Senior Product Developer - Drinks

WELCOME TO KFC, HOME OF THE REAL ONES.

We sell the world’s best chicken.

Seriously.

And we’ve done it since 1939, when the idea of crispy, original recipe chicken took Kentucky by storm.

Now, we’re proud to serve 1000+ communities across the UK and Ireland, bringing the grit, pride and iconic reputation that we started with, all those years ago.

Across the Restaurant Support Centre (RSC), we come to work to be ourselves, and to make something of ourselves.

We want to see our potential go that little bit further, as part of one of the world’s most iconic brands.

What’s the gig?

Well, you support our restaurants — and we’ll support you every step of the way.

Simple.

Our doors are open — and they can take you anywhere.

All we ask is that you be you.

Because that makes us, us.

Sound good?

Great.

Let’s find out about that job.

THE TEAM Our KFC Marketing team is a 50-strong crew of bold thinkers, culture shapers, creative doers and BELIEVERS - from Brand and Digital to Strategy, Food Quality, Innovation, Corporate Comms challenge constructively and commit fast.

Build innovation ways of working that make the whole squad faster and braver, not just your own pipeline.

WHAT WE’D LOVE FROM YOU: EXPERIENCE Must have: Proven beverage product development expertise - this is critical.

You have hands-on experience formulating and developing drinks (e. g. cold beverages, refreshers, coffee, tea, functional or soft drinks) and have taken products from concept to commercial launch.

A portfolio of launched drinks innovation you can point to, with evidence of commercial impact and, ideally, cultural buzz.

Strong conceptual and brand-thinking ability - you develop products as ideas and stories, not just recipes.

Demonstrable cultural fluency: you can show how social trends and adjacent categories have inspired your innovation.

Experience working with suppliers, supply chain and operations to operationalise products at scale - ideally in QSR, coffee, food-to-go or FMCG environments.

Highly collaborative working style, with experience thriving in cross-functional squads or matrix teams.

Working knowledge of UK food and drink regulation, including nutrition and HFSS considerations.

Desirable to have: Experience in high-frequency beverage environments - coffee chains, bubble tea, juice or functional drinks brands - where drinks are the destination.

Experience creating social-first or limited-drop product launches that generated organic buzz.

Food science, nutrition or related technical qualification.

Experience innovating within a franchise estate, where execution simplicity is non-negotiable.

ABOUT YOU You're a beverage specialist with a creative soul.

You can talk brix levels and flavour systems in the morning and pitch a drink concept with a name, a story and a Tik Tok moment in the afternoon.

You're plugged into culture.

You know what Gen Z (oh and Gen Alpha) is drinking, wearing and sharing - and you're already thinking about how a beauty drop or a fashion collab could inspire your next drink.

You're a maker, not just a thinker.

You love the craft of product development - the iterations, the tastings, the tenth version that finally nails it.

You're pragmatic and operationally smart.

You take pride in ideas that work in the real world - drinks a 17-year-old team member can make perfectly in 60 seconds during a Saturday rush.

You're a brilliant collaborator.

You bring people with you - suppliers, operators, marketers - and you treat challenge as fuel, not friction.

You probably don't tick every single box.

That's fine.

What matters most is that you live and breathe drinks, you're excited by the scale of what Kwench can become, and you're ready to build the innovation engine that powers it.