Product development employee
As a Product Development employee at Henri Willig, you will be responsible for developing and optimising our rich range of premium cheeses. For over 50 years, the Willig family has been passionately making high-quality cheeses at two production sites in the Netherlands (Heerenveen and Katwoude).
Your primary goal is to ensure that our recipes and product versions remain distinctive and attractive, so that cheese lovers all over the world prefer our cheeses, which we offer both through our more than 35 own Henri Willig shops and through our business partners. In addition, you will actively contribute to making our business operations, which are increasingly organic, more sustainable.
In this role, you will report to the Director of Marketing, R&D and E-commerce and work closely with our commercial and production teams to create and improve innovative and high-quality cheeses to meet the needs of our customers at home and abroad. You bring a lot of inspiration to the innovation process, which you then turn into tasty new product recipes and executions with your hands-on mentality.
What will you do?
- In cooperation with the marketing and sales departments, identify new market trends and customer needs and translate them into a well-stocked pipeline of ambitious and innovative product development ideas.
- Develop and validate new, sustainable cheese recipes and related products in collaboration with our suppliers (including of ingredients, coatings and packaging). Also implementing and supervising improvement processes of existing products.
- Identifying and analysing existing and new production processes in order to optimise the efficiency and quality of our processes (incl. value engineering).
- Conducting trials and (taste) tests to guarantee product quality, both at ingredient and finished product level. Making test cheeses, delivering proof of concept up to and including the delivery of the first production badge and product samples.
- Documenting R&D processes and results, preparing product specifications and administratively and technically guiding new product introductions.
- Contribute to strong brand reputation, proper quality assurance and regulatory compliance.
Do you recognise yourself in this?
- You have - at least at HBO level - a completed education in food technology, food technology or a similar direction.
- You have at least 5 years' working experience as a product developer in the industrial environment of a food company, preferably in the dairy industry.
- You have a proven track-record of successful new product introductions and process improvements
- Entrepreneurship is highly valued by you. You are optimistic, quality-conscious and always curious to discover how we can do things better.
- You have a passion for cheese and knowledge of production processes.
- You adopt a flexible attitude to move with the 24/7 rhythm of the cheese factory.
- You are creative, analytical and have a hands-on mentality.
- You can cooperate and communicate well with colleagues from different departments and external partners.
What do we offer?
- A market-based salary of €4,600 - €5,300 gross per month, depending on experience, and based on a 40-hour working week.
- Good fringe benefits (pension, travel expenses, etc.)
- prospect of a permanent position with good performance
- the possibility to develop yourself with our Henri Willig Academy
- a dynamic working environment at a family business that distinguishes itself by its short and informal lines of communication
- a very challenging and varied job in which you learn every day
- pleasant company parties and company outings
Are you interested in this varied position?
We would like to receive your CV and/or a personal motivation as to why you would like to be part of the Cheese Family. We are very curious about this!
Henri Willig is a fast-growing independent livestock farmer, cheese producer, retailer and exporter that has been successful in the exclusive cheese segment since 1974. Henri Willig has a strong position in the national and international market for Dutch cheese and organic cheese specialities. The total organisation comprises a livestock farm, 2 cheese dairies, 38 shops, a Grand Café and a Web-shop.