Assistant Manager - New Product Development (Food)

Role overview

This position focuses on identifying emerging food trends across global and local markets and turning those insights into successful new menu items for Café Coffee Day. The role also includes benchmarking competitors, improving product economics, coordinating with vendors, and supporting training and quality documentation for new launches.

Key responsibilities

• Develop new food products inspired by current global trends and market demand.
• Monitor competitors and compare product offerings and industry best practices.
• Maintain a product library that includes trials, recipes, and related documentation.
• Prepare costing and margin evaluations for new products.
• Create SOPs and training materials to support rollout of new products.
• Conduct train-the-trainer sessions and staff training for new launches.
• Coordinate with external vendors and suppliers to source ingredients such as breads, desserts, gravies, sauces, fillings, and seasonings.
• Track product costs continuously and look for savings through alternate ingredients and new vendor options.
• Identify opportunities to improve processes and equipment used in the system.
• Partner with the QA team to close product requirements such as specifications, SOPs, nutritional details, and allergen information.
• Support the broader new product development cycle, including trend tracking, cost control, vendor coordination, and process improvements.

Qualifications and skills

• Bachelor's degree in Hotel Management.
• 6 to 7 years of experience in hotel or QSR innovation roles.
• Strong spoken and written communication skills.
• Hands-on exposure to hot kitchen operations and familiarity with continental, American, Oriental, Indian, and sandwich cuisines.
• Understanding of frozen foods and the science behind cooking.
• Willingness to travel across India as needed.

Additional information

The menu spans multiple cuisines, so the role requires a broad culinary perspective and the ability to work across different food formats. The position is based in Bengaluru, Karnataka, India.