OverviewA new AFH (Away from Home) & Food Venture organization will be established in GCR to expand our brands into new meal occasions. It will execute the global Foods Ventures strategy with a local lens, developing scalable, culturally relevant, and consumer-first business models while leading AFH sales end to end. This team will be led by a dedicated Food Venture GM and supported by a mix of fully dedicated and double-hatting cross-functional teams.
As R&D lead in the new venture, this role is a critical enabler for AFH channel growth and innovation, connecting product capability with customer needs to unlock strategic business opportunities. It plays a pivotal role in defining and driving the innovation and technical strategy for the AFH channels, as well as providing breakthrough solutions. Operating like a start-up leader within the company, it defines opportunity spaces, validates concepts, builds MVPs, and accelerates commercialization. This R&D role partners closely with Marketing, Sales, and Supply Chain teams to enable agile development cycles and deliver differentiated solutions tailored to this new new business while aligning with PepsiCo’s standards, food safety discipline, regulation compliance, as well as productivity requirements.
This role will diectly report to APAC&India Food R&D Lead and will dotted report to Food Venture GM, it in particular will have as main focus to support GCN business but also AFH iniatives across APAC region in collaboration with global.
Responsibilities- Build AFH R&D long-term innovation strategy & roadmap.
- Deliver AFH channel-ready solutions and channel-specific products to support sales growth, eps. by building white-space innovation platforms, scouting emerging technologies, and exploring new business opportunity.
- Partner with marketing and supply chain teams for go-to-market commercialization and manufacturing scalability.
- Ensure compliance with food safety, regulatory & quality standards, and PepsiCo disciplines.
- Drive cost optimization and provide technical support to achieve productivity target.
- Build solid connection with Global & Sector R&D teams in driving lift & shift opportunities.
- Develop a high performing team and ensure the solid talent pipeline.
Qualifications- Master’s degree in Food Science, Food Engineering, Nutrition, Culinary Science or related field
- Fluent communication skill in both Chinese and English
- 10+ years of R&D experience in food/beverage industry; 5+ years team leadership preferred.
- Technical and business understanding of market requirements to develop applicable innovation solutions.
- Strong understanding of AFH/OOH channels and customer engagement.
- Strong influence skills and cross-functional communication.
- Entrepreneurial mindset with strategic thinking and business acumen.
