New Product Development Manager

New Product Development (NPD) Manager

• Lead formulation development for new and existing ice cream products.
• Drive new product development (NPD) from concept to commercialization, ensuring consumer relevance and market differentiation.
• Benchmark internal and competitor formulations to ensure product superiority in taste, texture, and quality.
• Identify and execute material margin improvement strategies through smart ingredient selection, process optimization, and value engineering.
• Collaborate closely with cross-functional teams including procurement, manufacturing, marketing, and quality assurance.
• Support factory trials, vendor evaluations, and pilot runs to ensure development effectiveness and smooth scale-up.
• Conduct sensory evaluations, shelf-life studies, and stability testing to validate product performance.
• Ensure compliance with food safety standards, regulatory requirements, and labeling guidelines.
• Explore and integrate new technologies, ingredients, and packaging formats to drive innovation.
• Translate consumer insights and market trends into differentiated product concepts.
• Maintain accurate technical documentation, formulation records, and project timelines.
• Partner with suppliers to evaluate novel ingredients, optimize costs, and enhance product quality.
• Support continuous improvement of existing product portfolio through recipe optimization and line extensions.

QUALIFICATIONS AND EDUCATION REQUIREMENT

Academic

• Experience: 5 to 10 years of progressive experience in New Product Development (NPD), preferably in the ice cream, frozen desserts, or dairy industry.
• Proven track record of taking products from concept to commercialization (recipe design, pilot trials, scale-up, and market launch).
• Strong knowledge of frozen dessert formulations, dairy ingredients, stabilizers, emulsifiers, flavors, inclusions, and packaging technologies.
• Hands-on experience with pilot plant equipment, factory trials, and vendor development.
• Expertise in sensory evaluation, shelf-life testing, and regulatory compliance (FSSAI, Labeling norms).
• Ability to identify consumer trends and translate them into market-relevant product innovations.
• Familiarity with project management tools, documentation systems, and stage-gate NPD processes.
• Excellent cross-functional collaboration with R&D, Manufacturing, Procurement, Marketing, and Quality Assurance teams.
• Strong analytical, problem-solving, and communication skills with a consumer-first mindset

BEHAVIOURAL COMPETENCIES

• Demonstrates an innovation-driven mindset with curiosity for new ideas.
• Keeps consumer needs at the centre of all product development.
• Collaborates effectively with cross-functional teams and partners.
• Leads and influences teams towards achieving innovation goals.
• Adapts quickly to changing priorities and market dynamics.
• Delivers results with focus on quality, speed, and cost efficiency.
• Pays close attention to detail in formulations and documentation.
• Thinks strategically while balancing short- and long-term goals.
• Communicates clearly across technical and non-technical stakeholders. Page

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