Brand Manager

Brand Manager

What's it like to work at Kinder's? Well, there's a lot of snacking and geeking out over what we all cooked over the weekend. Beyond that, there's also plenty of hard work. Because we don't just like flavor, we're obsessed with it.

With over 100 products sold nationwide, we're now a top-five brand in multiple flavor categories at Costco, Walmart, Whole Foods, and more. We're not your typical CPG company. Privately held and founder-led, we like to think of ourselves as a pirate ship in a sea of cruise ships. Our crew is adventurous and fearless. We chart our own course and chase big ideas to make food unforgettable.

As we expand globally and approach $1 billion in revenue, we need more smart-and-scrappy, flavor-obsessed people to come aboard. If you're looking for a place where you can see the real impact of your work... this is it! Every day, you'll be part of a journey to add flavor to millions of meals and lives.

Reporting to the Director of Brand Management, the Brand Manager will be responsible for portfolio development and business leadership to drive the highest rate of sustainable growth for their respective part of the Kinder's portfolio. You will partner with the EVP of Growth and cross-functional teams 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.

Key Responsibilities of this Role

• Business Planning and Strategy
• Identify untapped consumer opportunities by leveraging consumer and market research and performance data to uncover new volume and profit growth areas
• Develop short and long-term business plans, specifying objectives, strategies, key initiatives and performance metrics based on deep understanding of consumer and retailer needs, food trends, category and competitive dynamics
• Become the internal expert and "go-to" for your category through ongoing analysis of business performance, trends, insights, and consumer behavior
• Optimize go-to-market strategy across assortment, pricing and promotion considering evolving consumer preferences and market dynamics
• Product and Portfolio Management
• Drive holistic and detailed understanding of your product portfolio in context of the consumer, category, our customers and company to make strategic recommendations for innovation, renovation, activation, and/or rationalization
• Build and direct the product roadmap for your category (e.g., line extensions, new flavors, new packs, recipe or packaging changes, etc.)
• Develop deep knowledge of your P&L, recommend and actively manage approved initiatives to drive sustained top-line and bottom-line growth
• Provide ongoing business analysis and visibility, including development and delivery of monthly business operations meetings and quarterly business reviews
• Marketing Planning
• Assess and recommend optimal demand investment mix for your category considering brand marketing and retailer marketing levers
• Guide brand marketing efforts (e.g., creative & content, digital & field experiences) based on business needs and strategic brand development goals, starting with agency briefs through execution and KPI measurement
• Partner with Sales to develop and deliver highly effective, demand generating strategies and tactics to spur growth across retail channels
• Cross-Functional Partnership
• Partner with Project Management and cross-functional teams to overcome executional and logistical hurdles to meet aggressive in-market timing and coordinate product and packaging solutions that lead the market
• Drive alignment on portfolio priorities with senior management and functional leads, including Insights, Product Development, Finance, Operations, and Sales
• Communicate portfolio performance and key initiatives with internal and external stakeholders (e.g., employees, board members, retail customers, etc.)

What You Bring to the Table

• Education / Experience
• Bachelor's Degree required, MBA preferred
• 5+ years relevant work experience in consumer brand management or product management. Food and/or product innovation experience is a plus Proven strategic thinker and complex portfolio manager
• Proven strategic thinker with experience managing complex portfolios
• Experience collaborating with and leading cross-functional teams
• Strong analytical & quantitative skills with capability to use data and/or research to make insight-based recommendations and drive organizational alignment
• Knowledge of key syndicated data sources (e.g., Circana, Numerator)
• Strong prioritization and organization skills with understanding of product development process from ideation to commercialization to in-market activation
• Personal Characteristics
• Business builder who owns and drives results
• Growth mindset with an excitement to be curious and learn
• 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
• Self-starter who takes initiative and speaks their mind
• Excited to be part of a fast-moving team with the ability to be a leader and a follower
• Enjoy making decisions and finding ways to say 'yes' as often as possible to impactful and important priorities

Location & Travel

The position will be based out of our office in Walnut Creek, CA. We strongly believe in the power of culture and community and have a hybrid work structure with 4 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. Typically, this travel may include customer meetings or company events

Pay Transparency

The expected starting salary range for this role is $130,000- $150,000 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.

Seasoned for Success:

• 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.

Benefits That Bring More to the Table:

We offer a range of total rewards that may include paid time off, 401k, bonus / incentive eligibility, equity grants, competitive health benefits, and other family-friendly benefits, including parental leave. Kinder's benefits vary based on eligibility and can be reviewed in more detail during the interview process.

Our Recipe for Balance:

We believe great culture starts with people. We're a people-first company built on connection, collaboration, and balance. Most of our work happens in the office to spark creativity and community, but we also offer flexibility so team members have the autonomy to work outside the office when needed to support their work-life balance and personal commitments.

Where Every Ingredient Matters:

Kinder's is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, ancestry, national origin, gender, citizenship, marital status, religion, age, disability, gender identity, results of genetic testing, veteran status, as well as any other legally-protected characteristic. If you have a disability under the Americans with Disabilities Act or similar law, and you need any accommodation during the application process or to perform these job requirements, please reach out to us at View email address on click.appcast.io