VP / GM, Southern Living Sweet Tea

VP / GM, Southern Living Sweet Tea

As the VP, General Manager, Southern Living Sweet Tea, you will serve as the business leader for a new Southern Living-branded ready-to-drink (RTD) beverage, with full ownership of the P&L and accountability for building and scaling the business. You will define and execute the end-to-end strategy, from product development and supply chain buildout to go-to-market execution and commercial growth. You will be tasked with ensuring the brand achieves its revenue, margin, and market penetration goals. This role reports to the Group GM & SVP, Home.

You will operate as both a strategic architect and hands-on operator, bringing deep expertise in beverage development alongside strong commercial and operational leadership. Success in this role requires the ability to navigate seamlessly between high-level strategy and day-to-day execution, while leading cross-functional collaboration across brand, marketing, social, and a network of external partners to bring the product to market and scale its performance.

This is a rare opportunity to build a physical product business from the ground up, combining the discipline of CPG product development with the reach and influence of the iconic Southern Living brand. You will have the opportunity to shape the vision, define the operating model, and establish a scalable foundation for long-term growth.

About The Positions Contributions:

40% Strategic Leadership

• Develop and implement a comprehensive business plan to successfully launch this product on a short timeline.
• Identify market opportunities and set clear KPIs to measure success.

20% Product Development & Formulation

• Lead the translation of the recipe into scalable, production-ready beverage formulations.
• Identify and resolve formulation challenges including shelf stability, pH requirements, ingredient sourcing, and cost constraints.
• Define key product attributes including flavor profile, sweetness level, packaging format, and target price point.

20% Pilot Execution & Cross-Functional Alignment

• Oversee pilot production runs and guide refinement to achieve consistent, high-quality product.
• Collaborate with co-manufacturers to define standard operating procedures (SOPs) and production standards.
• Finalize formulation, ingredient specifications, and acceptable substitutions.
• Confirm production schedules, minimum order quantity (MOQs), and readiness for first commercial run.
• Partner with internal teams (brand, marketing, social) to ensure alignment on product direction and launch timing.
• Coordinate across external partners including co-manufacturers, packaging vendors, and logistics providers.
• Identify risks across formulation, production, and supply chain, and proactively implement mitigation strategies.
• Support launch readiness by ensuring production, packaging, and logistics timelines are aligned.

20% Costing & Commercial Viability / Go-to-Market & Commercial Strategy

• Develop and manage costs of goods sold (COGS) models across ingredients, packaging, manufacturing, and logistics.
• Evaluate margin structure against target retail pricing and channel considerations.
• Identify cost drivers and optimization opportunities to improve unit economics.
• Define and execute the go-to-market strategy, including channel selection across retail, e-commerce, and other relevant distribution channels.
• Develop pricing, promotion, and assortment strategies aligned with target consumer and brand positioning.
• Lead sales planning, including forecasting, revenue targets, and sell-in/sell-through expectations.
• Establish and manage relationships with key retail partners, distributors, and brokers as needed.
• Partner with brand and marketing teams to align on launch strategy, messaging, and consumer acquisition plans.
• Monitor market performance, customer feedback, and competitive dynamics to refine commercial strategy post-launch.

The Role's Minimum Qualifications and Job Requirements:

Education:

Bachelor's Degree preferred in Business, Supply Chain, Food Science, or related field or equivalent professional experience.

Experience:

• 10-15+ years of experience in beverage development, consumer packaged goods (CPG) operations, and product commercialization.
• Demonstrated success bringing RTD beverages from concept through production.
• Experience working with co-manufacturers and managing external production partners.

Specific Knowledge, Skills, Certifications and Abilities:

• Background in supply chain development, logistics planning, and production execution.
• Entrepreneurial Mindset: Proven ability to scale a business from inception to maturity. Experience in "building from scratch" within a larger organization is a strong plus.
• Strategic Vision: Exceptional strategic thinking, with the ability to translate vision into actionable goals.
• Executional Excellence: Strong operational skills, with a track record of delivering results in fast-paced, dynamic environments.
• Industry Knowledge: Familiarity with beverages/food/recipes is preferred.
• Leadership: Ability to inspire and lead cross-functional teams, fostering collaboration and accountability.
• Analytical Skills: Data-driven approach to decision-making, with experience in P&L management and growth strategy.
• Communication: Outstanding verbal and written communication skills, capable of articulating complex ideas to diverse audiences.

% Travel Required (Approximate): 10-25% (co-manufacturer visits, pilot runs, and vendor meetings)

It is the policy of People Inc. to provide equal employment opportunity (EEO) to all persons regardless of age, color, national origin, citizenship status, physical or mental disability, race, religion, creed, gender, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity and/or expression, genetic information, marital status, status with regard to public assistance, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local law. In addition, the Company will provide reasonable accommodations for qualified individuals with disabilities. Accommodation requests can be made by emailing View email address on click.appcast.io.

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Pay Range

Salary: New York: $250,000.00 - $265,000.00

The pay range above represents the anticipated low and high end of the pay range for this position and may change in the future. Actual pay may vary and may be above or below the range based on various factors including but not limited to work location, experience, and performance. The range listed is just one component of People Inc's total compensation package for employees. Other compensation may include annual bonuses, and short- and long-term incentives. In addition, People Inc. provides to employees (and their eligible family members) a variety of benefits, including medical, dental, vision, prescription drug coverage, unlimited paid time off (PTO), adoption or surrogate assistance, donation matching, tuition reimbursement, basic life insurance, basic accidental death & dismemberment, supplemental life insurance, supplemental accident insurance, commuter benefits, short term and long term disability, health savings and flexible spending accounts, family care benefits, a generous 401K savings plan with a company match program, 10-12 paid holidays annually, and generous paid parental leave (birthing and non-birthing parents), all of which may vary depending on the specific nature of your employment with People Inc. and your work location. We also offer voluntary benefits such as pet insurance, accident, critical and hospital indemnity health insurance coverage, life and disability insurance.