Profile- NPD Head

Experience- 10-12 years

Work location : Delhi

Key Responsibilities

- Own and lead the entire NPD lifecycle from consumer insights and ideation through to go-to-market execution.

- Collaborate closely with R&D, marketing, brand, supply chain, and procurement teams to identify market gaps and innovation opportunities.

- Translate consumer insights, market trends, and brand strategy into compelling and differentiated product concepts.

- Drive continuous innovation and improvement in formulations, packaging, and product experience.

- Manage formulation, prototyping, lab & consumer testing, packaging development,and product claims validation.

- Lead packaging innovation initiatives to ensure functionality, sustainability, and premium brand positioning.

- Ensure strict adherence to regulatory, safety, and quality standards throughout product development.

- Create and maintain a strategic NPD roadmap focused on speed-to-market, feasibility,and ROI.

- Oversee vendor relationship management, sourcing of ingredients and packaging, rate negotiation, and commercials.

- Monitor costing, pricing strategy, and margin optimization for all new products.

- Provide consumer insights briefs to guide product development for NPD teams.

- Work with supply chain to ensure seamless material availability, production scalability, and on-time launches.

- Manage and mentor the NPD team, fostering a culture of creativity, ownership, and innovation.

- Stay updated with the latest beauty, personal care, and wellness trends and integrate them into the innovation pipeline.

- Drive cross-functional alignment to ensure timely launches and smooth scale-up of the NPD pipeline.

- Monitor post-launch performance, gather customer and market feedback, and lead continuous product improvements.

Requirements

- Bachelors degree in Science, Engineering, Formulation, or related field; MBA or Masters in Cosmetic Science/Pharma/Engineering preferred.

- 10 to 12 years of proven experience in NPD, product innovation, or R&D within the personal care, beauty or wellness sectors.

- Hands-on knowledge of IMPEX operations, vendor management, vendor negotiations, and supply chain processes.

- Deep understanding of consumer behavior, insights, and product lifecycle management.

- Demonstrated success in launching consumer products in D2C or retail markets.

- Strong background in formulations, packaging innovation, safety testing, and regulatory compliance.

- Strategic thinker with excellent project management, stakeholder alignment, and leadership skills.

- Strong commercial acumen with expertise in costing, rate negotiations, and margin optimization.

- Proven experience in team management, mentoring, and cross-functional collaboration