Beverage Innovation Lead: Build Bold Drinks Pipeline

Rsc; Woking; Hybrid; GBP 55,000 - 90,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Hybrid working (Woking)

Private healthcare

Pension contributions

Bonus scheme

Study support

Annual leave 25 days

Discounted chicken

Job summary

KFC is seeking a Beverage Innovation Lead for Kwench by KFC in Woking. You will own the beverage pipeline end-to-end from concept to launch, shaping a bold beverage strategy that drives growth and guest buzz across 1,000+ restaurants in the UK & Ireland.

You will blend hands-on drink development with brand storytelling, trend scouting, and supplier collaboration, while ensuring feasibility and scale in a fast-paced QSR environment.

Qualifications

• Must have proven beverage product development and hands-on experience from concept to launch.
• Portfolio of launched drinks with demonstrated commercial impact and buzz.
• Strong brand-thinking ability with concept development for stories, serves and visuals.
• Demonstrated cultural fluency influencing drink ideas from social trends.
• Experience working with suppliers, supply chain and ops to scale products.
• Highly collaborative, able to thrive in cross-functional squads.

Responsibilities

• Own the Kwench beverage pipeline with a rolling 12–24 month roadmap.
• Lead end-to-end product development: concepting, formulation, testing and launch.
• Balance creativity with margin targets and operational simplicity at scale.
• Collaborate with marketing, ops and supply chain to execute concepts.
• Monitor quality post-launch and iterate based on feedback.

Skills

Bev product development

Launch experience

Brand thinking

Cultural fluency

Supplier collaboration

Cross-functional teamwork

UK food & drink regulation

Education

Food science / nutrition qualification

Job description

KFC is seeking a Beverage Innovation Lead for Kwench by KFC in Woking. You will own the beverage pipeline end-to-end from concept to launch, shaping a bold beverage strategy that drives growth and guest buzz across 1,000+ restaurants in the UK & Ireland.

You will blend hands-on drink development with brand storytelling, trend scouting, and supplier collaboration, while ensuring feasibility and scale in a fast-paced QSR environment.