Product Development Manager – Cocktail Mixers & Consumables; Collins

True Brands is looking for a Product & Brand Manager to lead the development and commercialization of consumable products for our Collins brand, with a primary focus on cocktail mixers, syrups, and garnishes.

This is a hands-on food and beverage product development role for someone who understands both the science behind a successful formulation and the craft behind a great cocktail. You’ll develop new products from initial concept and benchtop formulation through testing, sourcing, scale-up, regulatory compliance, and commercial production.

You’ll work closely with our Product Development, Global Supply Chain, Operations, and Sales teams, as well as ingredient suppliers and co-packers, to create products that deliver on flavor, quality, cost, and commercial viability. You’ll also help explore new consumable categories as the Collins brand continues to grow.

• Develop new products:
  Lead formulation and development of cocktail mixers, syrups, garnishes, and other consumable products from concept through commercialization.
• Apply flavor and cocktail expertise:
  Develop and refine flavor profiles with an understanding of sweetness, acidity, bitterness, aroma, mouthfeel, dilution, spirit pairings, and cocktail construction.
• Own product specifications:
  Develop recipes, BOMs, ingredient specifications, shelf-life requirements, and stability standards.
• Scale formulations for production:
  Work with suppliers and co-packers to move products from benchtop development into successful commercial production.
• Source ingredients and partners:
  Evaluate ingredients, suppliers, packaging components, and manufacturing partners for quality, cost, and production feasibility.
• Manage regulatory requirements:
  Ensure formulations, ingredient declarations, allergens, claims, and packaging meet applicable FDA and international requirements.
• Develop to target cost:
  Partner with Supply Chain to achieve target costs and margins while protecting product quality and flavor.
• Support Sales and National Accounts:
  Provide technical product expertise, samples, tastings, specifications, and support for major buyer and distributor presentations.
• Manage products through launch:
  Keep cross-functional development projects moving from concept approval through production and launch.
• Drive continued innovation:
  Follow cocktail, beverage, ingredient, and flavor trends to identify opportunities for new products and improvements to the existing Collins portfolio.

• 3-5+ years of experience in food or beverage product development, R&D, formulation, or a related field.
• Hands-on experience taking food or beverage products from benchtop formulation through commercial scale-up and production.
• Strong knowledge of cocktails and mixology, including flavor balance, spirit pairings, classic and modern cocktail construction, and current beverage trends.
• Experience with ingredient functionality, shelf-life and stability testing, product specifications, and formulation documentation.
• Working knowledge of FDA food labeling and regulatory requirements; international experience is a plus.
• Experience working with ingredient suppliers, manufacturers, and co-packers.
• Strong project management skills with the ability to manage multiple products at different stages of development.
• Comfortable partnering with Sales and communicating technical product information to buyers, distributors, and other non-technical audiences.
• Bachelor’s degree in Food Science, Culinary Science, Chemistry, Product Development, or a related field preferred, or equivalent relevant industry experience.

• Health, Dental, Vision, and Life Insurance, LTD, 401k with employer match
• Large supplemental insurance offerings such as accidental policies and discounted pet insurance plans
• FSA General Purpose Healthcare and Dependent care