Beverage NPD Innovation Lead

Ballantine Recruitment; Worcester, Larkhill; On-site; GBP 60,000 - 90,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Company pension

KPI-based bonus scheme

Employee benefits / discounts

Option to access BUPA

Flexible working, regular sitePresence

Job summary

Ballantine Recruitment partners with a UK drinks manufacturer to hire a Beverage Innovation Lead who will own front-end innovation, spotting opportunities, creating new beverages and taking concepts to customers. You will shape the innovation pipeline across alcoholic and non-alcoholic categories and work closely with Commercial, Marketing, Technical and NPD teams.

The role offers ownership over ideas, direct customer interaction and exposure to senior stakeholders, with a strong emphasis on

Qualifications

• 5+ years' beverage development / formulation experience.
• Strong hands-on liquid formulation capability.
• Experience across categories such as soft drinks, RTDs, spirits, juice, flavoured water, mixers or functional beverages.
• Strong front-end innovation and concept-development experience.
• Ability to identify trends and turn them into credible product opportunities.
• Confidence presenting concepts and samples directly to customers.
• Strong customer-facing experience, ideally with major UK retailers or drinks customers.
• Good understanding of sensory evaluation, ingredients, stability and technical feasibility.
• Commercial awareness alongside strong technical credibility.
• Food Science, Product Development or related qualification, or equivalent industry experience.

Responsibilities

• Lead proactive beverage innovation from idea and insight through to developed recipe.
• Identify emerging consumer trends, category gaps and new growth opportunities.
• Create and formulate new alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages.
• Build a strong pipeline of blue-sky and customer-relevant concepts.
• Develop recipes across categories including RTDs, soft drinks, juice, flavoured water, mixers, spirits and wider beverages.
• Present concepts, liquids and innovation opportunities directly to customers.
• Support and lead customer innovation sessions and product presentations.
• Create samples and bring concepts to life through storytelling and technical credibility.

Skills

Beverage development

Formulation

Trend analysis

Idea generation

Education

Food Science or Product Development qualification

Job description

Beverage Innovation Lead | Drinks NPD & Product Development

Ballantine Recruitment is partnering with an established UK drinks manufacturer at a particularly exciting point in its innovation journey.

The business is looking to become more proactive in how it identifies opportunities, creates new beverage concepts and takes innovation to customers and this role will sit right at the front of that agenda.

This is not a traditional NPD role where you simply receive a brief and manage it through a process.

You will be expected to spot the opportunity, create the drink and confidently take the idea to the customer.

The Opportunity

As Beverage Development - Innovation Lead, you will have genuine influence over what the business develops next.

You will work at the front end of innovation, identifying trends and whitespace, creating new concepts, developing formulations and building a strong pipeline of ideas that can become future commercial ranges.

The scope covers a broad drinks portfolio across both alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages, giving you the freedom to work across categories rather than being restricted to one product type.

You will also have direct exposure to customers, Commercial and Marketing, giving you the opportunity to help shape innovation strategy rather than simply execute somebody else's brief.

What You'll Be Doing

• Lead proactive beverage innovation from idea and insight through to developed recipe


• Identify emerging consumer trends, category gaps and new growth opportunities


• Create and formulate new alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages


• Build a strong pipeline of blue-sky and customer-relevant concepts


• Develop recipes across categories including RTDs, soft drinks, juice, flavoured water, mixers, spirits and wider beverages


• Present concepts, liquids and innovation opportunities directly to customers


• Support and lead customer innovation sessions and product presentations


• Create samples and bring concepts to life through strong storytelling and technical credibility


• Work closely with Commercial, Marketing, Technical, Procurement, NPD and Manufacturing


• Influence ingredient selection, flavour systems, quality, cost and technical feasibility


• Ensure recipes meet regulatory, food-safety and technical requirements


• Work with suppliers and wider group resources to unlock new ingredients, technologies and ideas


• Help shape a more proactive, commercially focused innovation pipeline

What We're Looking For

We're looking for someone who combines technical beverage development with commercial confidence.

You will ideally bring:

• 5+ years' beverage development / formulation experience


• Strong hands-on liquid formulation capability


• Experience across categories such as soft drinks, RTDs, spirits, juice, flavoured water, mixers or functional beverages


• Strong front-end innovation and concept-development experience


• The ability to identify trends and turn them into credible product opportunities


• Confidence presenting concepts and samples directly to customers


• Strong customer-facing experience, ideally with major UK retailers or drinks customers


• Good understanding of sensory evaluation, ingredients, stability and technical feasibility


• Commercial awareness alongside strong technical credibility


• Food Science, Product Development or related qualification, or equivalent industry experience

Why This Role Is Different

The attraction here is ownership and visibility.

You will not simply be maintaining an existing pipeline.

The business wants someone who can challenge thinking, bring new ideas into the organisation and help create the next generation of products.

You will have the opportunity to:

• Influence the future innovation pipeline


• Develop ideas proactively rather than waiting for customer briefs


• Build direct relationships with customers


• Present your own concepts and liquids


• Gain visibility across senior Commercial, Technical and Innovation stakeholders


• Help shape how the innovation function develops over timeGrow your own scope as the business continues to invest in people, capability and innovation

There are currently no direct reports attached to the role, but there is scope for the position to evolve over time, alongside access to technical development, leadership training and broader career progression.

Package

• Company pension


• KPI-based bonus scheme


• Employee benefits / discounts


• Option to access BUPA


• Flexible working approach, with regular site presence essential


• Some UK and European travel

The Person

This role will suit someone who still loves the technical side of beverage development but wants more influence over the idea, the customer conversation and the innovation agenda.

If you enjoy looking at a category and asking \"what should we create next?\" rather than simply \"what has the customer asked us to make?\", this is the type of opportunity worth exploring.

For a confidential conversation, contact Ballantine Recruitment.