The Brand Manager, Innovation is responsible for leading strategic initiatives that accelerate brand growth within the Ready-to-Eat (RTE) popcorn segment. This role will lead the development and execution of long-term brand strategy, innovation, and go-to-market execution, growing existing platforms and launching new ones within the portfolio. The Brand Manager will oversee agency partnerships, lead marketing execution, and ensure brand plans are implemented effectively to meet sales, market share, and profitability targets. This highly collaborative role blends strategic thinking with hands-on execution and is instrumental in identifying growth opportunities, optimizing investments, and building brand equity in a competitive category.
What Will I Be Doing:
• Innovation Strategy & Pipeline Development
o Lead the full innovation process—from ideation and concept development to commercialization and in-market performance tracking
o Develop and execute a 3–5-year innovation pipeline, identifying white space opportunities in the RTE popcorn category
o Author innovation briefs and collaborate with the new products team, consumer insights, finance, legal, regulatory, manufacturing, supply chain, procurement and sales to bring innovation to market successfully
o Own the brand’s research learning agenda, including concept testing, claims research, 60/40 preference testing and other research to inform innovation pipeline and strategy
• Launch Planning & Commercialization
o Own the go-to-market strategy for all new item launches—ensuring alignment across packaging, pricing, positioning, and promotional plans
o Lead the development of customer-facing sell-in materials, including sell decks, retail marketing toolkits, and activation plans
o Partner closely with Sales and Category teams to support customer engagement and secure placement across key accounts
o Oversee coordination with cross-functional teams and external agencies to ensure timely and successful market execution
• Brand Strategy, Development & Growth Alignment
o Support the Director of Marketing in developing and executing the annual brand plan, ensuring alignment with business priorities and growth goals
o Partner with global and U.S. teams to align brand strategy with corporate and regional strategic direction
o Help define and refine the brand’s portfolio expansion strategy across platforms, formats, and consumer occasions to unlock future growth opportunities
• Leading Cross-Functional Teams
o Lead cross-functional teams—including new product development, regulatory, finance, sales, supply chain, legal, procurement and insights—throughout the end-to-end innovation and launch process
o Serve as the central marketing lead, driving alignment, accountability, and timely execution across functions to bring new products to market
o Collaborate closely with agency partners and internal creative teams to develop best-in-class creative assets (e.g., packaging, digital content, in-store materials) that support successful product launches
• Brand & Financial Performance Leadership
o Build deep expertise in brand performance, category dynamics, and consumer behavior
o Leverage syndicated and internal data (IRI, Nielsen, etc.) to evaluate brand health and guide strategic decisions
o Partner with Finance to develop and model P&Ls for new product launches, ensuring financial viability
o Support marketing budget planning and optimization to ensure efficient, ROI-driven investment
• Project & Operational Execution
o Lead end-to-end project management for innovation projects, ensuring key milestones, timelines, and deliverables are met
o Manage operational workflows related to new item setup, including coordination of item set-up (e.g., PDPs, content delivery, internal systems)
o Oversee agency and vendor invoice submission and tracking to ensure timely processing and budget compliance
