Little Spoon is the direct-to-consumer brand on a mission to make parents' lives easier. We create healthy food and nutrition solutions for children that are both high quality and accessible, and conveniently deliver them to families nationwide. We started with first bites and the idea that your baby's food should never be older than your baby, disrupting the century-old baby food industry with the launch of our Babyblends. We've since expanded our offering with the launch of Plates, a first-of-its kind line of healthy, fun meals for toddlers and big kids. In addition, we offer a line of clean vitamins and natural remedies called Boosters. And with some exciting product launches on the horizon, we're just getting started!
Little Spoon is a fast-growing venture-backed company based in NYC.
THE ROLE

• Understand the needs of our customer. Conceptualize and develop products that solve for those needs and align with Little Spoon's brand vision and values
• Own product development projects from idea through launch
• Identify opportunities for improvement among existing product lines and work on various renovation projects
• Identify suitable manufacturing partners and third-party co-packers
• Work with partners to commercialize new concepts from benchtop samples and trial runs to full-scale production
• Source and test all elements of product packaging
• Work with operations team to source raw materials by identifying, vetting and onboarding new vendor partners as needed
• Develop COGS model and determine product pricing, working collaboratively with the chief product officer and the management team to determine viability
• Liaise with internal and external stakeholders on all aspects of food safety, labeling and regulatory requirements
• Work cross-functionally to organize consumer testing of products and ensure any refinements are made prior to market launch
• Work with QA to ensure rigorous QA standards are met by all third party suppliers and partners
• Work collaboratively with our operations team to ensure product is successfully commercialized and ready for production at scale and distribution
• Run point on the launch process, working with all internal and external stakeholders (marketing, customer care, operations, finance/data and tech) teams to ensure a successful, on-time launch

DESIRED SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE
Our ideal candidate will check most of these boxes:

• 4-6 years of product development experience
• Degree in Food Science or similar
• Experience working with a breadth of third-party co-packers on food related projects
• Proven ability to translate consumer insights into cutting-edge products
• Demonstrated knowledge of ingredient functionality
• Extremely organized with experience handling and managing multiple projects, prioritizing and managing complexity from pilot through commercialization
• Excellent research skills. Curious thinker with a creative approach to innovation
• Extensive knowledge of USDA/FDA Regulations
• Culinary orientation and ability to translate consumer insights into innovative products. Culinary background a plus

ADDITIONAL INFO

• Based in NYC or remote
• Requires travel to visit suppliers and manufacturing partners
• A supportive and inclusive workplace filled with passionate, happy and smart people
• Entrepreneurial environment with lots of room for growth and innovation
• Flexible vacation and time off
• Competitive compensation including equity and 401k
• Comprehensive health benefits including medical, vision and dental

At Little Spoon, we celebrate the unique background and point of view that each person brings to our team. We hire for potential, not just past experience, and strive to support the career development of each and every person on our team.
We are fully committed to building a safe and inclusive workplace - a place where our team can think differently, challenge the status quo and have a little fun in the process. We have zero tolerance for harassment or discrimination. We do not discriminate and will not make any hiring decisions on the basis of race, religion, ethnicity, national origin, gender, gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, or disability.
If you have a disability and require accommodation during our interview process, please let us know how we can help make the interview process fair to your needs.