NPD Manager – Nutraceuticals & Functional Foods

Location: Hyderabad (in-office)

Function: R&D & New Product Development

Reports to: Founders

Earthful is a clean-label, plant-based nutrition brand for women's health, backed by Fireside Ventures and V3 Ventures, and recently featured on Shark Tank India. Every product we sell starts as a brief written here. This role owns that journey from idea to a product on the shelf: the formulation, the trials, the evidence behind the claims, and the partners who make it.

Role Overview

This is a brand-side NPD role, not a plant or lab role. You'll own new product development and improvement of existing products across supplements, functional foods, and wellness, working through contract manufacturers, third-party formulators, and ingredient vendors rather than an in-house pilot plant. You'll work directly with the founders on what to build, with Regulatory & Compliance on claims and labels, with Procurement on ingredients and packaging, and with Brand, Design, and Growth on launch. The job rewards people who can combine scientific judgment with speed, cost discipline, and follow-through.

What You'll Own

Concept to Formulation Brief

• Turn product concepts and consumer insight into clear, testable briefs for formulators and manufacturing partners

• Research ingredients, formats, and dosages for new wellness and supplement products

• Benchmark competitor products across India and global markets on formulation, claims, pricing, and positioning

• Develop across formats: powders, gummies, capsules, tablets, sachets, and others as the range grows

Formulation & Product Trials

• Own formulation development with third-party formulators and contract manufacturers, from first sample to approved pilot batch

• Track every iteration — sensory trials, stability results, scale-up outcomes — and decide what moves forward and what is rejected

• Evaluate products on taste, mixability, texture, aroma, appearance, and usability

• Maintain structured documentation of trials, observations, and formulation changes

Ingredient & Claims Research

• Evaluate functional ingredients for dosage, evidence, usage restrictions, and clean-label suitability

• Build the claim substantiation file for each product — literature, references, and product rationale — before artwork is finalized

• Stay current on trends in women's health, gut health, protein, sleep and stress, and preventive wellness

Vendor & Manufacturer Coordination

• Coordinate with ingredient suppliers, contract manufacturers, and testing labs on samples, timelines, COAs, specifications, MOQs, and trial batches

• Support sourcing of ingredients and packaging components for new launches

• Compare vendors on quality, responsiveness, cost, and scalability, and give Procurement the technical input to negotiate

Quality & Compliance Support

• Own product specifications, ingredient sheets, and test reports for every product you develop

• Provide accurate label inputs, and work with Regulatory & Compliance on classification and claim alignment before launch

Launch Readiness

• Work with Brand, Design, Operations, and Growth so every product is ready on the launch date

• Translate technical product details into simple consumer-facing benefits

• Brief internal teams through launch decks, product notes, and FAQs

Cost & Existing Product Improvement (Suggested Additions)

• Hold each formulation to a target cost of goods set at the brief stage, and flag early when a design choice puts it at risk

• Use consumer reviews, complaints, and operational feedback to prioritize improvements to existing products

• Use AI tools for literature and competitor research, verifying dosage, regulatory limits, and citations before anything is relied upon

What We're Looking For

• 4–8 years of hands-on experience in NPD, R&D, or product development in supplements, nutraceuticals, functional foods, or FMCG wellness

• Brand-side experience: has taken products from brief to commercial launch through contract manufacturers or third-party formulators at a D2C or consumer brand — not only in-house at a manufacturer

• Degree in Food Technology, Food Science, Nutrition, Pharmaceutical Sciences, Biotechnology, or a related life-sciences field

• Working knowledge of FSSAI regulations for nutraceuticals and functional foods, and of claim substantiation

• Hands-on formulation experience in more than one format (powders, gummies, capsules, tablets, sachets)

• Strong Excel or Google Sheets skills and disciplined documentation habits

• Consumer-first thinking and curiosity about what makes a product work in the market

• Comfortable in a fast-moving startup with high ownership and direct access to the founders