Regional Senior Executive, R&D Product (Matcha)  

Position Responsibilities

  • Own end-to-end product development for Matcha beverages, from concept and bench development through pilot, finalization, and launch readiness.
  • Explore regional market trends and consumer preferences by tracking competitor menus, seasonal patterns, social buzz, and customer feedback, then translating insights into actionable product concepts.
  • Explore ingredient trends and innovations (including supplier scouting and sampling) to identify new ingredients, flavor pairings, and product opportunities.
  • Ensure Matcha products can scale by aligning with Procurement and Operations on ingredient quality, cost, supply stability, and store execution requirements.
  • Run product trials and validations (sensory and store trials) and refine Matcha products based on results and feedback.
  • Prepare SOPs and product documentation needed for consistent rollout across markets
  • Document formulation details, including BOM, gram dosage, and sensory notes
  • Maintain and improve existing Matcha products based on performance, feedback, and quality reviews.
  • Support seasonal/LTO planning and collaborate with Marketing, Ops & Academy to ensure launch readiness.
  • Support compliance requirements with QA/Regulatory where applicable

Qualification and Experience

Qualification

  • Diploma or Bachelor’s degree in Food Science, Culinary Arts, Nutrition, or related field (or equivalent experience)
Experience
  • 3–6 years in beverage R&D/product development (tea/coffee/QSR/F&B), with hands-on formulation and product launch experience; regional exposure is an advantage
Skills & Knowledge
  • Matcha beverage formulation and bench development (hot/iced/blended)
  • Strong understanding of Matcha quality and flavour pairing
  • Trend scouting: competitor, consumer, and ingredient trend translation into concepts
  • Ingredient sourcing and supplier evaluation (quality, cost, stability, risk.
  • Sensory evaluation and structured tasting methods
  • Operationalization: SOP writing, store trial planning, training support
  • Costing basics (COGS, yield, portion control) and practical feasibility thinking
Behavioral Traits
  • Curious and trend-aware, but grounded in scalability and cost
  • Strong ownership and attention to taste/consistency.
  • Fast, structured problem-solver in high-growth environments.
  • Collaborative across Ops, Supply Chain, QA, and Marketing.
  • Clear communicator with good documentation habits.

a Necessity, not a Luxury