New Product Development Lead — Fragrances, Home Decor, Lifestyle

Company Description

• Soul & Scents is a contemporary home fragrance brand that crafts products designed to bring calm, warmth, and thoughtful intention to everyday spaces. Our product range includes reed diffusers, fragrance oils, scented sachets, and meticulously crafted gift sets. We proudly partner with corporate gifting companies, global export buyers, and businesses seeking premium scent-based solutions. Each creation reflects our commitment to balanced aromas, clean ingredients, and seamlessly designed packaging. Soul & Scents is proudly Made in India and available globally on platforms such as Amazon, Myntra, and BigBasket.

Role Summary:

Were hiring a New Product Development (NPD) Lead who can take products from idea sourcing sampling final range market launch across home dcor, lifestyle accessories, and fragrances. This is a high-ownership role combining strategic sourcing + vendor management + range building + styling/VM to create collections that look premium, sell well, and are executable at scale.

Key responsibilities

1) New product & range development (end-to-end)

Build seasonal and evergreen ranges: concept, category selection, pricing ladder, assortment planning, and collection storytelling.

Convert ideas into clear product briefs (materials, finishes, dimensions, pack formats, fragrance direction, MOQ, target cost).

Own sampling cycles: prototypes, revisions, approvals, final master standards.

2) Strategic sourcing & vendor ecosystem

Identify and onboard vendors for dcor/lifestyle/fragrance components: glass, ceramics, wood, metal, packaging, accessories, gifting packs.

Negotiate MOQs, lead times, pricing, payment terms, and quality expectations.

Build multi-vendor options for risk control (backup suppliers, alternate materials, alternate finishing).

3) Vendor management & quality execution

Set SOPs for sampling, QC standards, packaging specs, labeling requirements, and inspection checklists.

Maintain vendor scorecards: quality consistency, turnaround time, cost discipline, responsiveness.

Resolve issues quickly: defects, delays, breakage, mismatches, repeatability in production.

4) Brand strategy & collection storytelling

Ensure every product aligns to brand direction: look/feel, premium cues, materials, design language, and fragrance positioning.

Create collection narratives, naming cues, hero SKUs, and bundle concepts (gifting + sets).

Collaborate with marketing/e-comm to translate product USPs into sellable messaging.

5) Visual merchandising & creative styling

Define how products should look online and offline: styling kits, prop guidelines, color stories, and display setups.

Plan and execute styling for photoshoots: product staging, scene concepts, and mood direction.

Support marketplace readiness: image priorities, pack-shot needs, feature callouts, and bundling visuals.

6) Cross-functional launch coordination

Work with design, packaging, operations, and sales teams to launch smoothly.

Ensure deliverables are on time: barcodes, packaging specs, artwork readiness, production timelines.

Support pricing strategy and product readiness for marketplaces and D2C.

Success metrics (what good looks like)

Consistent pipeline of launch-ready products with strong aesthetics + execution feasibility

Improved target-cost achievement and margin discipline

Faster sampling-to-launch cycle time

Vendor performance improvements (quality, lead time, fewer defects/returns)

Stronger collection coherence and merchandising quality (online + offline)

Skills & experience

Must-haves

3+ years in NPD / product development / buying / sourcing in home dcor, lifestyle, FMCG, fragrance, or adjacent premium categories.

Strong vendor negotiation and costing skills; comfortable with MOQs, timelines, and production realities.

Excellent product taste + detail orientation (finishes, materials, color, typography cues, premium cues).

Strong project management: can manage multiple SKUs and timelines at once.

Please share:

1. Categories youve launched products in (with examples)
2. Vendor ecosystem youve handled (materials + regions)
3. 2 product wins (from concept launch) with photos or links
4. Notice period + current location + expected CTC