Ombar Chocolate
Chocolate Product Developer (graduate role)
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Could you help create the next Ombar chocolate bar?
We're looking for a bright, curious and enthusiastic graduate to join our team as a Graduate Chocolate Product Developer.
This isn't a typical graduate placement.
At Ombar, you'll work directly with our Founder and senior team to develop new chocolate products that could be stocked by some of the UK's biggest retailers, including Tesco, Waitrose and Sainsbury's. From brainstorming new concepts to creating kitchen samples, costing recipes and supporting factory trials, you'll experience every stage of bringing an idea to life. If you're passionate about food, fascinated by chocolate and love discovering emerging consumer trends, we'd love to hear from you.
What you'll be doing
As part of our New Product Development team, you'll be involved in a wide variety of projects, including:
- Developing exciting new chocolate products from initial concept through to launch.
- Working with the commercial team on Existing Product Development (EPD), continually reviewing our current range and identifying opportunities to improve quality, flavour, functionality and manufacturing performance.
- Producing kitchen samples for customer presentations and supermarket buyer meetings.
- Developing exciting limited-edition flavours and seasonal concepts to create buzz with consumers and on social media.
- Researching emerging food, flavour, nutrition and health trends to build our future innovation pipeline.
- Working alongside our marketing team to develop packaging concepts for new products.
- Learning how commercial product costing works alongside our Finance Manager.
- Collaborating with our cacao specialist, Paola, in Ecuador to explore the unique flavour profiles of cacao from different growing regions.
- Maintaining our dedicated NPD kitchen and ensuring it remains organised, clean and ready for product development.
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What you'll learn
One of the biggest advantages of joining a small, ambitious company is the breadth of experience you'll gain.
You'll work closely with our Founder, learning the science of chocolate making from bean to bar. You'll gain hands-on experience developing recipes, understanding ingredient functionality and translating ideas into products that can be manufactured successfully.
You'll also receive practical training on our production equipment, giving you an understanding of how products move from the development kitchen into commercial manufacture. Alongside this, you'll work with our Sales, Marketing and Commercial teams to understand retailer requirements, consumer trends and the commercial decisions behind successful product launches.
By the end of the placement, you'll have gained practical experience across product development, manufacturing, packaging, ingredient sourcing, commercial costing and innovation - experience that would normally take several years to build within a larger organisation.
Contract
12-month paid placement with the potential for a permanent position.
About you
We're looking for someone who:
- Is studying towards, or has recently completed, a degree in Food Science, Food Technology or a related discipline.
- Is naturally curious and eager to learn.
- Has a genuine passion for food, chocolate and consumer trends.
- Is creative, organised and practical.
- Can manage their own workload while enjoying working as part of a close-knit team.
- Wants to make a real contribution rather than simply observe.
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About Ombar
Mood Foods is the company behind Ombar, an award-winning chocolate brand with a mission to make chocolate better for both people and the planet.
We make our chocolate from scratch in Cambridgeshire, sourcing cacao directly from Fairtrade farming cooperatives before transforming it into finished chocolate bars in our own factory. Every stage - from recipe development and chocolate making to packing and dispatch - is managed by our team.
We're an ambitious and growing business, supplying major UK retailers while continually investing in new products, new equipment and new ideas.
This placement offers the chance to make a genuine impact. Your ideas won't disappear into a filing cabinet - they could become products enjoyed by thousands of people across the UK.
For the right person, this placement could be the beginning of a long-term career with us. While the role is offered as a 12-month placement, there is the potential for a permanent position if it's the right fit for both you and the business.
Salary
£26,000-28,000
Please apply through the link below!
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