Head - Research & Development - Food

Our client is looking for a dynamic and innovation-driven Head - R&D for a fast-growing food company. The role will be responsible for driving product innovation, developing new-age food categories, and building a differentiated pipeline of products focused on evolving consumer trends.

The ideal candidate should come with strong food industry experience, preferably within dairy and functional/nutritional foods, and possess a deep understanding of emerging categories such as protein-based products, gut health, and kids' nutrition.

Key Responsibilities:

- Product Innovation & Category Development

- Lead end-to-end product development across existing and emerging categories

Drive innovation in:

- Protein-based products

- Gut health / functional foods

- Kids' nutrition products

- Identify white spaces, global trends, and consumer opportunities within the food & dairy space

- Build a strong innovation pipeline aligned with business growth objectives

Research & Development:

- Oversee formulation, trials, testing, and commercialization of new products

- Work closely with manufacturing and quality teams to ensure scalability and consistency

- Improve existing product formulations for taste, nutrition, shelf life, and cost optimization

- Ensure compliance with FSSAI and food safety standards

Consumer & Market Insights:

- Track international and domestic food trends, ingredients, and technologies

- Conduct competitive benchmarking and consumer-led product innovation

- Collaborate with marketing and business teams for concept development and GTM readiness

Cross-Functional Collaboration:

- Partner with sourcing, operations, quality, packaging, and commercial teams

- Support vendor and ingredient evaluations for new product development

- Coordinate pilot launches and commercialization activities

Desired Candidate Profile:

- 6+ years of relevant R&D experience in the food industry

- Mandatory experience in the dairy sector

- Strong exposure to food innovation and new product development

- Experience working on functional foods, protein, gut health, or kids' nutrition categories preferred

- Understanding of ingredients, formulations, processing technologies, and food regulations

- Strong analytical, innovation, and problem-solving capabilities

- Ability to work in a fast-paced, entrepreneurial environment