Overview
Are you ready to join an international company that is focused on creating sustainable products for foodservice and airline industries?
deSter designs and manufactures packaging as well as supplementary products such as amenity kits, airplane trolleys & condiment packs, with a purpose to create sustainable food and travel experiences. We aim to change how we look at food packaging and require you on this journey.
If you want to be a part of a company that strives to create a better future and change how we look at food packaging, you are in the right place.
Job Summary
With a strategic vision and a passion for innovation, the Product Lead Cutlery drives the overall product portfolio strategy and ensures alignment with market trends and business objectives. This role leads product innovation initiatives and manages high-impact customer requests and tenders in collaboration with cross-functional teams.
As the key driver of portfolio growth, the Product Lead Cutlery combines strong commercial skills, customer engagement, and financial insight to inspire stakeholders through clear communication and persuasive product pitches. The role partners closely with Product Marketing to deliver successful product campaigns, while maintaining market and cost price analyses to guide strategic decisions.
Beyond internal leadership, this position builds external networks to unlock innovation opportunities, fosters knowledge sharing together with the team, and integrates ESG principles into product development and presentations. Acting as a thought leader and influencer, the Product Lead Cutlery ensures the growth of the portfolio by guaranteeing our products remain competitive aligned with customer needs.
Additionally, this role supports successful product launches, conducts post-launch reviews to drive continuous improvement, and supports quality concerns and insourcing initiatives.
Main Duties and Responsibilities
1. 1. Define and lead product portfolio strategy
2. Develop a strong product portfolio strategy aligned with market trends and business objectives, ensuring internal alignment and buy-in.
3. 2. Drive product innovation and business cases
4. Lead new product development initiatives and create compelling business cases in collaboration with Sales and Business Support.
5. 3. Manage customer requests and major tenders
6. Filter and prioritize customer requirements, define the problem to be solved, and determine the best solutions to offer with support of the Product Manager
7. 4. Communicate and inspire
8. Present ideas confidently to leadership teams, manage expectations, and pitch product solutions that win over customers and stakeholders.
9. 5. Develop Product Campaigns
10. Collaborate closely with the Product Marketing team to create and deliver impactful product campaigns that strengthen market positioning and drive customer engagement.
11. 6. Engage commercially
12. Build strong customer relationships. Collaborate closely with sales teams, while maintaining strong connections with internal operations.
13. 7. Maintain financial and market insights
14. Analyze market pricing, cost structures, and trends. Conduct make-or-buy assessments and maintain portfolio-related financial and regulatory insights to inform strategic decisions.
15. 8. Foster external engagement and knowledge sharing
16. Build a network of external experts and innovation partners, and ensuring product training and knowledge sharing together with the team. Embed sustainability considerations into product presentations and development processes.
Core Competencies and Requirements
Education
* Master degree in Product Development, Economics, Marketing or similar by experience.
Work Experience
* 7–10 years in product management, with at least 1-3 years in a senior/lead capacity (owning a portfolio and influencing cross‑functional roadmaps)
* Proven track record leading end‑to‑end product development and run co-development workshops with customers.
* Commercial exposure: regular customer engagement, co‑creating solutions with key accounts, supporting major tenders/RFQs, and partnering closely with Sales.
* Hands‑on experience with product campaigns in partnership with Product Marketing
Technical Skills
* Understanding of product lifecycle management
* Insight in supply chain or manufacturing (incl. tooling, molding, packaging converting)
* Awareness of customer workflows and operational environments
* Analytics: Excel (advanced), basic financial modeling; familiarity with BI tools (e.g., Power BI).
* Strong PowerPoint skills for leadership narratives and customer presentations
Certifications, licenses and registration
* Emergency of product lifecycle management (note: ensure this aligns with actual requirement)
* Note: remove unclear phrasing and align with real certifications if applicable
Core Competencies Required
* Strategic planning and product solutions thinking
* Stakeholder and relationship management
* Clear written and verbal communication
* Commercial, marketing and financial skills
* Project & process management
* Creative and analytical problem-solving
* A sense for design and graphics is a plus
* Background in QSR, foodservice, food packaging, or consumer goods—ideally with sustainable materials (recyclable/compostable/reusable)
Job Dimensions
Cutlery plays a key role in the sensory experience, influencing taste and overall enjoyment of food. Our Cutlery Product Group is one of deSter’s core business segments, delivering innovative cutlery solutions for both the global airline and foodservice markets.
For airlines, we develop, produce, and deliver recyclable, compostable, and reusable cutlery that enhances the passenger dining experience, supports airline sustainability goals, and integrates seamlessly into operations for efficient crew service and catering.
In the foodservice sector, we develop, product and deliver a broad range of cutlery solutions for major QSR brands, events, retail, and the “food-on-the-go” segment.
The Product Manager Cutlery reports into the Product Lead Cutlery.
Environment and Safety
Every deSter employee contributes to a safe and environmentally conscious working environment and in doing so assumes the following responsibilities:
* Act in a safe and environmentally conscious manner in all work activities.
* Contribute to deSter's environmental and safety objectives and performance.
* Actively report deviations, hazardous situations and incidents.
* Participate in analyses and initiatives that frame within environment and safety and are relevant to the job.
Is there more information on deSter’s environmental and social commitments? Visit the sustainability page at https://dester.com/sustainability/
What we offer
Joining deSter means you will become a part of an innovative company with sustainability at heart and colleagues & customers globally. Besides competitive salary and benefits, we also offer hybrid working (office/remote) and a team of colleagues that have a passion and enthusiasm for what they do.
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