Customer Innovation Manager – Dairy+, Savoury+, Plant-Based Foods & Foodservice

Overview

In this role you drive customer co-development and technical support across Dairy, Savoury, Plant-Based Foods and Foodservice for the UK & Ireland. You translate customer needs into scalable, commercially viable solutions and position AAK as an innovation partner. You’ll work closely with Sales, Product Management, Marketing and regional teams to accelerate opportunities and deliver value. You lead projects from concept to commercialization, solving technical challenges and supporting trials. This is an impact role at the intersection of technology and customer value, with a clear sustainability and growth focus.

Pay / Benefits

• international exposure across 25+ countries
• training and mentorship
• clear career paths
• sustainability-focused approach
• diverse and inclusive workplace

Responsibilities

• Lead customer co-development projects from concept to commercialization across multiple product areas
• Build and manage technical relationships with customers, distributors and partners
• Translate challenges and market opportunities into viable, technically robust solutions
• Support trials, validations, shelf-life studies, and troubleshooting
• Position AAK as an innovation partner rather than just a fats and oils supplier
• Collaborate with Sales, Marketing, and regional teams to accelerate opportunity conversion
• Contribute to pipeline development, project prioritisation, and strategic account planning
• Support customer presentations and value proposition development activities

Key requirements

• Degree in Food Science, Food Technology, or related discipline
• Strong experience in customer-facing food application, technical service, or product development
• Experience in Dairy, Savoury, Plant-Based Foods, and/or Foodservice sectors
• Understanding of industrial food processing and ingredient functionality
• Commercial mindset with ability to translate technical concepts into customer value
• Excellent communication and stakeholder management skills
• Ability to manage multiple projects in an international environment
• Proactive, collaborative, and passionate about innovation and partnerships

• communication
• stakeholder management
• collaboration
• fats and oils functionality
• emulsions
• texture

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