Ocean Spray Cranberries · 3 weeks ago
Manager, Sauce, Licensing & Culinary Applications
Lakeville, MA
Full-time
Onsite
Mid, Senior Level
$116K/yr - $160K/yr
7+ years expOcean Spray Cranberries is a farmer-owned co-op known for its innovative products. The Manager of Sauce, Licensing and Culinary Applications will lead global product development for sauce innovation and brand maintenance, ensuring compliance with food safety standards while collaborating with various cross-functional teams.
AgricultureFood Processing
Responsibilities
Represent the team as an innovation thought leader and partner with marketing to drive expansion of our sauce and fresh fruit business through new product innovation, culinary applications and use occasions
Lead team to create product formulations and 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
Guide team through our Stage Gate process, from Ideation through Launch, ensuring sufficient technical milestones are met and project management rigor is effectively incorporated into project plans. Guide development of robust learning plans with consumers at the center
Serve as the culinary and product development lead for licensed product initiatives, ensuring alignment with brand standards and licensing agreements
Work with legal, regulatory and Food Safety teams to ensure all licensed products meet food safety standards and respect intellectual property rights
Act as a liaison between internal teams and external licensors, ensuring product deliverables meet expectations and timelines
Drive the development of innovative food concepts and applications to support Ingredient and Food Service Sales
Lead the culinary team as they 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
Manage resources to execute samples and live customer culinary demonstrations to enhance sales
Support the business team with Chef-to-Chef collaboration and partnership with key customers to enhance understanding of customer innovation pipeline requirements
Establish a global network of culinary partners to ensure local relevance, share best practices, successful applications and amplify the culinary team’s footprint
Oversee the creation of culinary concepts and prototypes as inspiration for new products that incorporate the latest flavor and ingredient trends and consumer insights
Support Marketing and Sales with advertising and social media content as needed
Work closely with R&D partners (Product Development, Food Safety & Quality, Regulatory, Packaging), as well as cross-functional partners (marketing, sales, social media)
Provide culinary expertise during customer presentations, trade shows, and product launches
Educate internal stakeholders on culinary trends, product usage, and brand-specific culinary guidelines in partnership with external network
Monitor culinary and consumer trends to inform product innovation and licensing opportunities
Analyze competitor products and market positioning and menu trends to identify gaps and opportunities for licensed culinary offerings
Evaluate existing licensed products for performance and recommend improvements or discontinuations
Qualification
Required
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
Demonstrates ability to interpret sensory data, market research, and performance metrics to guide product decisions
Bachelor's degree in Food Science
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
30% Travel includes trend treks, ideation sessions, collaboration with external partners, trade shows, pilot and manufacturing plants
Preferred
Additional degree or certification in Culinary Science(e.g., RCA)
Master's Degree
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
1:1 health coaching
Supportive benefits for all the stages of your life
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
Company
Ocean Spray Cranberries
Ocean Spray is a vibrant agricultural cooperative owned by more than 700 cranberry farmers in the United States, Canada and Chile who have helped preserve the family farming way of life for generations.
1001-5000 employees
H1B Sponsorship
Ocean Spray Cranberries has a track record of offering H1B sponsorships. Please note that this does not
guarantee sponsorship for this specific role. Below presents additional info for your
reference. (Data Powered by US Department of Labor)
Distribution of Different Job Fields Receiving Sponsorship
Represents job field similar to this job
Trends of Total Sponsorships
2025 (2)
2024 (1)
2023 (2)
2022 (4)
2021 (4)
2020 (4)
Funding
Current Stage
Late StageTotal Funding
$0.02MKey Investors
National Safety Council
2024-06-13Grant· $0.02M
2016-10-20Seed
Leadership Team
Thomas Hayes
Chief Executive Officer
Stacey Taylor
Vice President Procurement
Recent News
FoodProcessing.com
2025-12-18
2025-12-17
Company data provided by crunchbase