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Following the combination with Bakkavor in January 2026, we're one of the UK's leading creators of convenience food, driven by a simple purpose: to make every day taste better.
With more than 28,000 colleagues across 36 manufacturing sites and 21 distribution depots in the UK and US, we create food for every meal occasion, from breakfast and lunch through to dinner, desserts and snacking.
Our scale means you'll have the opportunity to experience the fast-paced world of food manufacturing, working with some of the UK's biggest retailers while developing products enjoyed by millions of consumers every day.
If you're curious about food, excited by new ideas and want to understand how great products make it from an initial concept onto supermarket shelves, our Product Development Graduate Programme is designed for you.
This programme is designed to develop the next generation of Product Developers, equipping you with the technical, culinary, consumer and commercial skills needed to succeed in the food industry.
Over three years, you'll build the skills and experience needed for a successful career in Product Development. You'll learn how to take a product through the complete development journey, from food trends, insight and idea generation through recipe development, customer presentation, factory trials and ultimately launch.
You'll work as part of customer and product-focused teams alongside experienced Product Developers, Chefs and colleagues from across our wider business.
Most importantly, you'll gain hands-on experience. You'll be encouraged to bring your own ideas, challenge thinking and develop your creativity as your knowledge and confidence grow.
Starting Salary: £31,000 + £1,000 welcome bonus once settled in the business. An additional uplift is also provided for employees based at a London site.
Year 1
Build the Foundations.
You'll learn how our development process works, build your knowledge of ingredients and manufacturing, and support products through the development cycle. Working alongside experienced colleagues, you'll start to develop your technical, culinary, sensory and commercial understanding while gaining valuable hands-on experience.
Year 2
Take Ownership.
With the foundations in place, you'll start to take greater ownership. You'll become more involved in developing recipes and concepts, working with customers and suppliers, supporting factory trials and supporting products towards launch.
You'll continue to build your understanding of what makes a product not only delicious, but commercially and operationally viable at scale.
Year 3
Operate as a Product Developer.
Your final year is about preparing you for the next stage of your career. You'll take ownership of development projects, working with increasing autonomy while collaborating with customers and cross-functional teams. You'll leverage consumer trends, market insight and Greencore's manufacturing capabilities to develop commercially successful products.
By the end of the programme, you'll have the experience, confidence and capability to progress into a Product Development role within Greencore.
Alongside your placements, you'll take part in a structured development programme designed to broaden your knowledge of both food and business.
This will include specialist development and learning opportunities in areas such as:
You'll also have opportunities to visit other Greencore sites, helping you understand different product categories, manufacturing processes and capabilities across the business.
During the programme, you could be involved in:
It's an opportunity to understand the entire product development journey while building a strong network across Greencore.
We're looking for graduates who are genuinely excited by food, ingredients, innovation and creating products consumers will love.
You'll need the right to work in the UK for the duration of the three-year programme from September 2027.
We want you to succeed, so you'll have a strong support network throughout the programme.
The Graduate Programme is the start of your Product Development career with Greencore. By the end of your three years, you'll have experienced different products, customers and manufacturing environments and developed an understanding of how to turn a great food idea into a successful product at scale.
From there, you'll be ready to continue developing your career within our Product Development teams, with opportunities to grow your experience, responsibility and leadership capability.
If you're passionate about food, curious about consumer trends, and excited by the challenge of creating products that consumers love, we'd love to hear from you. Join us, build your career with Greencore, and play a part in making every day taste better.
Once you have submitted your online application, it will be reviewed to ensure you meet the required criteria. If you meet all the requirements and are selected to progress, you will move on to Stages 2 and 3: an automated online video interview and online aptitude testing.
Once both stages have been completed and reviewed, successful candidates will progress to the final stage: an in-person assessment day, held at one of our sites or another designated venue.
Assessment Centre Date/Location: Tuesday 2nd February 2027 at our Newark site.
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At Greencore, we want to reassure you that every application is read by a person – not filtered by AI. Applications that rely too heavily on AI often sound less authentic, more generic, and don’t capture the individuality, enthusiasm, and drive we are looking for.
