Royal Zeelandia Group Zierikzee

Royal Zeelandia Group (www.zeelandia.com) is a global leader in bakery ingredients with 3,500 employees worldwide, headquartered in Zierikzee, The Netherlands. Founded in 1900 by the Doeleman family, Zeelandia has more than 120 years of experience with operations in over 30 countries and sales in about 100 countries. Zeelandia is known for its warm and supportive culture, which values collaboration. Together with their customers – industrial bakeries, small artisanal bakeries, and midsized bakeries – they explore the world of bakery. Zeelandia’s product portfolio includes bread mixes, pastry ingredients, and release agents. Global and local R&D teams play a crucial role in innovating and optimizing bakery products while providing technical support to customers. To strengthen their team, we are looking for Product Development Leads to drive innovation and renovation in the bread and pastry categories. This includes projects on fruit fillings, custards, and bread improvers. In this role, you will co-create and support global product technology developments, working closely with R&D teams in local markets. You will also focus on optimizing product portfolios and reducing complexity.  

Product Development Lead
Experienced in managing international R&D projects
Zierikzee

Functie

  • Responsible for leading R&D efforts of NPD projects within your dedicated product group (bread or pastry)
  •  Manage both short-term, fast-paced projects and long-term strategic innovations to drive growth and efficiency 
  • Ensure seamless handover and scaling up of new products from development to production, ensuring quality and consistency 
  • Provide technical expertise and support for product-related inquiries from internal teams and external customers 
  • Maintain strong relationships with suppliers, industry experts, and international teams to facilitate collaboration and innovation 
  • Collaborate closely with cross-functional teams including R&D, Marketing, Sales, Purchase, and Operations to align new product developments with business objectives 
  • Report to the Global Category Development Manager. 

Profiel

  • Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Food Technology or a related field 
  • Track record in R&D / New Product Development within the international food or food ingredients industry 
  • Extensive knowledge about raw materials, ingredients and their interaction in food product application and processes 
  • Strong project management skills, with the ability to lead cross-functional teams and by building bridges between global and local teams 
  • Excellent communication skills in English, capable of collaborating across different markets and cultures 
  • Willingness to travel in Europe (20-30%); with the possibility of hybrid working from Zierikzee, Poznań or other Zeelandia locations in Europe
  •  Character traits: Creative, enthusiastic, inventive, proactive, collaborative and commercially aware. 

If you are interested in this position, please contact Harmen van Essen, telephone: +31 (0)317-468686 / +31 (0)6-47835354 or apply through our website www.dupp.nl or e-mail your written application to info@dupp.nl.

Royal Zeelandia Group selected DUPP for this vacancy as the only partner in the recruitment process.