Head of Food (Product Development & Nutrition), Marro

The role

The Head of Food will lead Marro's product development strategy, feline nutrition, and palatability. You will own the product roadmap, manage the budget, and work hands-on in the kitchen to ensure cats love the food and customers stay.

What you will do

• Own the product development strategy and long-term vision for the range.
• Turn strategy into a prioritised multi-year roadmap.
• Manage the Marro budget for trials, palatability, sensory testing, and research.
• Act as the expert on feline nutrition, ingredients, formulation, processing, and sensory science.
• Reduce customer pauses by analyzing feedback and cat response data.
• Own palatability performance and define winning metrics.
• Make trade-off decisions between nutrition, palatability, quality, cost, and manufacturability.
• Work hands-on in the kitchen tasting, running trials, and evaluating product.
• Sign off product quality and claims.
• Lead cross-functional work with Operations, Commercial, Brand, and Marketing.

Required qualifications

• Deep expertise in feline nutrition, ingredients, formulation, processing, sensory and palatability.
• Experience shaping product strategy.
• Ability to lead cross-functional work and influence senior stakeholders.
• Comfortable with ambiguity and moving quickly in a startup environment.
• Ability to work in person in London.

Nice to have

• Degree or postgraduate qualification in animal nutrition, food science, sensory science or a related field.
• Depth of expertise built through hands-on pet food experience.

Benefits

• Equity option package
• 25 days holiday (plus bank holidays), 5 paws days and an additional day every year of service
• €500 personal learning & development budget
• Butternut Box / Marro employee discount
• Subsidised Private Medical Insurance with Vitality
• Cycle to work scheme
• Flexible working with hybrid remote working
• Team socials, plus company-wide summer and winter parties

Before you apply

• Unable to offer visa sponsorship for this role.
• Skills interview includes an in-person interview task.
• Interview process includes an initial remote call, an in-person skills interview, a remote behaviours interview, and an in-person leadership interview.

About the company

Marro is a fresh food brand for cats, described as the charming younger sister to Butternut Box. The company focuses on making the lives of cats and their people healthier and easier through fresh food.