R&D Commercialization Manager

Overview

WOODLAND GOURMET:
Sevillo Fine Foods, now proudly part of Woodland Gourmet, specializes in the development and production of premium, custom-crafted fire-roasted vegetables, slow roasted tomatoes, pickled vegetables, and plant-based sauces for the food service, industrial, and retail markets. Guided by our philosophy to Connect | Craft | Customize, we partner closely with our customers to bring their culinary visions to life — from initial concept through full commercialization.

Now part of the Woodland Gourmet, Sevillo, Woodland Gourmet, and Idan Foods deliver high-quality, on-trend customized food solutions that combine deep industry expertise, artisanal craftsmanship, and tailored innovation to meet the evolving needs of today’s food industry.

Summary:
The R&D / Commercialization Manager plays a key role in ensuring the successful development and launch of newly approved products from inception through production / launch, as well as continuous improvement. Success as the R&D Commercialization Manager requires strong food science knowledge, technical problem-solving skills, effective communication, and a hands-on, detail-driven approach to project management. This role is critical to our mission of developing innovative, custom solutions that deliver exceptional taste, texture, and functionality for our clients in the restaurant and food service industry;

the candidate will have proven experience in elevating technical / flavor capability to develop competitive, differentiated solutions.

Collaboration and teamwork are essential skills, working alongside the Sales, Culinary/R&D, Quality, Operations, Procurement and customer teams to cover all facets of formulations, processes, packaging, shelf-life, storage, specifications, ingredient substitutions and/or changes.

This role will report directly to the VP of Culinary at Sevillo, with a dotted line reporting structure to both the Director of R&D and Director of Corporate Project Management. The ideal candidate has a proven track record of working collaboratively with restaurant chain Research & Development (R&D) and culinary teams to create tailored products that drive menu differentiation and consumer appeal.

• Lead end-to-end product development from ideation, formulation, and benchtop creation to full-scale commercialization.
• Drive product development within Sevillo, Woodland Gourmet and Idan product categories, aligned with customer and market trends.
• Collaborate with flavor houses and ingredient suppliers to craft innovative, on-trend flavor profiles.
• Stay current on food trends, consumer preferences, and emerging technologies to identify new product opportunities.
• Generate and refine prototypes to support internal reviews and customer presentations.
• Coordinate and manage all aspects of commercialization including formulation, ingredient approvals, process development, shelf-life, packaging, and specification creation.
• Oversee and support plant trials, production start-ups, and early runs to ensure product quality, sensory expectations, and consistency.
• Conduct feasibility assessments, scale-up evaluations, shelf-life testing, labeling verification, and specification development.
• Ensure seamless transition of new concepts into production by managing risk, driving problem resolution, and ensuring cross-functional alignment.

• Lead multiple development and commercialization projects, ensuring milestones, deliverables, and timelines are met.
• Scope projects accurately, plan and execute experiments, analyze results, and document findings with technical recommendations.
• Maintain project updates, technical documentation, and customer communication through appropriate systems and portals.

• Serve as a technical liaison between R&D, Culinary, Sales, Marketing, Operations, Quality, Procurement, and customers.
• Partner directly with customers to understand their needs, present solutions, and guide formula revisions through to approval.
• Communicate formula changes, ingredient substitutions, and technical updates in writing and in meetings.
• Ensure accurate and timely…