Head - NPD (New Product Development)

Akshayakalpa Organic is seeking a Head of New Product Development in Tiptur, Karnataka. The role requires 8-10 years of experience and involves leading the strategy and execution of new food products, ensuring compliance with regulations and company goals. Responsibilities include managing resources, liaising with various teams, driving NPD functions, handling budgets, conducting trials, and ensuring product safety and quality. The position is based on-site.
Akshayakalpa Organic is India’s first and most significant organic milk producer, reaching about 150,000 households every day in Bengaluru, Chennai and Hyderabad. We exist to fix the wrong that has been done to farmers and food in the last few decades. Our resolve is to make it right for both. We do this by creating role model farmers in villages who can inspire other farmers to stay put, grow and thrive in their villages.

We are looking for a Head -NPD (New Product Development) with a minimum of 8-10 years of experience for the Tiptur location.

Responsibilities:
• Lead the strategy, execution, and innovation of new food products, ensuring they meet market needs, regulatory standards, and company goals, while also managing resources and teams effectively.
• Define metrics, dashboards and MIS to monitor and track the new product developments (recipe status, trial status, cost analysis, Marketing comments, timelines for launch, etc); take corrective actions to drive adherence to defined and agreed SLAs.
• Liaising with Projects, Marketing, SCM, & Packaging team for various inputs required for business at the time of the NPD trials, planning, agreement, stabilization, material scheduling, and finalization of process loss for different products.
• Responsible for driving Dairy, Food and Fruit beverage NPD function independently. Ensure NPD function is aligned with company’s laid down guidelines, Organic principles, SOPs, fssai & quality compliance.
• Work closely with Marketing and category team and align the NPD functions as per their aspirations and Co-ordination with Production and quality team for product performance and compliances.
• Supporting in developing process, introduce new technologies, selecting & commissioning of equipment, organize trials, and organize documentation & validation to get the site approved & thereafter commercialization of projects.
• Handling Budget activities along with Finance team for development of annual recipe budget & Department budget
• Develop production specifications and evaluates processing and storage operations in plants. Develop guidelines to facilitate formulation of standard operating procedures. reviewing product performance, product sensory evaluation, researching product standards and attributes, determining product safety, and directing consumer testing and analysis by third parties if needed.
• Good understanding of raw material specifications and preparation SOPs
• Procurement of required ingredients and material required for the product trials.
• Product prototype creation by experimenting with different ingredient and different compositions.
• Plan to conduct factory trials in accordance with GMP and HACCP requirements.
• Documentation of all scientific development works in compliance to the company's process. Validation and checking of the recipe & process validation reports submitted by plants
• Scale up new products from pilot trials to the commercial scale level.
• Product compositional analysis and preparation of nutritional information which go on packaging material.
• Cost economic feasibility studies for both Process and Raw materials & issue of new standards for commercial launch
• Preparation of detailed technical report on product development process and conclusions.
• Assisting in identification & selection of new machinery for improving the existing operations / processes in terms of efficiency & quality & thus meeting the business requirements.
• Responsible for the timely and right execution of product development activities including formulation development, supporting pilot & plant trials, sensory evaluation, technology transfer and R&D documentation (specifications, protocols, reports etc.)
• Coordinating and managing multidisciplinary projects, with colleagues from Quality, Marketing, external labs, vendors and suppliers
• Team management - Manage and mentor a team of R&D scientists, technologists, and other specialists, set project goals, delegate tasks, and provide guidance and support, Ensure the team is well-trained and equipped to meet project requirements.
• Innovation and Trend Analysis - Stay informed about the latest trends and technologies in the food industry, identify opportunities for innovation and new product development, Conduct market research and consumer analysis to understand consumer preferences.
• Willing to take up additional responsibilities as assigned by the management

Education and/or Work Experience Requirements:
• Strong verbal and written communication skills, with the ability to interact effectively with both internal teams and external stakeholders.
• Proficiency in MS Office Suite (Word, Excel, Outlook) with excellent computer skills.
• 8-10 years of industry experience in a reputed Dairy, Food, or Beverage company.
• Educational background in B.Tech/M.Tech in Dairy Technology, Dairy Science, Dairy Engineering, Food Science, or Food Technology