We are looking for a highly driven, commercially minded NPD Lead who understands the beauty and personal care industry and can take a product from an initial idea to a finished product on the shelf.

This is an end-to-end product ownership role. You will be responsible for identifying the right products to launch, understanding consumer needs, researching the market, developing product concepts, sourcing ingredients and packaging, coordinating with manufacturers and R&D; teams, managing costs and margins, deciding pricing and pack sizes, and ensuring every product is ready for launch on time.

You should understand both the creative and commercial sides of product development. You need to know what consumers want, what is trending in the market, what competitors are launching, which ingredients and formulations make sense, which packaging options are viable, what consumers are willing to pay, and whether a product can deliver attractive gross margins.

You will work closely with founders, manufacturers, formulation labs, packaging suppliers, procurement partners, and marketing teams to bring new products to market.

We are looking for someone who takes complete ownership, moves quickly, has excellent attention to detail, and can balance product quality, consumer appeal, commercial viability, and speed to market.

- Market Research, Consumer Insights & Product Opportunity Identification
- Conduct in-depth market research across beauty, skincare, fragrance, body care, and personal care categories.
- Track emerging trends in product formats, ingredients, formulations, fragrances, packaging, textures, claims, and consumer preferences.
- Study leading Indian and international brands to understand their product portfolios, positioning, price points, pack sizes, launches, and differentiation.
- Identify gaps in the market, underserved consumer needs, and opportunities to create differentiated products.
- Analyse competitor products, customer reviews, social media conversations, marketplace reviews, and consumer feedback to understand what customers like, dislike, and want improved.
- Translate consumer insights into clear product concepts with a defined target audience, core benefit, product proposition, and reason to buy.
- Evaluate new product opportunities based on demand, competitive intensity, differentiation, market size, feasibility, and commercial potential.
- Build and maintain a prioritised product innovation pipeline.
- Recommend which products to develop, which to postpone, and which opportunities are not commercially attractive.

- End-to-End New Product Development: From Concept to Shelf

- Develop detailed product briefs covering the product concept, target consumer, advantages, sensory experience, ingredients, formulation expectations, fragrance profile, packaging, pricing, and competitive positioning.
- Translate product ideas into actionable briefs for manufacturers, formulation labs, and R&D; partners.
- Identify suitable manufacturers and development partners based on technical capabilities, category expertise, quality standards, minimum order quantities, costs, and lead times.
- Coordinate formulation development, sample creation, evaluation, feedback, and refinement.
- Manage multiple rounds of product sampling until the formulation meets the desired quality, performance, sensory experience, and commercial requirements.
- Establish product specifications and ensure that the final product matches the approved brief.
- Coordinate stability testing, compatibility testing,



microbiological testing where applicable, and other required quality and safety assessments.
- Track every stage of development through clear timelines, milestones, owners, dependencies, and approval checkpoints.
- Identify potential delays or technical issues early and resolve them proactively.
- Ensure products are commercially, technically, and operationally ready before moving into mass production.

- Formulation, Ingredients & Product Quality

- Research and evaluate ingredients based on their function, performance, safety, stability, cost, availability, and relevance to the target consumer.
- Source suitable ingredients and work with formulation chemists and manufacturers to develop the desired product experience.
- Understand the role of active ingredients, emollients, humectants, surfactants, preservatives, fragrance materials, solvents, and other relevant formulation components.
- Develop clear formulation requirements around texture, spreadability, absorption, moisturisation, fragrance intensity, longevity, washability, finish, and overall consumer experience, depending on the category.
- Evaluate ingredient alternatives when cost, availability, performance, or formulation stability becomes a constraint.
- Review formulation samples critically and provide structured feedback to R&D; teams.
- Ensure ingredient selection supports product claims and complies with applicable Indian regulations and relevant quality requirements.
- Work with technical partners to investigate issues such as separation, leakage, colour changes, fragrance instability, packaging interactions, or inconsistent product performance.
- Maintain clear documentation of approved formulations, specifications, test results, and product changes.

