Research And Development Officer

Responsibilities:

Product Development:

• Develop new formulations for seasoning cubes, powders, tomato paste and jollof spices.
• Develop new flavours, variants and product concepts based on market and consumer needs.
• Conduct laboratory and pilot-scale product trials.
• Convert successful laboratory formulations into production-scale formulations.

Seasoning Cube Development:

• Develop and improve cube formulations for taste, aroma, colour, hardness, dissolution and stability.
• Conduct trials on different combinations of salt, spices, flavour enhancers, starches, fats, colours and other approved ingredients.
• Improve cube performance while maintaining commercial viability.
• Conduct competitor benchmarking and sensory comparison.

Seasoning Powder & Spice Development:

• Develop jollof spice and other seasoning powder formulations.
• Optimise spice combinations for taste, aroma, colour, heat level and consistency.
• Test different particle sizes and ingredient combinations.
• Conduct trials to improve flowability, moisture stability and shelf life.

Tomato Paste Development:

• Develop and improve tomato paste formulations.
• Conduct trials involving Brix, pH, colour, viscosity, consistency, taste and stability.
• Evaluate alternative raw materials and ingredients.
• Conduct shelf-life and stability studies.

Product Improvement & Cost Optimisation:

• Reformulate existing products to improve quality and consumer acceptance.
• Identify opportunities to reduce formulation costs without compromising quality.
• Evaluate alternative raw materials and suppliers.
• Work with Procurement and Production to identify commercially viable ingredients.

Sensory Evaluation:

• Organise product tasting and sensory evaluation sessions.
• Compare new formulations against existing products and competitors.
• Gather feedback and use findings to improve formulations.
• Maintain proper sensory evaluation records.

Shelf-Life & Stability:

• Conduct accelerated and real-time shelf-life studies.
• Monitor changes in taste, colour, aroma, moisture, pH, Brix, texture and other relevant parameters.
• Recommend appropriate storage conditions and shelf-life periods.

Production Scale-Up:

• Work closely with Production during new product trials.
• Translate laboratory formulations into factory-scale production.
• Monitor initial production batches and resolve formulation-related challenges.
• Develop and maintain approved master formulations and product specifications.

Regulatory & Documentation

• Ensure new formulations use approved food-grade ingredients.
• Prepare technical documents required for product registration and regulatory submissions.
• Support NAFDAC-related product registration and modification processes.
• Maintain confidential records of all formulations and product-development activities.

Requirements:

• A minimum of 1 years of experience
• A minimum of a degree in a related field 

R&D KPIs:

• Number of successful new products developed.
• Number of successful product improvements/reformulations.
• R&D trial success rate.
• Time taken from concept to commercialisation.
• Consumer sensory acceptance scores.
• Product stability and shelf-life performance.
• Successful production scale-up.
• Formulation cost savings.
• Number of commercially viable product innovations.
• Compliance of formulations with regulatory requirements.