Job Specifications
Head of NPD, Innovation & Category Development
Hybrid: 2-4 days per week across our Canary Wharf and Rainham (Essex) Offices
About us:
Frive stands for Food to Thrive - we help busy people thrive not only because our meals are healthy, balanced and made with 100% whole foods/ natural ingredients, but also because they’re ready to heat and eat in minutes - saving you an hour a day, or up to 7 hours a week, for what matters most. We're the UK's highest-rated meal prep brand, with over 20 million meals delivered, and we’re just getting started.
We work with people from all different backgrounds and communities and recognise our own biases. We strive to create a strong sense of belonging and believe we will be better equipped to achieve our goals by building a team that approaches problems from different angles, using different perspectives and experiences to solve problems. All qualified applicants will be considered and we have no regard for age, ethnicity, ability, gender, gender expression, gender identity, nationality, race, religion, or sexual orientation. The more the merrier, and together we can achieve greatness.
Mission:
To make healthy eating convenient, delicious and accessible, whilst championing locally sourced and organic ingredients.
Vision:
To inspire a global shift towards a healthier society by changing eating habits and restoring food to its purest form.
Values:
Take Ownership: We make independent decisions with confidence and ownership
Be Transparent: We share information openly and with intention
Communicate Openly: We communicate directly and honestly
Deliver High Performance: We foster an environment that attracts, retains, and rewards high performance
Be Agile: We encourage flexibility in our people by reducing blockers and prioritising their creativity and productivity
Your Impact
Frive is entering its next phase of growth and requires a senior, commercially minded Head of Product Development & Category to own the end-to-end food proposition. This role will provide clear leadership across NPD and category management, including menu architecture, nutrition goals, margin optimisation, and innovation, ensuring Frive’s range remains market-leading while scaling efficiently.
The role reports to our CMO, but bridges customer insight, nutrition, operations, and marketing, working cross functionally to develop strategy and deliver executable, commercially-driven product roadmaps. As our first commercial NPD hire, you will drive continuous improvement across not just our meals, but also packaging, unboxing experience, and secondary categories and innovation opportunities – taking ownership of the whole of our physical product innovation roadmap.
Please note – this role owns *physical product (food)* innovation – our website, app and digital experiences sit elsewhere!
About You
7+ years’ NPD/EPD/category management experience - food is not a prerequisite, but it is desirable;
Strong technical skills: Confident utilising qualitative and quantitative insight and financial data to inform innovation, analyse test results, and maximise commercial impact;
Strong cross-functional project management skills and experience: Proven track record of managing and delivering a portfolio of projects and programs within a fast-paced environment;
Strategic development and stakeholder management: Ability to spearhead the development of our NPD & EPD strategy, communicating confidently with senior stakeholders.
You’ll be a confident line manager of a small, two-person team.
You’ll be happy to work in a hybrid fashion (2-4 days/week in the office) across both Rainham, Essex and Canary Wharf, acting as a key bridge between marketing and operations.
Responsibilities
Product & Category Strategy
Own the overall food proposition across all meal ranges and formats.
Define and execute the category strategy (core meals, premium tiers, functional/nutrition-led ranges, seasonal rotations, category expansion)
Balance innovation, customer demand, nutrition, and margin.
Set clear product principles aligned to Frive’s brand and growth strategy.
New & Existing Product Development (NPD & EPD)
Lead the end-to-end NPD process from insight to launch:
Customer and market insight
Concept development
Nutritional and culinary validation
Factory trials and scale-up
Commercial sign-off and launch
Build a repeatable NPD pipeline with stage-gates and clear success metrics.
Lead on non-food physical product NPD & EPD, including packaging, unboxing experience, and merchandise.
Drive innovation that improves LTV, retention, and average order value.
Menu Architecture & Range Management
Own menu structure, SKU count, and rotation cadence.
Work closely with the digital product team to optimise our meal selection algorithm, building a menu to drive meal variety and customer retention.
Ensure optimal balance between variety vs. operational complexity; innovation vs. best-sellers.
Lead SKU rationalisation where needed to imp
About the Company
Frive is the UK’s highest-rated ready-to-eat meal delivery subscription, delivering tens of thousands of fresh, natural, chef-prepared meals to customers’ doors across the UK each week
Follow for updates on our journey as we strive to create a healthier, more convenient food system, free of artificial ingredients
We are committed to our vision of creating 100% organic meals without the hefty price tag, freeing us from a food system that compromises our health for profit
Frive meals only contain REAL FOOD - no artificia...
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