- Packaging Development, Sourcing & Design Execution

- Research and source suitable packaging formats, materials, components, and suppliers.
- Identify packaging options relevant to each product.
- Evaluate materials based on compatibility, durability, aesthetics, functionality, and cost.
- Work with designers and suppliers to translate the desired product experience into production-ready packaging.
- Manage packaging samples, moulds where required, colour matching, finishes, printing, decoration, labels, and artwork approvals.
- Evaluate packaging options based on visual appeal, consumer usability, product protection, manufacturing feasibility, and logistics.
- Conduct or coordinate packaging compatibility.
- Source alternative vendors and components to improve quality, reduce cost, or shorten lead times.
- Ensure packaging specifications, dimensions, materials, and artwork are approved before mass production.
- Coordinate with design, regulatory, and production teams to ensure packaging is attractive, practical, compliant, and ready for launch.

- Sourcing, Vendor Management & Manufacturing

- Identify, evaluate, and onboard manufacturers, contract manufacturers, formulation labs, ingredient suppliers, packaging vendors, and other development partners.
- Obtain and compare quotations, minimum order quantities, payment terms, lead times, tooling costs, and production capabilities.
- Negotiate pricing,



commercial terms, production timelines, and quality expectations.
- Develop strong vendor relationships while maintaining competitive sourcing standards.
- Coordinate product development, sampling, purchase orders, production planning, and delivery schedules.
- Track raw material availability, packaging readiness, manufacturing capacity, and production dependencies.
- Monitor production progress and address delays, quality deviations, or supply issues proactively.
- Establish clear quality specifications and acceptance criteria with vendors.
- Maintain backup suppliers for critical components wherever commercially practical.
- Ensure production quantities, packaging components, and finished goods are aligned with launch plans and inventory requirements.

- Product Costing, Pricing & Gross Margin Ownership

- Build detailed product cost sheets covering formulation, ingredients, packaging, components, manufacturing, filling, assembly, labels, cartons, testing, tooling, and other relevant costs.
- Calculate landed product costs and identify opportunities to optimise the bill of materials without compromising product quality.
- Evaluate different formulation, packaging, pack size, and manufacturing options to improve commercial viability.
- Recommend the right MRP, selling price, promotional pricing, and pack architecture based on consumer willingness to pay, competitor benchmarks, brand positioning, and target margins.
- Model gross margins at different price points, order quantities, and cost scenarios.
- Evaluate the financial implications of different pack sizes, bundle configurations, refill options, and product variants.
- Understand how discounts, channel commissions, marketplace fees, GST treatment, and other relevant costs affect net realisation and profitability.
- Work with leadership and finance to establish margin targets and minimum acceptable commercial thresholds.
- Negotiate with vendors to improve costs and protect margins as volumes scale.
- Identify products that are commercially unviable before significant development or inventory investment is made.

- Pack Size, Product Architecture & Commercial Strategy
- Recommend the right pack size, quantity, format, and price point for the target consumer.
- Evaluate trial sizes, standard sizes, premium sizes, multipacks, bundles, and refill formats where relevant.
- Assess how pack size affects perceived value, purchase intent, repeat purchase, consumption frequency, shipping economics, and gross margin.
- Develop product variants and fragrance or formulation extensions based on genuine consumer demand and operational feasibility.
- Determine whether a concept should launch as a standalone product, a bundle, a kit, or part of a wider product range.

- Essential Requirements
- 3–6 years of experience in new product development, product innovation, sourcing, or product management.
- Relevant experience in beauty, skincare, fragrance, body care, cosmetics, or personal care.
- Demonstrable experience taking products through multiple stages of development, ideally from initial concept to commercial launch.
- Strong understanding of manufacturers, contract manufacturing, formulation development, packaging sourcing, and supplier management.

Strong Advantages
- Experience launching products in the Indian D2C beauty and personal care market.
- Existing relationships with Indian cosmetic manufacturers, fragrance houses, formulation labs, and packaging suppliers.

?Full time role in Gurgaon, Haryana

📌 New Product Development Manager (New Delhi)
🏢 mainrōse
📍 New Delhi