NPD Lead

Location: Mumbai - Lower Parel

Reporting To: CEO

Department: Product Development / R&D

Team Size: 6-7 person

Education: B.Tech / M.Tech (Food Technology or related discipline preferred)

Role Summary:

- The NPD Lead will spearhead the entire New Product Development vertical, driving end-to-end ideation, innovation, and commercialization of dessert-led food products across QSR and FMCG categories.

- This is a strategic leadership role responsible for building the product roadmap, developing new categories from scratch, strengthening the dessert portfolio, and ensuring scalable, compliant, and high-quality product launches.

- The role requires a strong blend of innovation mindset, research depth, commercialization acumen, and regulatory understanding.

Key Responsibilities:

1. Product Ideation & Innovation:

- Drive end-to-end product ideation from concept to commercialization.

- Develop a structured product roadmap aligned with business strategy.

- Launch successful dessert-focused products (QSR & FMCG).

- Build products from scratch - formulation, trials, pilot runs to scale.

- Identify white spaces through market, consumer, and competitor research.

2. End-to-End Research & Development:

- Conduct extensive research on ingredients, formulations, textures, shelf life, and flavor enhancement.

- Develop and refine recipes considering taste, sensory appeal, nutrition, cost, and scalability.

- Lead product trials, validations, and launch timelines.

- Work closely with chefs and food scientists to translate concepts into commercially viable products.

3. Vendor Development & Scale-Up:

- Identify and onboard new vendors for ingredients and packaging.

- Strengthen vendor partnerships for quality, cost efficiency, and innovation.

- Ensure manufacturing SOPs are aligned with production feasibility.

- Drive process optimization for cost, efficiency, and shelf life enhancement.

4. Quality, Compliance & Regulatory:

- Ensure strict compliance with FSSAI and other regulatory standards.

- Strong hands-on knowledge of labels, ingredient compositions, COAs, lab reports, and formulation audits.

- Oversee chemical, microbiological, and sensory testing.

- Conduct shelf-life studies and enhance product stability.

- Ensure packaging and labeling compliance across formats.

5. Sensory & Consumer Evaluation:

- Lead sensory evaluation processes.

- Conduct structured consumer trials and feedback analysis.

- Provide constructive insights on flavor, texture, and product attributes.

6. Cross-Functional Leadership:

- Collaborate closely with Marketing, Sales, Supply Chain, QA, and Operations.

- Work directly with CEO and Investors on product strategy.

- Lead and mentor a team of QA/QC and Food Scientists.

- Ensure seamless execution of product launches across channels.

Ideal Candidate Profile:

- 15+ years in Food Industry / QSR / Dessert-focused brands.

- Proven track record of successfully launching products from scratch.

- Strong exposure to dessert, indulgence, or western food categories preferred.

- Experience managing end-to-end product lifecycle.

- Strong research orientation with innovation mindset.

- Ability to lead senior technical teams.

- Comfortable engaging with leadership and investor stakeholders.

- Strong commercial understanding along with technical depth.