovation to drive growth across multiple channels of trade, ensuring cobranding products meet brand equity standards across multiple licensing partnerships, and for Culinary applications, recipe and global culinary network to support our B2B Ingredient business and Food Service Sales... This requires a mix of skills that requires comfort in both a test-kitchen space as well as a laboratory. Cross-functional collaboration is crucial as this role works closely with various functions including R&D, Marketing, Manufacturing, Sales and external customers and partners to translate concepts and culinary ideas into scalable, compliant products for consumption. This role combines Food Science and Culinary expertise, with intellectual curiosity and strategic brand stewardship to drive product differentiation and market success. Given the nature of the responsibilities, this role is designed to be in the Lakeville, MA office five days per week.

Requirements

Strong foundation in culinary arts, food science, and product development, especially in translating culinary concepts into scalable CPG products.
Demonstrated experience in commercialization of new products in CPG.
Ability to manage multiple projects simultaneously, from ideation through commercialization, while meeting deadlines and budget constraints.
Skilled in working with R&D, marketing, legal, and external brand partners to align on product goals and execution.
Deep understanding of consumer and culinary trends, with the ability to apply insights to product innovation.
Excellent written and verbal communication for presenting ideas, leading tastings, and coordinating with internal and external stakeholders.
Ability to interpret sensory data, market research, and performance metrics to guide product decisions.
Bachelor's degree in Food Science. Additional degree or certification in Culinary Science (e.g., RCA) is a plus.
7+ years in culinary development and food product innovation, preferably within a CPG company or foodservice brand; experience with licensed products is highly desirable.
Certified Culinary Scientist
Familiarity with food manufacturing processes, commercial culinary equipment and appliances, ingredient functionality, regulatory requirements, and packaging considerations.
Experience with PLM systems, Microsoft Office Suite, and culinary development tools (e.g., recipe management software).
External culinary collaboration
Note that this role is on-site, due to significant laboratory, test-kitchen and pilot-plant work.

Nice To Haves

Additional degree or certification in Culinary Science (e.g., RCA)
experience with licensed products is highly desirable.
Master's Degree

Responsibilities

Product Development Lead Sauce Product Development - Lead product development for our cranberry sauce business to drive expansion of our sauce business through new product innovation and use occasions. Lead team to create product specifications that can translate from bench to large scale manufacturing and meet food safety, quality, regulatory compliance and product stability for target markets and channels of trade
Technical Stage Gate - Guide team through our Technical Stage Gate process, from Ideation through Launch, ensuring sufficient technical and project management rigor is effectively incorporated into project plans. Guide development of robust learning plans for all commercialization projects.
Support Licensing Partnerships - Serve as the culinary and product development lead for licensed product initiatives, ensuring alignment with brand standards and licensing agreements.
Ensure Food Safety, Regulatory & IP Compliance: Work with legal, regulatory and Food Safety teams to ensure all licensed products meet food safety standards and respect intellectual property rights.
Partner Collaboration: Act as a liaison between internal teams and external licensors, ensuring product deliverables meet expectations and timelines.
Lead Culinary Application Strategy: Drive the development of innovative food concepts and applications to support Ingredient and Food Service Sales. Collaborate with Sales and Marketing to create recipes and prototypes that are tailored to specific customer needs and extend our ingredients and products into new occasions and channels. . Coordinate and execute samples and live customer culinary demonstrations to enhance sales.
Chef to Chef Collaboration: Support the business team with Chef to Chef collaboration and partnership with key customers to enhance understanding of customer innovation pipeline requirements.
Collaboration/External Partnerships - Establish a global network of Culinary partners to ensure local relevance, share best practices, successful applications and amplify the culinary team's footprint.
Prototype Development: Oversee the creation of culinary concepts and prototypes as inspiration for new products, that incorporate the latest flavor and ingredient trends and consumer insights.
Social Media - Support Marketing and Sales with advertising and social media content as needed.
Collaborate within R&D and and with Other Commercial Functions Work closely with R&D partners (Product Development, Food Safety & Quality, Regulatory, Packaging), as well as cross-functional partners (Marketing, Sales, Social Media)
Support Sales & Commercialization: Provide culinary expertise during customer presentations, trade shows, and product launches.
Training & Knowledge Sharing: Educate internal stakeholders on culinary trends, product usage, and brand-specific culinary guidelines in partnership with external network
Trend Analysis: Monitor culinary and consumer trends to inform product innovation and licensing opportunities.
Competitive Benchmarking: Analyze competitor products and market positioning to identify gaps and opportunities for licensed culinary offerings.
Portfolio Optimization: Evaluate existing licensed products for performance and recommend improvements or discontinuations.

Benefits

Complete insurance package on Day-1 that includes a plethora of health and wellness programs
Health, Dental, and Vision insurance
Health savings account
Flexible spending account
Life and accident insurance
Employee assistance program
Telehealth services
Fertility benefits
Transgender benefits
1:1 health coaching and more
401(k) with up to 6% Company matching; additional potential discretionary match at year-end
Short-Term Incentive/Performance bonuses
Flexible scheduling options
Vacation pay, up to three weeks of time (pro-rated for your first year of employment)
Holiday pay for 12 holidays
Career development and growth opportunities
Tuition/Education assistance programs
Access to LinkedIn Learning
Scholarship programs for children of employees
Parental leave
Bright Horizons Family Solutions - Back-up care, tutoring, etc.
Adoption assistance
Bereavement leave
Up to $300 fitness reimbursement
Up to $300 massage reimbursement
Employee appreciation events
Employee discounts
Charitable giving