Director of Innovation and Brand Expansion

Who We Are: Banza reimagines your favorite comfort foods, like pasta, pizza, mac & cheese and waffles, using chickpeas. Why? Because we know chickpeas aren’t just delicious, they’re also one of the most nutritious and sustainable foods. Yet 80% of the country isn’t eating enough of them. Our mission is to inspire people to eat more chickpeas and other beans, making a positive impact on human health and the environment. Banza is the fastest-growing pasta brand in the country, and our products are available in 27,000 stores nationwide. We’ve been named one of TIME Magazine’s Best Inventions of the Year, Adweek’s Best Food Brand, and are proud to have fans at Good Morning America, The New York Times, Food & Wine, Bon Appetit, and more.

Your Mission: As Director of Innovation and Brand Expansion, you will own the end-to-end innovation strategy from identifying consumer and category whitespace to bringing new products to shelf. Reporting to the VP of Brand Management, you will work with cross-functional teams in developing and commercializing differentiated, high-impact food and innovations that align with our brand guardrails and business goals. This role is a blend of consumer empathy, strategic foresight, and operational execution.

What You’ll Do:

• Innovation Strategy & Pipeline Leadership
  • Define a multi-year innovation roadmap aligned with our brand mission and growth strategies across our existing product lines.
  • Identify whitespace opportunities by synthesizing market trends, consumer insights, retail data, and competitive activity.
  • Develop innovation platforms that balance consumer demand, sustained value creation and operational feasibility.
  • Lead evaluation and prioritization of new category expansion and brand stretch opportunities.
• New Product Development (NPD)
  • Collaborate with the Director of Consumer and Sensory Research and external research partners to integrate research insights into the development of innovation strategies and initiatives.
  • Lead concept development, from ideation and feasibility to formulation and launch. 
  • Collaborate with Product, Quality, Operations, and Supply Chain to develop and scale formulations that meet our better-for-you standards (clean label, nutrition-forward, great-tasting).
• Cross-Functional Collaboration
  • Partner with Brand Management, Marketing, Sales, and Finance to align product development with go-to-market strategy and financial targets.
  • Drive internal alignment through the stage-gate process, ensuring clarity of priorities, timelines, and resourcing.
• Consumer-First Innovation
  • Embed consumer insights throughout the innovation funnel - leveraging tools like concept testing, in-home usage tests (IHUTs), and social listening in partnership with the Director of Consumer & Sensory Research.
  • Stay ahead of evolving preferences in clean eating, functional nutrition, and ingredient transparency.
  • Promote a test-and-learn mindset by designing lean pilots and in-market experiments.

Who You Are:

• 8 - 12+ years of experience in food & beverage innovation, preferably in natural/organic, clean-label, or better-for-you brands.
• Proven track record of launching successful products from ideation to commercialization.
• Strong understanding of CPG R&D, manufacturing, and supply chain constraints (especially in co-manufactured environments).
• Strategic thinker with strong analytical skills and a bias for action.
• Passion for food, wellness, and the evolving better-for-you consumer landscape.
• Experience in stage-gate or agile innovation processes.
• Bachelor’s degree required; MBA or related advanced degree is a plus.
• Passionate about what Banza’s doing!

To Apply: Write a cover letter describing why you want to join Banza and why you would be an excellent fit for this role (yes, we actually read every cover letter!) and then apply directly to this posting. If you have any questions, please email [email protected].

We're aware of the research showing that historically underrepresented groups are less likely to apply for a job if they don't believe that they meet all of the criteria. Do you hesitate to submit an application because you believe you need to check every box? Please apply anyway with a thoughtful cover letter! We would love to hear from you to discuss how you can help us build a great team at Banza.

Compensation: 

Our salary ranges are based on verified market data and our philosophy of paying competitively for our size and industry. Individual pay rate decisions are based on a number of factors, including qualifications for the role, experience level, skillset, and balancing internal equity relative to peers at the company.  We expect the majority of the candidates who are offered roles at our company to fall healthily throughout the range based on these factors. The salary band for this role is $150,000 - $180,000. The range is for the expectations as laid out in the job description, however, we are often open to a wide variety of profiles, and recognize that the person we hire may be less experienced (or more senior) than this job description as posted. If that ends up being the case, the updated salary range will be communicated to you as a candidate.

Perks and Benefits: 

• Equity in Banza 
• Annual Bonus 
• Medical, Dental, and Vision Insurance starting day 1: Banza pays 80% of the monthly premiums for employees and 70% for dependents
• One Medical Membership
• Short Term Disability and Life Insurance  
• Flexible Spending Account 
• Commuter Benefits 
• 401(k) 
• Paid Time Off: 20 vacation days, 10 holidays, 6 sick days, 2 personal days, a birthday day off, and a 7+ week sabbatical after 5 continuous years of employment.  
• Extended Leave: Short-Term Disability, Parental Leave, and other Paid Family Leave. Support provided by our end-to-end leave management partner, Sparrow
• New Parents: 12 weeks of paid parental leave plus additional optional leave time to add, and 4 weeks of flexible return to work arrangements. 
• Breast milk shipping service for traveling team members provided by Milk Stork
• Monthly fitness, internet and phone stipends 
• Monthly lunch stipend to encourage team member connection
• Annual education stipend 
• Home office set-up stipend 
• Unlimited Pasta, Rice & Mac
• $500 annual stipend to purchase our pizza and waffles, wherever it's sold
• Quarterly snack box for remote employees 
• Lively NYC office stocked with snacks and beverages 
• Quarterly in-person and remote events 

Our Commitment: Banza is committed to a diverse and inclusive workforce. To achieve our mission of inspiring people to eat more chickpeas and other beans, we greatly benefit from a range of perspectives, which comes from diversity of all types, at all levels of the organization. Facilitating diversity and inclusion is the smart thing for our business. So we strongly encourage women, veterans, people with all abilities, people of color, and gender nonconforming candidates to apply.

Banza is an Equal Opportunity Employer and does not discriminate on the basis of an individual's sex, age, race, color, creed, national origin, alienage, religion, marital status, pregnancy, sexual orientation or affectional preference, gender identity and expression, disability, genetic trait or predisposition, carrier status, citizenship, veteran or military status and other personal characteristics protected by law. All applications will receive consideration for employment without regard to legally protected characteristics. Banza will consider qualified applicants including those with criminal histories consistent with legal requirements.

Banza participates in E-Verify to confirm the identity and employment eligibility of all persons hired to work in the United States. As a participating employer, we provide the federal government with Form I-9 information to verify work authorization. For more information about E-Verify, please visit www.e-verify.gov.