Chief Operating Officer

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.

The Chief Operating Officer (COO) at Kinder's will play a pivotal role in our efforts to scale our business by driving key operational and enterprise-level priorities in coordination with the Company’s CEOs and broader senior leadership team. As a key member of the executive leadership team, the COO will be responsible for overseeing the full supply chain, from the planning and sourcing functions through co-manufacturing, logistics, and customer service. This individual will play a critical role in ensuring operational excellence, agility, and cross-functional alignment in an asset-light, high-growth environment. This role will work closely with the Company’s C-level and next-level leaders to define key business priorities and help facilitate the development of both short-term and long-range plans to help attain them. This role requires a results-oriented leader with a broad understanding of business opportunities and risks, strategic problem-solving capabilities, strong communication skills, project management discipline, analytical capabilities, and the ability to collaborate cross-functionally. This role will report to the CEO of the Company.

Kinder’s has evolved from a beloved regional Butcher shop/restaurant into one of the fastest-growing flavor-forward food companies in North America. Today, we’re found in one in four U.S. households, with national distribution, breakout innovation, and passionate consumer engagement across categories.

We are not your traditional CPG company. Kinder’s is privately held, founder-led, and obsessed with building a modern brand that delivers real value to consumers and partners. We believe in the power of curiosity, authenticity, bold decision-making, and building systems that allow humans to thrive at scale.

As we scale from $400M to $1B+ in revenue and expand globally, we are looking for a strategic, values-driven Chief Operating Officer to join our Executive Leadership Team.

This is a once-in-a-career opportunity to help scale one of the most dynamic food companies in the U.S. as it hits an inflection point of growth, category leadership, and international expansion. The COO will serve as a core architect of Kinder’s next chapter, designing the infrastructure, teams, systems, and partnerships needed to grow with agility and purpose.

This role is not for the cautious or bureaucratic. It is for a leader who craves pace, autonomy, experimentation, and the satisfaction of building something iconic, with a team that leads with curiosity, humility, and ambition.

 

Key Responsibilities:

Strategic & Operational Leadership

o Serve as a core member of the executive team, actively shaping the company's growth strategy and long-range operational planning.

o Provide strategic input on key capabilities, investments, or other business transformation initiatives required to attain medium and long-term business goals.

o Empower key cross-functional leaders with operationally driven insights that help stimulate growth, efficiencies, or enhance overall business scalability.

o Champion opportunities to improve operating efficiencies across the business including margin initiatives, process development, technology investments, or other continuous improvement efforts.

 

Sourcing & Supply Chain

o Lead procurement strategy for ingredients (both convention and organic raw materials) and packaging across a domestic and international supplier base.

o Build and manage vendor relationships to ensure quality, cost-efficiency, continuity, and flexibility.

o Develop relationships, processes, and tools to drive high supply chain responsiveness in order to support growth and innovation goals.

o Mitigate supply risk through dual-sourcing, strategic partnerships, and forward contracts across key components.

o Evaluate opportunities to optimize supply network to drive efficient management of tariff, transportation, and other material handling costs.

 

Co-Manufacturing & Production

o Oversee management of all third-party manufacturing relationships.

o Drive operational performance (including attainment, quality, and other KPIs), cost-efficiency, and growth planning across key co-manufacturing relationships.

o Oversee quality, compliance, capacity planning, and capital investment strategies in collaboration with R&D and Product Development teams.

o Develop medium and long-term supply plans including capacity development across existing and new co-manufacturers including, where applicable, identifying capital requirements and working with partners to execute necessary investments.

o Develop and implement network optimization tools to ensure production placement is optimized for quality and total logistics costs.

 

Planning & Inventory Management

o Own demand and supply planning to optimize service levels, working capital, and production efficiency.

o Lead S&OP (or IBP) process and integrate inputs from Sales, Marketing, and Finance.

o Evaluate opportunities to drive process evolution to improve efficiency of club channel production given high volumes and short lead times.

o Optimize inventory strategy to support Company’s growth goals while also driving efficiency across supply network and managing inventory levels / cash flow.

 

Logistics & Customer Service

o Oversee all logistics and transportation operations via 3PL partners.

o Ensure efficient movement of goods through the supply chain while managing costs and service levels.

o Evaluate and optimize warehouse network design, routing, and service capabilities to support customer service requirements and growth goals.

o Lead customer service and order fulfillment functions to ensure delivery against OTIF targets and attain cost benchmarks.

o Resolve service issues and implement systemic improvements to enhance customer satisfaction.

 

The Ideal Candidate

o 15+ years of progressive leadership in supply chain, operations, or manufacturing, preferably in high-growth CPG or food brands.

o Experience leading complex, multi-channel distribution and co-manufacturing networks.

o Builder mindset: energized by ambiguity, skilled at designing systems from the ground up.

o Strong analytical, project management, and cross-functional collaboration skills.

o A team-first, empowering leadership style with a track record of mentoring high-performing, values-aligned teams.

o Mission-aligned: passionate about food, people, innovation, and building an enduring brand.

o Bonus: experience in founder-led or private equity-backed environments.

 

Why Kinder’s?

o Authenticity as Strategy: We lead with humility, purpose, and transparency. What you see is what you get.

o Momentum Meets Meaning: With category leadership and double-digit growth, we’re scaling fast, but we’re doing it intentionally.

o People Over Process: We build systems that support humans, not the other way around. Experimentation and “failing forward” are encouraged.

o Alignment from the Top: The Board, ELT, and founders are fully committed to investing in capability-building and long-term brand health.

 

Ready to Build Something Iconic?

If you’re a mission-aligned operator ready to leave a legacy, not only in the food industry, but through the people and systems you help shape, Kinder’s could be the place where you do your most meaningful and rewarding work.