Finsbury Food Group appoints Neil Rockliff as innovation director
The newly created position signals Finsbury’s intent to elevate innovation from a tactical function to a central pillar of group strategy, with responsibilities that include shaping investment decisions, accelerating product development pipelines and strengthening commercial partnerships across retail, foodservice and export channels.
UK – Finsbury Food Group plc, a leading specialty bakery manufacturer supplying major UK retailers and global brands, has appointed Neil Rockliff as Group Product & Innovation Director in a newly created senior role to spearhead its innovation strategy and align product development with long-term growth ambitions.
The position underscores the company’s commitment to enhancing its commercial leadership amid evolving consumer demands for premium, innovative baked goods across cakes, bread, and sweet treats.
By aligning innovation strategy with investment planning, Finsbury aims to ensure its manufacturing capabilities evolve in line with future category growth rather than current demand, thereby building a long-term competitive advantage.
Rockliff, who joined Finsbury in January 2026, brings nearly a decade of innovation leadership from Samworth Brothers, where he drove new product development in chilled and ambient categories, and over 17 years at Greencore, rising from various NPD roles to Head of Insight and Innovation for Tesco.
Reporting to Chief Commercial Officer Graeme Clark and collaborating with Group Category and Insight Director Ben Kisby, Rockliff will leverage data insights to build a robust innovation pipeline, guide investment decisions, and ensure manufacturing evolves with category trends rather than reactive demand.
“When I met with the leadership team, it was immediately clear there is real ambition within Finsbury, ambition for quality and ambition for growth,” Rockliff stated, highlighting opportunities from the group’s diverse product-customer mix to evolve categories and unlock new growth areas.
He emphasized grounding innovation in consumer insights to develop commercially viable, repeat-purchase products while balancing accelerated launch timelines with technical feasibility.
Clark affirmed: “A core focus of Neil’s role will be to ensure Finsbury’s innovation approach is both proactive and strategically aligned.”
“By strengthening the connection between insight, category strategy and development, Finsbury’s new product propositions will be grounded in robust consumer understanding while delivering commercial impact.”
Listed on the London Stock Exchange (LSE: FIF), Finsbury operates multiple sites and generates £450 million (US$607.34M) in annual revenue, with a B Corp certification that emphasizes sustainability.
This hire signals intensified R&D investment to capitalize on health, indulgence, and convenience trends in the £12 billion (US$16.20B) UK bakery sector.
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