Sunoha Coffee
Website:
coolbeanscoffeeroasters.com
Company:
https://www.linkedin.com/company/sunoha-coffee
Industries: Wholesale Food and Beverage
Job details:
About the Company:
Sunoha is an emerging food and beverage company building innovative coffee, tea, nutrition, and convenience-beverage products for domestic and international markets.
It supplies roasted coffee, instant coffee, liquid coffee decoctions, and customised beverage solutions to cafés, restaurants, hotels, offices, and foodservice businesses across India.
The company is now expanding into coffee premixes, tea premixes, malt-based nutritional beverages, cocoa beverages, and other value-added products for export markets - with a particular focus on Africa and the Middle East. To power this next phase of growth, Sunoha is establishing a dedicated Product Development & Innovation Center (PDIC) to create market-leading products and unlock new business opportunities.
Function
Product Development & Innovation Center (PDIC)
Location
Hyderabad, Telangana, India
Work Model
On-site (full-time)
Reporting to:
Founders
Compensation:
₹12–15 LPA fixed
Employment type:
Full-time, permanent
Qualifications needed:
Education
B.Tech / M.Tech in Food Technology, Food Science, Dairy Technology, Nutrition, or a related discipline.
Experience
4–7 years of product-development / R&D experience in beverages, nutritional products, coffee, tea, malt beverages, premixes, or FMCG foods, including hands-on formulation and experience taking products to launch.
Job Description:
Sunoha is building its Product Development & Innovation function and this is a senior, hands-on role at the heart of it.
You will drive the development of new beverage and nutrition products from concept to commercial launch, lead key projects end to end, and help shape how the company innovates as it scales across India and into export markets.
The Manager leads and executes the development of new beverage and nutrition products from concept to commercialisation, focusing on coffee premixes, tea premixes, malt-based nutritional beverages, functional beverages, and related products for domestic and export markets.
You will own projects end to end - benchmarking target products, sourcing ingredients, developing and optimising formulations, running trials, and steering successful launches; while helping establish the PDIC's processes and innovation pipeline.
You will have real ownership, direct access to the founders, and room to grow into broader leadership of the function as it expands.
Key responsibilities:
Product Development & Formulation
- Formulate & Benchmark: Develop and optimise formulations for premixes, malt, functional, and nutritional beverages and compare them to target benchmark products to ensure winning specifications.
- Trial: Plan and run laboratory and pilot-scale trials with rigorous documentation.
- Optimise: Balance taste, functionality, nutrition, stability, shelf-life, and cost.
Ingredient & Supplier Development
- Source & qualify: Identify ingredients, evaluate functionality, and qualify reliable, cost-effective suppliers.
- De-risk: Develop alternate suppliers to strengthen supply security and pricing.
Market Intelligence
- Scan & evaluate: Track trends and consumer preferences across India and export markets; evaluate new opportunities and build the case.
- Benchmark: Run competitor analysis and product benchmarking.
Sensory & Consumer Evaluation
- Test & refine: Organise tasting panels and customer evaluations, and refine products on feedback.
- Standardise: Establish sensory standards and reference profiles for batch consistency.
Regulatory & Documentation
- Document: Prepare nutritional information, specifications, and technical documents.
- Comply: Ensure compliance with FSSAI and target export-market requirements; maintain development records and product IP.
Commercialisation & Scale-Up
- Scale: Support pilot and factory trials, coordinate with manufacturing, and troubleshoot during scale-up.
- Collaborate: Partner with sales, supply chain, and leadership to land launches commercially.
Project Leadership
- Lead projects: Run product-development projects end to end against timelines and a clear stage-gate.
- Mentor: As the team grows, guide and mentor junior product-development staff.
- Pipeline: Contribute to a prioritised innovation pipeline aligned to business strategy.
Skills Required
Technical Skills
- Food science and beverage technology
- Product formulation and recipe development
- Ingredient functionality and food chemistry
- Nutritional and functional product development
- Sensory evaluation and shelf-life studies
- Process scale-up and manufacturing transfer
- Regulatory compliance (FSSAI and export-market standards)
- Cost optimisation and margin engineering
General Skills
- Analytical thinking and structured problem-solving
- Project management and disciplined execution
- Clear written and verbal communication
- Vendor and supplier management
- Cross-functional collaboration and ownership mindset
Preferred/Add-on Skills
- Experience developing products for export markets (Africa / Middle East a plus).
- Exposure to coffee / tea processing or premix manufacturing.
- Familiarity with HACCP, ISO / FSSC 22000, and export documentation.
To apply, send the following to sriram@sunoha.com with the subject line “Manager - Product Development & Innovation”:
• your CV / resume;
• a short note on a product or project you worked on - what you did and the outcome;
• your current and expected compensation, and earliest availability.
Click on Apply to know more.