We are hiring a Culinary Manager in the United Arab Emirates to drive product innovation, identifying market trends, customer needs, and category white spaces, and translating insights into commercially viable product concepts with the Chef’s Kitchen and R&D teams. This role owns the end-to-end product journey from concept through to first customer sale.
 About the Role
Core Function: Driving product innovation from market insight through commercial launch
Cross-Functional Ownership: Coordinating R&D, Procurement, Production, Packaging, and Regulatory
Brand & Commercial Focus: Building compelling product, brand, and sales propositions
Channel Coverage: Retail, Hospitality, and Foodservice commercial opportunities
Career Opportunity in UAE Food Product Innovation
Strategic Location: United Arab Emirates — a growing hub for F&B and food manufacturing innovation
End-to-End Ownership: Full product journey from concept to first customer sale
Creative & Commercial Blend: Managing packaging, photography, and digital brand assets alongside sales strategy
Career Growth: A senior leadership role bridging culinary expertise and commercial strategy
Position Overview
This Culinary Manager role involves driving product innovation by identifying market trends and category white spaces, taking products from concept to launch by coordinating R&D, Procurement, Production, Packaging, and Regulatory teams. You will build compelling packaging, photography, and digital assets, create commercial sales propositions across Retail, Hospitality, and Foodservice, lead internal tastings and customer demonstrations, own category and product performance analysis, and drive customer engagement through cross-functional partnerships.
 Why This Role Matters: As Culinary Manager, you sit at the intersection of culinary craft and commercial strategy, translating market insight into products that succeed in Retail, Hospitality, and Foodservice, own the complete product journey from concept through commercial launch, shape compelling brand storytelling through packaging, photography, and pitch materials, drive portfolio performance through data-driven pricing, renovation, and optimization decisions, and lead customer-facing tastings and demonstrations that build lasting commercial relationships.
Key Responsibilities
Product Innovation & Development
- Identify market trends, customer needs, and category white spaces
- Translate insights into commercially viable product concepts with the Chef’s Kitchen and R&D teams
- Own the end-to-end product journey from concept to first customer sale, coordinating R&D, Procurement, Production, Packaging, and Regulatory
Brand & Commercial Storytelling
- Develop compelling packaging, photography, and digital assets with chefs, designers, and creative partners
- Create compelling sales propositions and pitch materials communicating customer value and differentiation
- Lead internal tastings and customer demonstrations, partnering with chefs and Sales
Portfolio Performance & Customer Engagement
- Drive portfolio performance through regular analysis of revenue, volume, margin, and SKU productivity
- Lead renovation, pricing, optimisation, and delisting decisions where required
- Own customer feedback and engagement processes, partnering with Sales, Customer Service, QA, and Supply Chain
🎓 Qualifications & Requirements
Educational Requirements
- Bachelor’s degree in Business, Marketing, Food Science, Culinary Management, or a related field
Experience Requirements
- 10+ years of experience in Category Management, Product/Brand Management, NPD, or commercial roles within F&B, FMCG, or food manufacturing
- Proven track record of taking products from concept to development and successful commercial launch
Essential Skills
- Strong understanding of NPD, food production, and food safety fundamentals
- Strong stakeholder management and influencing skills across R&D, Chefs, Sales, Supply Chain, and Operations
- Strong analytical and commercial skills, with proficiency in Excel, presentations, and project-tracking tools
- Ability to translate data and insights into clear commercial actions and recommendations
- Comfortable managing creative, design, photography, and packaging outputs
 About This Culinary Manager Opportunity
This Culinary Manager role combines deep culinary and product development expertise with strong commercial acumen, requiring a proven track record of taking products from concept through to successful commercial launch across Retail, Hospitality, and Foodservice channels. The role calls for someone equally comfortable in the kitchen with chefs and in the boardroom with sales and stakeholder teams.
Career Excellence: Bridge culinary innovation and commercial strategy as Culinary Manager driving product success from concept to launch.
Who Should Apply?
- Senior NPD & Category Managers:Â With 10+ years across F&B, FMCG, or food manufacturing
- Culinary-Commercial Hybrids:Â Comfortable bridging chef teams, R&D, and commercial sales strategy
- Brand & Packaging-Savvy Leaders:Â Experienced managing creative, photography, and design outputs
- Data-Driven Product Strategists:Â Skilled analyzing revenue, margin, and SKU performance
- Cross-Functional Influencers:Â Strong stakeholder managers across R&D, Sales, and Supply Chain
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