Head of Food (Product Development & Nutrition), Marro

Butternut Box | B Corp; Greater London; Hybrid; GBP 90,000 - 130,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Equity option package

25 days holiday

£500 personal learning & development

Subsidised Private Medical Insurance

Cycle to work scheme

Flexible working with hybrid remote

Team socials

Job summary

Butternut Box invites a Head of Feline R&D to shape the Marro cat-food range, leading end‑to‑end product development from concept to launch. You will direct nutrition, palatability, and sensory strategies, balancing science with commercial goals while managing cross‑functional teams and external experts.

You’ll own long‑term roadmaps, make critical trade‑offs on formulation, cost, and manufacturability, and ensure the food delivers outcomes for cats and their owners.

Qualifications

• Deep expertise in feline nutrition, ingredients, formulation, processing, sensory and palatability.
• Ability to lead cross‑functional work with confidence and influence senior stakeholders.

Responsibilities

• Own the Marro product development strategy end-to-end, including long-term vision and roadmap.
• Set the direction for the range, deciding what to stop or continue and prioritising multi-year initiatives.
• Manage the budget for trials, palatability and sensory testing, and external partnerships.
• Sign off on product quality and claims in collaboration with Brand and Marketing.
• Lead the team to ensure cats love the food and customers stay, reducing pausing reasons.

Skills

Feline nutrition

Palatability science

Sensory science

Product development

Cross-functional leadership

Education

Degree in animal nutrition or food science

Job description

This role can also be known as: Principal Product Development Scientist, Head of Feline R&D, Senior Palatability & Sensory Scientist, Feline Nutrition and Product Lead, Global Wet Technology Specialist, Senior Product Platform Specialist, R&D Manager.

Are you a hardworking, cat-centric individual ready to transform cats lives with the power of tasty, Fresh food? Marro might just be the place for you. Our whole purrpose is to make the lives of our cats and their people happier, healthier, and that bit easier. We are guided by the joy of cats, sharing our expertise, making life easier for our community, and the importance of feeding cats something that’s healthy and that they absolutely love.

We all know dogs deserve better. But so do cats. Enter Marro, the Fresh food your cat’s been asking for. Think of Marro as Butternut’s charming younger sister who is all for cats. Because cats and dogs have their differences, but are united by their love of Fresh, tasty food.

The job:

We’re looking for a Head of Food who knows what makes exceptional cat food, and who’ll decide where ours goes next.

You’ll be our go‑to expert on feline nutrition, formulation, palatability and sensory science. You’ll own Marro’s product development strategy end-to-end, from the long-term vision and shape of our range to the roadmap that gets us there. Then you’ll get into the kitchen and make it happen.

You’ll own the two things that matter most to us:

• Retention: Fewer customers pausing because of the food.
• Palatability: Cats choosing Marro, every time.

This isn’t just an NPD process role. You’ll be the business’s go‑to expert on feline nutrition, formulation, palatability and sensory science. You’ll own the Marro product development strategy end-to-end, setting a long‑term vision and architecture for our range and turning it into a roadmap. Then you’ll get into the kitchen and make it happen.You’ll lead the charge, own the Marro budget and have the final say on what goes in the bowl. You’ll bring Operations, Commercial, Brand, Marketing and external partners with you to make it happen. You’ll report to our Product Development Director and work in partnership with them, not under day‑to‑day direction.

The Team

We’re the foundation of what the business builds: great food, strong nutrition and products that genuinely improve pets’ health. We own what the physical product looks like and how it delivers real benefits for dogs and cats. We’re deliberately lean and close‑knit, so everyone gets stuck in, takes real ownership, and has plenty of opportunity to develop and progress. What brings us together is a deep belief in our products, our category and the power of fresh food to improve pets’ lives.

Location & Travel

Our team thrives on collaboration. We spend 3 days a week in our West London office (Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday) and 2 days working from wherever you’re most productive. Because being together is a big part of our culture, we’re looking for someone within a comfortable commutable distance to London.

