Product Development Manager

About Gregory PackagingGregory Packaging Inc. is a fourth-generation, family-owned beverage manufacturer with more than a century of operating history and five production facilities across Pennsylvania, Virginia, Georgia, Arizona, and New Jersey. We are a full-service provider of packaging, fill and finish, and value-added manufacturing for the beverage, foodservice, and portion markets, with integrated capabilities in aseptic processing, eco-friendly carton formats, high-capacity bottling, and turnkey production.We are the market leader in 100% fruit juice and single-serve beverage solutions for K-12 schools and institutional foodservice under our SunCup brand, and we are actively expanding into premium water (GLAS), functional and sports nutrition (LockerBox), concentrates (GregPak), and co-packing partnerships through Gregory Partners.Our differentiated strength is vertical integration: we own the plants, so we can move from concept to commercial run faster than brands that outsource. What we need now is someone to run that pipeline with discipline.About the RoleThe Product Development Manager owns new products from first concept to first commercial run. This is a project management and commercialization role at its core. You will run the stage-gate process, hold the timeline, manage outside development partners, and drive alignment across processing, quality assurance, packaging design, procurement, and sales.You do not need to be the person at the bench. Formula development is executed in partnership with external flavor houses, ingredient suppliers, and development labs — your job is to write the brief, select and manage those partners, evaluate what comes back against the product target and the cost model, and translate the approved formula into something our plants can actually run at scale, on spec, at cost.We are looking for someone with a beverage or food manufacturing background who has worked across both the development side and the supply chain side, and who understands that a formula is only real once the raw materials are qualified, the line is scheduled, and the artwork is printed. This is a role with room to grow into broader ownership of the innovation function.Who We're Looking ForThe ideal candidate has 5+ years in a beverage or food manufacturing environment, in a role that touched both product development and supply chain. You have carried multiple concurrent projects, worked across more than one package format, and delivered against customer-driven specs and launch dates that were not negotiable.You are comfortable in a smaller, faster, family-owned environment where you will have fewer resources than a large CPG and considerably more autonomy. You would rather own the whole product than a slice of it.You'll stand out if you've done several of these:Worked in aseptic, hot-fill, bag-in-box, or concentrate formatsSupported private-label or co-pack programs where a retail or foodservice customer drove the briefWorked alongside ingredient sourcing, supplier qualification, or COGS modelingCoordinated packaging design and artwork routing against a hard print and production deadlineSpent time in juice, teas, lemonades, functional beverages, or portion-pack foodserviceWe don't expect all five. If you have a strong project management foundation and a real launch or two behind you, we want to talk.Key Responsibilities:Project leadershipOwn the new product development calendar end to end — concept, brief, benchtop, pilot, plant trial, first production run, and post-launch reviewBuild and maintain timelines, critical paths, and stage-gate checkpoints for every active project in the pipelineRun recurring cross-functional project meetings; publish agendas, decisions, owners, and due dates so nothing lives in someone's inboxEscalate risk early — flag slipping timelines, cost overruns, and spec conflicts before they become launch problemsMaintain a single source of truth on pipeline status that sales and leadership can rely on for customer commitmentsExternal development partnersWrite clear development briefs defining the product target: flavor profile, nutritional targets, claims, shelf life, cost ceiling, and packaging formatSource, evaluate, and manage flavor houses, ingredient suppliers, co-development labs, and third-party testing partnersManage the sample cycle — request, track, organize, and coordinate internal evaluation of iterations against the briefNegotiate development timelines with outside partners and hold them to those datesReview costed formulas against target COGS and drive reformulation where the math doesn't workSupply chain and sourcingQualify ingredient and raw material suppliers; manage lead times, MOQs, and dual-sourcing where single-source risk is unacceptablePartner with procurement on commodity exposure, contract timing, and cost-out opportunitiesBuild the material readiness plan that supports the launch date — ingredients, packaging materials, closures, cases, and labels landed on timeSupport demand planning on initial launch forecasts and inventory buildCross-functional coordinationPartner with Processing to validate that formulas are compatible with aseptic and hot-fill processing, and to schedule pilot runs and plant trialsPartner with Quality Assurance on specifications, shelf-life and stability protocols, sensory panels, micro standards, labeling accuracy, and regulatory compliancePartner with Packaging Design and outside creative agencies on structural format selection, artwork routing, dieline approvals, and print timing so packaging is ready when the product isPartner with Sales and Business Development to translate customer and market input into product definition, and to support customer presentations, samples, and line reviewsCommercializationOwn the handoff to operations: finished specifications, batch sheets, run parameters, and quality standards documented so the product replicates cleanly across all five facilitiesLead first-production-run oversight on site and drive resolution of any issues that surfaceManage item setup, spec documentation, and launch readiness across internal systemsConduct post-launch reviews and feed learnings back into the processSupport renovation of existing SKUs — cost reduction, ingredient substitution, format extension, and reformulationQualifications:Required5+ years in product development, commercialization, project management, or supply chain within beverage or food manufacturingDemonstrated track record taking at least one product from concept through commercial launchExperience working with external partners — flavor houses, ingredient suppliers, contract labs, or design agenciesExposure to shelf-stable beverage processing (aseptic and/or hot-fill), or the ability to come up to speed on it quicklyStrong cross-functional influence: able to drive alignment across operations, quality, design, and commercial teams without direct authorityExcellent documentation discipline and written communicationWillingness to travel to Gregory Packaging facilities (approximately 20–30%)PreferredPrivate label or co-manufacturing experience where the customer owns the briefJuice, tea, lemonade, concentrate, or functional beverage category backgroundWorking knowledge of formulation fundamentals — sweetener systems, acidification, functional ingredients, flavor development — sufficient to evaluate partner work criticallyFamiliarity with FDA labeling requirements, nutritional panel generation, and claims substantiationExperience with Tetra Pak or other carton formats, bag-in-box, and frozen or ambient concentratesBachelor's degree in food science, engineering, supply chain, business, or a related fieldWhat Success Looks Like in Year OneEvery active project has a documented timeline, owner, and gate statusA repeatable stage-gate process is in place and being followedNew products launch on the dates committed to customersOutside development partners are managed to defined briefs and deadlinesSpecifications transfer cleanly to plants without rework at first production