Innovation & Concept Design Lead (NPD Front-End Focus)
Are you a visionary thinker with a passion for pets, nutrition, and cutting-edge product design? We're looking for an Innovation & Concept Design Lead (NPD) in pet food and treats - translating insights and trends into the next generation of products for dogs, cats, and small animals.
This is a unique opportunity to combine creativity, science, and strategy - shaping a pipeline of concepts that keep us at the forefront of pet health and wellbeing.
What You'll Do
* Front-End Innovation: Spot market gaps, consumer needs, and whitespace opportunities through research, trend analysis, and competitor scanning.
* Concept Development: Design and present compelling product concepts (briefs, prototypes, samples) that are nutritionally aligned and market-ready.
* Ingredient & Format Innovation: Explore and validate novel ingredients (functional, sustainable, alternative proteins) and formats (extruded, baked, semi-moist, artisanal).
* Cross-Functional Collaboration: Partner with Marketing, NPD, Commercial, and Technical teams to bring ideas to life - from ideation through to scale-up.
* Supplier Engagement: Build relationships with ingredient suppliers and technology partners to source innovative solutions.
* Governance & Process: Own the stage-gate process from idea generation to handover, ensuring projects are feasible, compliant, and aligned with strategic goals.
* Future Technology: Identify and champion emerging technologies that keep us ahead of the curve in pet food innovation.
What We're Looking For
* 3+ years' experience in product development or innovation (pet food or FMCG preferred).
* Strong grasp of regulations (FEDIAF, DEFRA, EU feed regulations).
* Creative thinker with concept storytelling and visualisation skills.
* Experience with semi-moist, baked, extruded, or multi-format technologies.
* Excellent project management and stakeholder engagement skills.
* Passion for pets and advancing pet health through nutrition.
Desirable:
* Degree in Food Science, Animal Nutrition, NPD< Product Design or related.
* Supplier or contract manufacturer experience.
* Knowledge of sustainability certifications (MSC, MarinTrust).
* Familiarity with premium/prescription or functional pet products.
For futher information, please contact Luan at MorePeople on 01780 480530
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