What you’ll own

Keep cats eating and customers staying

• Be obsessive about why customers pause because of the food, and relentlessly reduce it, using pause reasons, customer feedback and cat response data.
• Own palatability performance. Define what winning looks like, measure it rigorously, and keep raising the bar against our own recipes and the best in the market.
• Make these two metrics the lens for every product decision.

Set the direction and make the calls

• Own the product development strategy and its longer‑term vision: where the range goes, what we stop, and what “the best cat food” means for us.
• Turn it into a prioritised multi‑year roadmap grounded in customer insights, scientific evidence, and commercial goals.
• Make the call on trade‑offs between nutrition, palatability, quality, cost and manufacturability, and stand behind them.

Own the budget

• Own the Marro budget for trials, palatability and sensory testing, external specialists and research. Put money where it will most help cats eat and customers stay.
• Build the business case for product changes, covering recipe cost, margin, savings and customer benefit, and make the call.

Be the expert in the room

• Be our leading expert on feline nutrition, ingredients, formulation, processing, palatability and sensory.
• Set the benchmarks for what good looks like at Marro, and work with Operations to fix quality issues at the root.
• Decide what we need to learn through research, work with external specialists, and turn the evidence into better recipes and processes.
• Sign off product quality and claims, so we can stand behind everything we say. Work with Brand and Marketing to turn our food’s real strengths into reasons to choose Marro.

A bit about what we’re looking for:

• You’re obsessed with outcomes. You judge success by whether cats love the food and customers stay, not just by projects shipped.
• You really know cat food. You have deep expertise in feline nutrition, ingredients, formulation, processing, sensory and palatability. You’re the person others turn to.
• You have great product judgment. You balance nutrition, palatability, quality, customer expectations, manufacturing realities and cost, and still push for better.
• You set direction. You’ve shaped product strategy, not just delivered against a roadmap.
• You bring people with you. You lead cross‑functional work with confidence and influence senior stakeholders without needing someone to clear the path.
• You’re hands‑on with the food. You’re in the kitchen tasting, running trials and evaluating product yourself.
• You’re scientifically curious. You love getting into the evidence, working with specialists and turning new thinking into practical change.
• You raise the bar around you. You’re generous with your expertise, enjoy coaching others and are comfortable challenging the status quo.
• You’re a startup person. You’re comfortable with ambiguity, move quickly and take ownership.
• You’ve got the science behind you. Ideally, you’ll have a degree or postgraduate qualification in animal nutrition, food science, sensory science or a related field. If you’ve built the same depth of expertise through hands‑on pet food experience, we’d love to hear from you, too.
• Initial call with your dedicated Talent Acquisition Partner, carried out remotely.
• Skills interview, for 90 minutes, in person. This stage will include an in interview task.
• Behaviours interview, for 60 minutes carried out remotely..
• Leadership interview, for 45 minutes in person.

We usually expect our interview process to take 3-5 weeks, end to end.

• We reserve the right to close the position if we receive a lot of applications. We’re a small recruitment team so do bear with us - we aim to respond to all applicants personally.
• We are unable to offer visa sponsorship for this role.
• We are not looking for recruitment agency support for this role.

A bit about what we offer:

• Equity option package
• 25 days holiday (plus 8 bank holidays), 5 paws days and an additional day every year of service
• £500 personal learning & development budget
• Subsidised Private Medical Insurance with Vitality
• Cycle to work scheme
• Flexible working with hybrid remote working
• Team socials, plus company-wide summer and winter parties

A few things to note:

• There is no specific timeframe this role will be live for, but we normally experience a high volume of applications. So, if you are interested, we suggest applying as soon as possible.
• We aim to respond to all applicants personally and provide valuable feedback.
• We're not afraid of putting extra weight on candidates from underrepresented groups. We want strong, diverse teams built from different backgrounds, experiences, and identities.
• We're ready for the ongoing work that goes into building an inclusive, supportive place for you to do the best work of your career.

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