Head / Lead – New Product Development (Food Category)

Company: Open Secret Industry: FMCG / Food & Beverage / Healthy Snacks Job Location: Bhandup / Powai Experience Required: 5 – 8 Years Employment Type: Full Time 🏢 About the Company Open Secret is a fast-growing innovation-driven snack brand focused on creating healthy, guilt-free food products for modern India. The company develops better-for-you snacks using food science, nutrition, and transparency to transform the way India snacks. 🔬 Role: Lead – Food Technologist / Head – New Product Development You will lead the end-to-end product innovation pipeline from concept to commercial manufacturing and work closely with manufacturers, suppliers, consultants, and internal teams to launch market-ready food products. This role requires strong expertise in formulation, scale-up, FSSAI compliance, and contract manufacturing. 🧪 Key Responsibilities Product Development & Formulation Develop new recipes aligned with healthy snacking trends Balance taste, nutrition, cost & manufacturability Conduct sensory, shelf-life & quality testing Prepare SOP, BOM & process documents Manufacturing & Scale-Up Work with contract manufacturers Handle pilot trials & commercial scale-up Standardize QC & production process Ensure packaging compatibility & shelf life Regulatory & Compliance Ensure compliance with Food Safety and Standards Authority of India Manage labeling, approvals & documentation Follow HACCP / GMP / ISO standards Coordinate with testing labs Vendor / Consultant Management Work with ingredient suppliers & consultants Evaluate cost, quality & compliance Build technical vendor network Cross-Functional Work Coordinate with Product, Marketing & Operations Support QA & Go-To-Market teams Innovation & Improvement Track market & global food trends Optimize formulations for cost & nutrition Benchmark competitor products 🎓 Qualification B.Tech / M.Tech / MSc – Food Technology / Food Science / Food Engineering HACCP / GMP / FSSAI certification preferred Strong Excel / documentation skills Good communication skills No tobacco habit (required for sensory work) 💼 Experience Required 5–8 years in FMCG / Food Manufacturing / R&D Experience in commercial product launch Knowledge of FSSAI & labeling rules Experience in at least 2 categories: Bakery Savoury snacks Breakfast cereals Protein / functional foods Experience with contract manufacturers & suppliers