Beverage Development Specialist

Zest Food Jobs; Essex; Hybrid; GBP 55,000 - 75,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Performance bonus

Long-term incentive opportunities

Professional development support

Flexible working with core hours

Pension

Healthcare and wellbeing support

Job summary

Zest Food Jobs is seeking a senior beverage developer to turn ambitious concepts into scalable liquids, working directly with clients and leading projects end-to-end. You will bring together formulation, regulatory and manufacturing know-how to deliver innovative products that preserve quality and character.

You will oversee timelines, advise clients, and navigate UK/EU/US regulatory landscapes while maintaining independence in decision making.

Qualifications

• Beverage development experience across alcoholic, non-alcoholic and functional categories.
• Proven track record from brief to launch with quality and technical integrity.
• Experience with regulatory requirements across UK, EU and US markets.

Responsibilities

• Translate concepts into strong, commercially viable formulations.
• Own technical projects from brief through to production and delivery.
• Advise clients with honest, constructive technical direction.
• Navigate UK/EU/US regulatory requirements and approvals.
• Manage supplier and manufacturing partner relationships, audits and trials.
• Stay updated on ingredients, processing techniques and emerging tech.
• Build an external network of suppliers, manufacturers and specialists.

Skills

Beverage development

Client communication

Project management

Regulatory knowledge

Independent work

Education

Degree in food science/chemistry

5+ years hands-on beverage development

Tools

Pilot-scale equipment

Quality control procedures

Job description

The person who turns ambitious drinks concepts into liquid reality!

Our client is a growing drinks business working across premium alcoholic, alcohol-free and emerging beverage categories, supporting both ambitious brands and established drinks companies.

This isn't a bench formulation role. It's a creative and technical position where you'll take a brief — sometimes loose, feeling-led or commercially driven — and turn it into a viable liquid that works at scale without losing what made it special.

You’ll work directly with clients, own projects from initial brief through to production, and bring together formulation, technical, regulatory and manufacturing expertise to get the right product over the line.

What you'll do:

• Translate creative concepts and consumer needs into technically strong, commercially viable formulations across alcoholic, non-alcoholic and functional categories
• Own technical projects independently — managing timelines, client communication and delivery
• Act as a trusted technical advisor who can challenge and develop client thinking, rather than simply execute a brief
• Navigate regulatory requirements across UK, EU and US markets
• Manage relationships with suppliers and manufacturing partners, including factory visits, audits and pilot-scale trials
• Keep up to date with emerging ingredients, technologies and processing techniques
• Build and maintain a strong external network across suppliers, manufacturers and technical specialists

What you'll need:

• A degree in food science, chemistry or a related discipline, plus 5+ years' hands-on beverage development experience
• A track record of taking innovation projects from brief through to launch while maintaining quality and technical integrity
• Experience across both alcoholic and non-alcoholic development, ideally with some process knowledge across areas such as brewing, distillation or fermentation
• The confidence to work directly with clients and provide honest, constructive technical direction
• A genuinely independent working style — comfortable taking ownership and making decisions without close management

Benefits Include:

• Performance bonus
• long-term incentive opportunities
• professional development support
• flexible working with core collaboration hours
• pension
• healthcare and wellbeing support