NPD Manager - Desserts

NPD Manager - Desserts

Bangkok, Thailand | Full-time | Hybrid

Company Description

LILO® Desserts is a New Zealand-founded dessert solutions company designing and creating global dessert occasions that both delight and nourish. We combine indulgent flavours with thoughtful, high-quality ingredients to serve diverse tastes, channels and dietary needs.

Through innovation, creativity and close manufacturing partnerships, LILO® is bringing memorable dessert experiences to consumers worldwide, with a growing focus on Asia Pacific and Europe. We value curiosity, collaboration and a genuine passion for deliciousness, giving our team the opportunity to help shape the future of desserts internationally.

Role Description

The Bangkok-based New Product Development Manager will lead the end-to-end development of new dessert products—from consumer insight and concept creation through formulation, testing, scale-up and commercial launch. The role will ensure that every product meets LILO®s brand, sensory, nutritional, quality and regulatory standards.

This is a hands-on role requiring regular engagement with our strategic manufacturing partner in Prachin Buri, approximately 2–2.5 hours from Bangkok. The successful candidate will be expected to work from the factory one to two days per week, particularly during development trials, production scale-up and commercial launches.

Key responsibilities include:

• Leading LILO®s Thailand-based NPD programme across dairy and coconut desserts.
• Translating market trends, consumer insights and customer briefs into commercially viable product concepts.
• Managing formulation, sensory evaluation, shelf-life testing, product optimization, factory trials and commercialization.
• Working closely with partner food technologists, suppliers and manufacturing teams.
• Establishing and maintaining LILO®s QA/QC systems, including product specifications, quality standards, testing protocols, documentation and performance reporting.
• Leading LILO®s quality and regulatory interface with strategic manufacturing partners.
• Supporting food-safety, allergen, halal, gluten-free and market-specific regulatory requirements.
• Coordinating NPD timelines, budgets, risks and cross-functional communication across marketing, operations, supply chain and commercial teams.
• Ensuring products can be consistently manufactured at the required quality, cost and scale.
• Supporting continuous improvement and troubleshooting during commercial production.

This is a full-time, hybrid position based in Bangkok, combining factory-based work, in-person collaboration and work-from-home flexibility.

Qualifications

• Strong experience in food-industry research and development, with demonstrated responsibility for new product creation and commercialization.
• Applied knowledge of food technology and food science, including formulation, sensory evaluation, scale-up, shelf-life and quality assurance.
• Experience developing or implementing QA/QC systems, product specifications and testing protocols.
• Demonstrated project-management capability, including planning, prioritization, budget control, timeline management and cross-functional coordination.
• Experience in desserts, dairy, coconut, bakery, ice cream or related food categories is highly beneficial.
• Bachelor's degree or higher in Food Science, Food Technology, Nutrition or a related discipline.
• Ability to analyze data and consumer insights and translate findings into compelling product concepts and improvements.
• Strong communication and stakeholder-management skills, with the ability to work effectively across cultures and organizational boundaries.
• A practical, collaborative approach and willingness to spend one to two days per week at the Prachin Buri manufacturing facility.
• Proficiency with standard office and project-management tools; experience with product-lifecycle or PLM systems is an advantage.
• Fluency in English is required; Thai-language capability is highly desirable.