Associate Brand Manager

ABOUT US AT KINDER'S:

We are a fast-growing company working hard to bring amazing flavor solutions to consumers that are as exciting and delicious as they are simple to use. Whether we are serving the emerging cook or seasoned pro, we are 100% committed to our mission of bringing awesome flavor to consumers wherever and whenever they are looking for it and in whatever form they want it in be it seasonings, sauces, gravies, marinades, or anything else we can dream up. We drive hard to be the most quality-obsessed, innovative company in any market we serve and while we have experienced tremendous growth over the last 5 years, we think we are just getting started. We love our consumers and are fired up to be part of their flavor journey, and we need more great people to help us continue to raise the bar for what consumers think is even possible in their own kitchens.

Today, we have over 100 products sold nationwide at retailers including Costco, Walmart, Sam’s Club, Whole Foods, Sprouts, Kroger, Safeway and many more. While we have been around for over 75 years, we have experienced explosive growth in the last 5 years and are now a top 5 brand in the U.S. in multiple flavor categories including seasoning blends, BBQ sauce, and wing sauce. To keep our momentum rolling, we need more passionate flavor advocates and builders to come and join our team and help us reach every kitchen across the U.S. and maybe even the world.

 

Kinder’s is seeking an experienced Associate Brand Manager who is passionate about being part of a team of hard-working people focused on bringing the future of flavor to consumers everywhere.

How you'll have an impact at Kinder’s: The Associate Brand Manager will be responsible for portfolio strategy, performance tracking & reporting, and innovation planning to drive brand performance of this high-growth flavor brand. You will partner with Brand Managers and the Director of Brand Management to build an amazing, sustainable product engine to fuel continued high growth for the company by creating exciting, delicious, and effortless solutions for consumers across all touchpoints with the brand.

 

What are the Key Responsibilities of this Role

Brand & Marketing Planning

o Support the creation of short and long-term business plans, identifying brand goals, strategies, tactics and performance measurements.

o Develop brand-building marketing plans to support the annual business plan, including seasonal activations, starting with in-house creative briefs (e.g. digital content, customer marketing, social/influencer, etc.) through to execution and KPI measurement.

o Partner with Sales Strategy team to develop highly effective trade and merchandising plans to support growth across channels (Retail, Mass, Club, eCom).

 

Business Analytics & Budgeting

o Provide monthly consumption reporting and ongoing analysis to identify business opportunities through data-driven insights on consumer trends, competitive landscape and market dynamics.

o Track performance against the P&L and key brand goals, such as sales growth, market share, household penetration and repeat rate.

o Assist in managing the brand’s budget and monitor marketing spend to ensure it aligns with the brand’s financial objectives.

 

Product and Portfolio Management

o Drive holistic and detailed understanding of portfolio product assortment in context of the consumer, the category, our customers, and our company to make strategic recommendations for innovation, renovation or discontinuation.

o Drive close-in category innovation planning including insight development, concept positioning, pricing, analyzing and forecasting size of prize, and incrementality /cannibalization analysis.

o Build innovation launch plans, from strategy (e.g. positioning, pricing) to execution (i.e. integrated marketing planning).

 

Cross-Functional Partnership

o Partner with a cross-functional team to overcome executional and logistical hurdles to meet aggressive in-market timing and coordinate product and packaging solutions that lead the market.

o Lead alignment on the brand initiatives with key functions, including Sales, Project Management, Finance, Product Development and Operations.

o Development and presentation of activities and strategies to senior management

 

What You Bring to the Table

 Education / Experience

o Bachelor's Degree required, MBA preferred

o 2+ years relevant work experience in traditional CPG brand management. Innovation and/or product development experience is a plus

o Strong analytical & quantitative acumen with deep knowledge of key syndicated data (Circana preferred) and Panel data (Numerator preferred)

o Proven strategic thinker and portfolio manager

o Strong project management skills and understanding of new product development process from ideation to execution

o Track record in agile creative thinking, generation of new marketing ideas, and working with internal and external creative partners

 

Personal Characteristics

o Business builder who owns and drives results

o Growth mindset with an excitement to learn (and teach)

o Thrive in a dynamic, lean, and agile environment with proven record of completing projects on time in full through excellent cross functional team management, leadership, communication and influence

o Self-starter who takes initiative and speaks their mind

o Excited to be part of a fast-moving team with the ability to be a leader and a follower

o Enjoy making decisions and finding ways to say ‘yes’ as often as possible to impactful and important priorities

 

Things About the Way We Work

· No two days here are the same

· We try to be good team members and good communicators, but we don’t live by hierarchy and structure – everyone is a difference maker here

· We make a lot of decisions in the face of incomplete information – our team embraces ambiguity and tries to make good decisions fast rather than great decisions slow

· We believe our job is to take smart risk, not to eliminate risk

· We believe in growing our skills and becoming a better company with more managerial expertise, but we are an entrepreneurial company at heart

· We aren’t trying to be average – we want to do exceptional things and we are willing to work hard to achieve them

 

Location & Travel

The position will be based out of our 20,000 sq. foot office in Walnut Creek, CA. We strongly believe in the power of culture and community and have a work structure with 5 days in the office on a weekly basis to encourage collaboration and personal connections that will allow us to better serve our customers and consumer and to have more fun. Fridays are flex days with employees having the opportunity to choose to be either in the office or to work from home based on what makes most sense for them.

Some travel will be required for this role on a periodic basis. Typical travel includes industry conferences and key customer visits.

 

The expected starting salary range for this role is $115,000 - $125,000 per year. We may ultimately pay more or less than the posted range based on the location of the role. The amount a particular employee will earn within the salary range will be based on factors such as relevant education, qualifications, performance and business needs.