Beverage Development Lead / Beverage NPD Lead

Manucomm Recruitment Ltd

Stourport-on-Severn

On-site

GBP 55,000 - 75,000

Full time

4 days ago

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Job summary

Beverage Development Lead / Beverage NPD Lead in Stourport-on-Severn is sought by Manucomm Recruitment Ltd on behalf of a major cider-led beverage manufacturer. The role leads development from concept to recipe bank, focusing on alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks and emerging categories.

You will collaborate across Commercial, Marketing, NPD, Technical, Procurement and Manufacturing teams, help turn innovative concepts into viable products, and oversee lab samples and production methods.

Qualifications

Experience developing alcoholic and/or non-alcoholic beverages.
Good understanding of beverage manufacturing and scale-up.
Experience in a customer-facing development role, ideally with retailer exposure.
Strong commercial awareness and ability to identify trends.
Creativity to develop concepts and translate them into viable products.

Responsibilities

Lead development from concept through to recipe bank for new beverages.
Research market trends and attend trade shows as needed.
Develop beverages across emerging innovation categories.
Build a pipeline of blue-sky beverage concepts.
Lead customer-facing innovation days and present concepts.
Prepare laboratory samples and coordinate with production methods.
Work with Commercial, Marketing, NPD, Technical and Procurement teams.

Skills

Beverage development

Trend spotting

Commercial awareness

Customer-facing

Job description

Beverage Development Lead / Beverage NPD Lead

Location: Stourport-on-Severn

Salary: Competitive

My client is a major cider-led beverage manufacturer with sites across the UK. The business is continuing to expand beyond traditional cider into new and emerging beverage categories and is now looking to strengthen its Development team by recruiting a Beverage Development Innovation Lead.

The Role

Reporting to the Group Beverage Development Controller, you will lead the development of high-quality, great-value beverages from initial concept through to recipe bank, with a particular focus on developing new alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks and emerging categories.

You will work closely with Commercial, Marketing, NPD, Technical, Procurement and Manufacturing teams, as well as customers, to identify opportunities and turn innovative beverage concepts into commercially viable products.

Key Responsibilities

Research and present alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverage market trends, including attending trade shows.
Develop new beverages across emerging innovation categories.
Build and maintain a pipeline of “Blue Sky” alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverage concepts.
Lead customer-facing innovation days and present new concepts across the wider business.
Prepare and develop laboratory samples for internal and external customers.
Work with Manufacturing to establish effective production methods for new-category beverages.
Support the NPD process, owning the beverage development aspects of assigned projects.
Work closely with Commercial, Marketing and NPD teams to identify proactive development opportunities.
Liaise with Procurement to identify quality, cost-effective ingredients.
Ensure recipes meet customer, supplier and regulatory requirements.
Work with Technical and Compliance teams on food safety risk assessments.
Participate in sensory panels with Quality teams and customers.
Ensure innovation samples and development work are delivered to agreed timescales.

Experience Required

We are looking for someone with experience in beverage development, ideally with knowledge of soft drinks and/or non-cider beverages and their manufacturing processes.

The role would suit someone who has:

Experience developing alcoholic and/or non-alcoholic beverages.
A good understanding of beverage manufacturing and scale-up.
Experience working in a customer-facing development role, ideally with retailer exposure.
Strong commercial awareness and an ability to identify emerging beverage trends.
The creativity to develop new concepts alongside the technical understanding to turn them into viable products.

Commutable Locations

The Stourport-on-Severn site is commutable from Kidderminster, Bewdley, Worcester, Droitwich, Bromsgrove, Stourbridge, Cleobury Mortimer, Kingswinford, Brierley Hill, Halesowen and surrounding areas.

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