Manager - New Product Development

Business/Company:

Site/Location:

Department:

Position/Profile Title:

Designation:

On Roll/Off Roll/Contract:

Age Group:

Experience:

Essential Qualification:

B.Tech / M.Tech in Food Technology / Food Science

Essential Area of Expertise:

New Product Development Functional Coatings & Batters, Seasoning & Spice Blend Formulation, Frozen Snack & Foods

Desired Area of Expertise:

Clean Label Development, basic knowledge of flavour application, basic knowledge of regulatory

Critical/Special Exposure:

Internal Interface (Designations)

R&D, Quality Assurance, Production, Procurement, Marketing

External Interface (Suppliers/Govt Bodies/Communities)

Raw material suppliers, contract manufacturers, customers, regulatory authorities

Reporting to:

Reportees (Function and Designation):

Food Technologists & Chefs / or Individual contributor

Purpose of the position

• To drive innovation and successful commercialization of new food products by managing end-to-end product development, ensuring sensory excellence, regulatory compliance, cost optimization, and seamless handover to production.

Roles and Responsibility

• Lead end-to-end New Product Development (NPD) activities from concept generation to commercialization.
• Develop and optimize, batters, coating, crumbs, seasoning, spice blends, marinades, premixes for frozen snack and convenience food applications such as French Fries, Wedges, Coated veggies, Frozen Ready to Eat, Frozen Ethnic and Mainstream Snacks.
• Coating and Batters applications using various techniques.
• Application of savory and umami flavor systems including yeast extracts, flavor enhancers, oleoresins, and clean-label solutions.
• Conduct sensory evaluation, descriptive analysis, and consumer acceptability testing to fine-tune flavor profiles and product performance.
• Plan and execute pilot trials, plant trials, and industrial scale-up, ensuring smooth transition from lab to production.
• Ensure compliance with food safety, regulatory, and labeling requirements including FSSC 22000, HACCP, ISO 22000, and internal quality standards.
• Optimize formulations through cost reduction and value engineering without compromising sensory quality or functionality.
• Select, evaluate, and develop raw materials and vendors; maintain and manage RM libraries for NPD activities.
• Design and execute shelf-life and stability studies to validate product quality throughout intended storage period.
• Collaborate closely with cross-functional teams including QA/QC, Production, Procurement, Marketing, and Customer Teams.
• Prepare and maintain complete technical documentation including draft BOMs, formulations, specifications, trial reports, sensory reports, and regulatory dossiers.
• Support troubleshooting during production runs and suggest process or formulation improvements as required.
• Promote continuous innovation through market trend analysis, culinary insights, and competitive benchmarking.