Senior Manager – New Product Development (NPD) – Food & Wellness Brand

Job Title: Senior Manager – New Product Development (NPD) – Food & Wellness Brand

Location: Mumbai
Experience: 4 to 10+ years
Employment Type: Full-Time

About the Role

We are looking for a highly driven, creative, and technically strong Senior Manager – New Product Development (NPD) to lead the end-to-end development of innovative food & beverage products. This pivotal role involves ideating future-ready product lines, crafting recipes, ensuring nutritional balance, driving packaging innovations, and overseeing testing & commercialization.

If you're passionate about bringing new food ideas to life from concept to shelf and thrive in a fast-paced, consumer-focused environment, we want you on our team!

Key Responsibilities

Product Ideation & Conceptualization

• Identify market trends, consumer needs, and white space opportunities to propose new product concepts
• Lead brainstorming sessions with cross-functional teams to drive innovation
• Conduct feasibility studies for proposed products, including market, technical, and financial viability

Recipe & Formula Development

• Develop innovative recipes/formulations aligned with taste, nutrition, and cost objectives
• Ensure product compliance with regulatory standards and internal quality norms
• Optimize recipes for scalability and shelf stability

Prototyping & Product Testing

• Lead kitchen/lab trials and pilot batches, and conduct organoleptic testing
• Collaborate with QA and R&D to ensure robust testing protocols
• Analyze sensory and performance data for improvements

Packaging Innovation

• Work closely with packaging and design teams to introduce functional and sustainable packaging solutions
• Stay updated on global packaging trends and materials
• Conduct compatibility and stability tests with packaging options

Nutritional Balance & Compliance

• Ensure all products meet nutritional goals based on target demographic (e.g., low sugar, high protein, clean label)
• Collaborate with regulatory and legal teams for nutritional labeling and compliance documentation

Cross-Functional Collaboration

• Work with Marketing, Sales, Procurement, and Supply Chain teams to ensure a smooth go-to-market process
• Liaise with third-party manufacturers and co-packers as needed

Qualifications & Skills

• Bachelor's or master's degree in Food Technology, Food Science, Nutrition, or related fields
• 4 to 10+ years of experience in New Product Development (preferably in FMCG, F&B, Health Foods, or Consumer Packaged Goods sectors)
• Proven experience in end-to-end product development lifecycle
• Strong understanding of functional ingredients, food processing, and sensory science
• Hands-on experience with R&D trials, shelf-life studies, and nutritional optimization
• Excellent project management, analytical, and interpersonal skills
• Creativity, curiosity, and a consumer-first mindset

What You’ll Get

• Opportunity to shape future food innovations with a high-impact brand
• Work in a collaborative and agile environment with cross-functional leadership
• Exposure to cutting-edge food tech, global ingredient trends, and packaging innovation
• Competitive salary, learning opportunities, and flexible culture

Location: Mumbai (On-site role with occasional travel to R&D centers, plants, or vendor locations)

Job Type: Full-time

Pay: ₹60,000.00 - ₹150,000.00 per month

Work Location: In person