Location

Primary base: Flexible, with preference for base at Kotdwara, Uttarakhand 246149

Travel: 60-80% travel to the sites in the initial development and launch phase reduced to 30% in the steady-state phase. Ad-hoc travel to Delhi NCR for market development, partnerships and customer engagement.

Purpose

We are building a premium farm-origin brand from a site in Uttar Pradesh/Uttarakhand border near the city of Kotdwara in North India, starting with essential kitchen staples such as wheat flour, rice, lentils, oils and other value-added food products. Our long-term vision is to create a trusted farm-to-consumer ecosystem combining premium food products, consumer brands, nature-based experiences and agritourism.

We are seeking an entrepreneurial and commercially minded Venture Development Lead to help build a new business platform based on a large agricultural estate in North India.

The objective is to identify, validate and launch high-potential consumer-facing businesses leveraging the estate's agricultural resources, natural environment, heritage and brand story. Potential opportunities may include food products, lifestyle products, agritourism, hospitality experiences, wellness-related products, natural ingredients, and other value-added ventures that align with the estate's capabilities and market demand.

The successful candidate will act as an in-house entrepreneur, conducting market research, developing business models, building partnerships and leading pilot projects from concept through execution.

This is a unique opportunity to create and scale new ventures from the ground up rather than manage an existing operation.

Opportunity Assessment

Conduct comprehensive market research across:

1. Staple and value-added food products (e.g. flour, rice, oils, pulses, dairy products, snacks and packaged foods).
2. Agritourism, hospitality and farm-based experiences.
3. Consumer products and lifestyle categories that may have strategic alignment with estate resources.
4. Emerging opportunities in premium farm-origin brands and direct-to-consumer businesses.

Responsibilities:
- Identify high-potential products and business opportunities that can be developed from estate resources.
- Assess customer demand, pricing, competition and market entry strategies.
- Evaluate adjacent market opportunities for future expansion.




- Recommend venture priorities based on commercial potential and operational feasibility.

Business Development

- Develop business cases and financial models for shortlisted opportunities.
- Build relationships with manufacturing partners, distributors, retailers and service providers.
- Identify strategic partners across food, hospitality, consumer products, tourism and lifestyle sectors.
- Explore D2C, retail, institutional and e-commerce channels.
- Assess outsourcing versus in-house production opportunities.

Product & Venture Development

Potential opportunities may include

- Premium food products
- Value-added agricultural products
- Farm-origin consumer brands
- Hospitality and agritourism experiences
- Nature-based recreation and educational programmes
- Specialty ingredients
- Lifestyle and personal care products
- Sustainable and local products
- Other businesses aligned with estate resources and capabilities

The role will:
- Identify attractive product and service categories.
- Source technical expertise when required.
- Coordinate pilot product and service development.
- Manage testing, validation and customer feedback.
- Evaluate commercial scalability and investment requirements.

Estate Integration

- Work closely with farm management to identify suitable crops, production systems and land-use plans.
- Assess opportunities for high-value agricultural and specialty crops.
- Identify ways to convert farm resources into higher-value products and experiences.
- Ensure commercial opportunities align with estate capabilities and sustainability objectives.

Pilot LaunchesWithin the first year, lead the design and launch of pilot initiatives including:

- Product trials
- Market validation exercises
- Agritourism experiences
- Digital sales channels
- Strategic partnerships
- Consumer testing programmes

Strategic Planning

- Develop a phased 3-5 year roadmap for venture growth.
- Recommend investment priorities.




- Build scaling plans for successful pilots.
- Present findings and recommendations to ownership.

Leadership & Team Building

- Initially operate within a lean team environment, working directly with ownership and existing farm operations.
- Identify capability gaps and recommend staffing requirements for recent ventures.
- Participate in the recruitment and onboarding of key personnel as ventures are launched.
- Build and lead functional teams over time as successful business lines scale.
- Coordinate cross-functionally with farm, operations, production, marketing and external partners to deliver venture objectives.

Reporting & Team StructureDirect reporting to the Owner/Promoter. The Venture Development Lead will initially operate as an individual contributor with significant autonomy and responsibility. As ventures are validated and scaled, the successful candidate will have the opportunity to recruit, build and lead dedicated teams and may progress into a broader business leadership or CEO role.

Preferred Experience

Essential

- 5+ years experience in business development, venture building, consumer products, startups, hospitality or agribusiness.
- Experience launching new products, services or business initiatives.
- Strong commercial and financial acumen.
- Ability to work independently in an entrepreneurial environment.
- Excellent networking and partnership-building skills.

Highly Desirable Experience in one or more of:

- Food and beverage brands
- FMCG innovation
- Agribusiness ventures
- Direct-to-consumer brands
- Hospitality and tourism businesses
- Experience-led brands
- Consumer products
- Rural enterprise development
- New venture creation
- Premium or purpose-driven brands

Potential future-growth exposure to sectors such as wellness, natural products, lifestyle products, specialty ingredients and farm-based experiences would be advantageous but is not required. First-Year Success Metrics

Within 12 months the successful candidate should deliver:

1. Detailed market opportunity assessment.
2. Commercial strategy for the estate.
3. At least three validated business opportunities.
4. Launch of one or more pilot ventures.
5. Commercial partnerships with manufacturers, suppliers or service providers.
6. Clear financial model and scaling plan.

📌 Venture Development Lead - Consumer Brands & Agritourism (Kotdwar)
🏢 NVS Industries
📍 Kotdwar