New Product Development Specialist (Avocados) Interim

Come and join the leading #avoexperts 🥑

Westfalia Fruit is a leading multinational supplier of fresh fruit and related value-added products to global markets. Through our vertically-integrated supply chain we grow, source, ripen, pack, process and market quality avocadoes & fresh produce – 365 days a year & across the globe.

With the largest avocado-growing footprint in the world, we are recognised as the leading #avoexperts and considered as the supplier of choice to both retail & wholesale customers whom we serve from sales offices in the UK, Europe, North America, Latin America & Southern Africa.

We’re looking for a New Product Development Specialist (Avocados) to join our team in Wingene, Belgium.

We are seeking an agile, results-driven Interim NPD Specialist for an immediate 3 to 4-month contract to lead the technical execution and commercial scale-up of key innovations within our premium fresh produce and avocado portfolio.

In this fast-paced role, you will act as the vital technical bridge between R&D and manufacturing. We need a "floor-ready" professional who can immediately step into our facilities, run industrial plant trials, and successfully transition fresh fruit concepts from bench-top formulation to full commercial launch.

Responsibilities include:

• Lead the end-to-end R&D lifecycle for new products and line extensions from initial concept to commercial launch.
• Develop and refine formulations, ingredients, and processing methodologies to optimize product quality, flavor, texture, and stability.
• Conduct rigorous shelf-life testing, sensory evaluations, and quality assessments to ensure all new products meet regulatory and safety standards.
• Serve as the technical expert on manufacturing processes, plant equipment, and facility capabilities required for new product lines.
• Optimize production lines and processing parameters to maximize manufacturing yield, efficiency, and consistency.
• Troubleshoot technical issues hands-on on the production floor, working directly with operations teams to resolve quality or scale-up challenges.
• Design, test, and validate functional packaging solutions that protect product integrity, enhance shelf life, and meet sustainability goals.
• Partner with engineering and external suppliers to select, install, and calibrate packaging machinery and specialized technologies.
• Integrate effective preservation methods and barrier technologies to ensure food safety and maintain product freshness over time.
• Coordinate cross-functional teams across Quality Assurance, Operations, Engineering, Procurement, and Marketing to ensure seamless project execution.
• Define project scopes, timelines, trial protocols, and key milestones for all product development initiatives.
• Manage industrial-scale plant trials, documenting processing parameters, mass balances, and standard operating procedures (SOPs) for the final transition to commercial production.