Product Development & Commercialization Associate Full Time

Location: Delhi-NCR

Company: Sleepy Owl Coffee

About Sleepy Owl Coffee

Sleepy Owl is one of India’s leading coffee-first consumer brands, building innovative products across cold coffee, instant coffee, functional beverages, coffee premixes and ready-to-drink formats. We work across both in-house operations and multiple third-party manufacturing partners to develop and scale products loved by consumers across India.

We are looking for a highly driven and execution-oriented Product Development & Commercialization Associate to join our growing team.

This is a cross-functional role at the intersection of product innovation, commercialization, sourcing, vendor management and project execution.

The ideal candidate should enjoy working across teams, coordinating with external partners, managing product development workflows and driving projects from concept to launch.

Key Responsibilities

Product Development & Innovation

• Support new product development projects across coffee, beverages and adjacent categories
• Conduct market research, trend analysis and competitor benchmarking
• Track consumer preferences, category innovation and emerging ingredients
• Coordinate with external R&D teams, consultants and manufacturing partners for formulation development
• Manage product samples, trials and sensory evaluations
• Assist in defining product positioning, product specifications and benchmark standards

Commercialization & Project Management

• Coordinate end-to-end product commercialization activities across internal and external stakeholders
• Manage product launch timelines and project trackers
• Coordinate pilot trials and factory commercialization runs with third-party manufacturers
• Ensure alignment across packaging, sourcing, production, finance and quality teams
• Track action items, escalations and project milestones
• Support product improvements, reformulations and cost optimization initiative

Sourcing, Procurement & Vendor Coordination

• Coordinate sourcing of ingredients, packaging materials and samples
• Work closely with vendors and suppliers for timelines, specifications and approvals
• Support procurement coordination for NPD projects
• Assist in evaluating new suppliers and manufacturing partners
• Coordinate with third-party manufacturing units for trials and production readiness

Costing & Business Analysis

• Assist in preparing product costing and basic P&L analysis for new launches
• Coordinate with finance and procurement teams for pricing inputs and commercial feasibility
• Support cost optimization initiatives across ingredients, packaging and manufacturing

Cross Functional Coordination

• Packaging
• Quality
• Finance
• Procurement
• Manufacturing partners
• Customer support
• Marketing
• Operations teams
• Support customer feedback analysis and product improvement projects

Candidate Profile

Experience

• 2–4 years of experience in FMCG, Food & Beverage or consumer product companies
• Experience in product development, commercialization, sourcing or project coordination preferred

Preferred Background

Candidates from the following categories will be preferred:

• Beverage companies
• Coffee or tea brands
• Functional foods or nutrition brands
• FMCG startups
• Food ingredient or flavor companies
• Premix or seasoning companies

Skills & Attributes

• Strong project management and coordination skills
• High ownership and execution orientation
• Ability to work in fast-paced startup environments
• Strong communication and vendor management skills
• Analytical and problem-solving mindset
• Interest in food, beverages and consumer products
• Comfortable managing multiple projects simultaneously
• Willingness to travel for factory visits and trials when required

Educational Background

• Bachelor’s degree in Food Technology, Food Science, Biotechnology, Chemical Engineering, Nutrition or related fields preferred
• MBA candidates with relevant FMCG/F&B experience may also apply

Why Join Sleepy Owl?

• Opportunity to work on innovative and fast-growing consumer products
• High ownership and visibility across functions
• Exposure to end-to-end product lifecycle and commercialization
• Fast-paced learning environment with direct founder interaction
• Opportunity to shape products consumed by millions of customers