Product Development Manager; Food

Position

Product Development Manager

Location:

Thames Refinery, UK

Reports to:

R&T Director

ASR Group is the world’s largest refiner and marketer of cane sugar, with an annual production capacity of more than 6 million tons. The company produces a full line of grocery, industrial, food service and specialty sweetener products. It operates sugar refineries and mills across North America and Europe, and owns a portfolio of leading brands including Domino®, C&H®, Redpath®, Tate & Lyle®, Lyle’s®, and Sidul®.

At ASR Group, we also produce and market Tellus®, a compostable tableware made from plant fibers, including sugarcane.

Reporting to the Research and Technology Director, the Product Manager provides customer‑facing leadership across the product portfolio in Europe, acting as the key link between customers, Sales and Marketing, Operations and technical teams.

The role ensures strong involvement of the Product team across the full lifecycle of projects and initiatives, with ownership of technical and operational delivery throughout. It requires strong customer engagement in shaping briefs and supporting commercial activity, combined with technical credibility to guide decisions and ensure continuity and accountability. The position also plays a critical role in supporting operations, working closely with manufacturing and supply chain to enable scalable, reliable delivery against demanding timelines without compromising quality or compliance.

• Lead customer‑facing technical aspects of product and process development, reformulation and optimisation from concept through launch and post‑launch governance, ensuring alignment with commercial priorities and manufacturing capability.
• Provide senior technical leadership in ingredient qualification, applied development activities, and production of bench‑top or full‑scale samples aligned with customer and marketing briefs.
• Apply stage/gate project management principles with a strong execution focus to deliver multiple customer‑driven work streams on time and in full.
• Coordinate product formulations and laboratory samples based on consumer insights, ensuring compliance with manufacturing, regulatory, and cost objectives.
• Manage sensory evaluations and consumer testing (qualitative and quantitative), analyse data, and provide actionable recommendations.
• Prepare and approve technical documentation (ingredient specifications, formulation briefs, and finished product) and develop process control documents in collaboration with quality and operations teams.

• Lead scale‑up trials across European sites, including co‑packers, by defining objectives, developing Design of Experiments plans, capturing critical data, and aligning cross‑functional teams to optimise product performance.
• Direct full‑scale production trials to validate process robustness, confirm commercialisation strategies, and ensure seamless transfer from development to manufacturing.
• Troubleshoot manufacturing, pilot plant, and laboratory processes using data‑driven approaches to resolve technical challenges that directly impact delivery timelines, product quality, or customer acceptance.

• Provide hands‑on technical leadership to the Product team, setting priorities based on customer and commercial criticality and fostering collaboration to deliver reliable outcomes.
• Responsible for developing team capabilities and ensure delivery continuity by defining training priorities, implementing succession plans, and embedding knowledge strategies.
• Oversee routine laboratory operations, including applied product development activities, analytical testing, equipment reliability, consumables management, and budget planning.
• Ensure a safe, GMP‑compliant laboratory environment and adherence to health and safety standards.
• Manage qualification and tracking of real‑time and accelerated shelf‑life assessments for all new, optimised, or reformulated products.

• Contribute to projects involving manufacturing operations, packaging innovation, regulatory, legal, quality,…