Research & Development (R&D) Manager - Herbalist

Welcome to Apothékary™ , where Nature is Medicine™. We harness the intelligence of nature by creating clean, effective herbal remedies that target the root cause of health imbalances like helping to ease stress, support the gut, strengthen immunity, boost energy, and sharpen mental focus. Our herbal formulas feature traditional herbs from several medicinal modalities including Ayurveda, traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), Japanese Kampo, and Western herbalism. We believe in getting to the root cause of health issues and herbs can be a great place to start your journey and promote wellness for the long-term. 

We were founded in early 2019 by Shizu Okusa, a serial entrepreneur in the wellness industry and named E&Y’s Entrepreneur of the Year 2021. After leaving an intense finance career, she became inspired to live a more balanced lifestyle and revisit her Japanese roots and passion for herbal medicine. Shizu set out to help others regain their holistic health using traditions she grew up with and ones she learned along the way.

Why work with us?

1. You will get the chance to be an early team member at a fast-growth health & wellness startup disrupting the intersection of food and medicine – preventative healthcare rooted in herbal medicine
2. We are growing fast (100x growth in two years, over $16M in capital raised, and quadrupled the size of the team)
3. We’re a tight-knit, passionate team, where you'll learn a ton and have ownership over your responsibilities.
4. Work with a seasoned second-time founder and executive team

The role:

We are seeking a dedicated and experienced R&D Manager with expertise as an herbalist to lead the development and innovation of our herbal product line. This role will focus on researching, formulating, and ensuring the quality and efficacy of products that align with our mission of providing natural and effective herbal remedies. The ideal candidate will have a deep understanding of herbal medicine, product development, and regulatory compliance in the dietary supplement or wellness industry.

This experienced individual will report directly to the Head of Operations & New Product Development and serve as the primary point of contact with current and new co-manufacturers. They will also work closely with the company Founder and the marketing team to develop product narratives. This is a highly visible and impactful role that requires strong analytical skills, excellent communication abilities, and a keen ability to think strategically and execute effectively.

Responsibilities:

R&D and Product Formulation:

• Spearhead the research, formulation and development of products in line with business, brand objectives and market opportunities
• Utilize traditional herbal medicine principles and modern scientific methods to ensure Apothékary standards of product efficacy, quality, safety, sustainability whilst meeting regulatory requirements
• Be at the forefront of industry trends, scientific research, and consumer preferences to identify and recommend new opportunities for product innovation or improvement on existing formulations
• Own the new product development process from creation to launch including but not limited to product roadmap, Go-To-Market lead times, sampling rounds and formulation approvals, and sourcing for vendors
• Point of contact and manage relationships with co-manufacturers; collaborate with co-manufacturers on the commercialization and technical specifications of formulations, sourcing of sustainable, high-quality ingredients, address production quality, consistency, and capacity issues to ensure product quality and supply stability
• Negotiate with existing and new co-manufacturers for price quotes and formulate and new/existing formulations to meet margin requirements
• Continuously improve and enhance products and formulations; lead efforts to enhance product attributes such as taste, texture, nutritional content packaging, and shelf life
• Problem solve quality issues by providing R&D expertise: root-cause analysis and rework / recuperation recommendations
• Create educational product briefs for Marketing and Ops hand off, including supporting research articles on claims, the herbs and ingredients chosen, and founding content structure for future Marketing assets and copy
• Point of contact and liaison with contract research organizations to design clinical trials and consumer perception studies to substantiate product claims
• Design and conduct consumer perception questionnaires/studies to assess