About this role
Product ManagerPosition Summary
We are seeking a hands-on and commercially focused Product Manager to support market research, product planning, new product development, and commercialization.
This role is suitable for a growing organization where responsibilities are broad and team members work closely across different functions. The Product Manager will be responsible for identifying market opportunities, developing product concepts, coordinating product development projects, analyzing costs and pricing, preparing customer presentations, and supporting product launches.
The successful candidate should be comfortable working independently, managing multiple projects, and taking ownership of products from initial market research through commercial launch.
Experience in the food, pet food, consumer packaged goods, or related manufacturing industry is mandatory.
Key ResponsibilitiesMarket Research and Opportunity Identification
* Conduct market research to identify consumer trends, customer needs, product gaps, and new business opportunities. * Research competitor products, ingredients, claims, packaging formats, pricing, promotions, and market positioning. * Review retail stores, online marketplaces, industry reports, trade publications, and customer feedback to understand market developments. * Analyze customer sales data, product performance, and market information to identify potential new products. * Prepare market research summaries, competitor comparisons, and product opportunity recommendations. * Attend trade shows, customer meetings, supplier presentations, and industry events to gather market intelligence. * Translate market findings into clear and practical product concepts.
Product Planning and Concept Development
* Develop new product ideas based on market research, customer requests, consumer trends, and company capabilities. * Prepare product briefs covering target customers, key benefits, ingredients, product format, packaging, retail price, target cost, and market positioning. * Evaluate new product opportunities based on customer demand, market potential, production feasibility, cost, pricing, and expected profitability. * Recommend product positioning, product names, claims, packaging concepts, and selling points. * Develop product roadmaps and priorities based on business opportunities and available resources.
New Product Development
* Manage new product development projects from initial concept through formulation, sampling, testing, costing, packaging, production trials, and launch. * Work directly with R&D, Production, Quality Assurance, Procurement, Packaging, Sales, suppliers, and external manufacturers. * Coordinate product samples and evaluate appearance, texture, flavour, functionality, packaging, and overall product quality. * Collect feedback from customers and internal teams and coordinate product improvements. * Follow up on project timelines, samples, costing, specifications, packaging artwork, and production readiness. * Identify potential project risks and work with the team to resolve issues.
Costing, Pricing and Commercial Analysis
* Work with Procurement, Production, and Finance to calculate product costs. * Review ingredient costs, packaging costs, labour, manufacturing costs, freight, and other related expenses. * Develop recommended selling prices based on cost, target margin, market pricing, and customer expectations. * Compare different formulas, ingredients, packaging options, and production methods to identify cost-saving opportunities. * Evaluate the commercial feasibility and profitability of new products. * Maintain accurate product costing and pricing information.
Product Commercialization
* Coordinate the preparation of product specifications, ingredient lists, nutritional information, packaging requirements, product claims, and customer documents. * Support packaging development, artwork review, label information, case configuration, and pallet requirements. * Wor