Kettle & Fire is seeking a world class Director of Brand Management to join our marketing team. In this role, you will lead our brand strategy and product innovation initiatives across the entire Kettle & Fire portfolio. Acting as the glue between departments, you’ll collaborate across our marketing, sales, innovation, and finance teams. You will also work closely with our business insights team to inform smarter decision-making by taking advantage of Kettle & Fire’s wealth of data.
The ideal candidate is strategic, analytical, consumer-insight obsessed, and has a proven track record of building iconic CPG brands that exceed business goals. They should excel in both short-term execution and long-term brand strategy, navigating challenges with a clear vision for growth.
This is a full-time role reporting to the VP of Marketing. It is a remote position with minimal travel expected.
Who We Are:
At Kettle & Fire, we are driven by a mission to create products that heal rather than harm, supporting both our consumers’ health and a healthy food system. Our culture is built on a foundation of core values that guide our work and define our team's identity. We push the boundaries of what's possible, embracing challenges with a growth mindset. We value radical candor and transparency, prioritize our customers relentlessly, and own our responsibilities unequivocally. We focus intently on mission-critical tasks and execute with high-tempo precision. Our team’s success is predicated on each member’s commitment to collective goals, demanding not only individual excellence but a harmonious effort to excel as one cohesive unit. If you thrive in an environment that values high performance and flexible, results-oriented outcomes, you might just be the A-player we’re looking for.
How You'll Be Contributing:
The essential functions include, but are not limited to:
- Brand Strategy & Planning
- Develop and execute comprehensive brand strategies that align with Kettle & Fire's mission and business objectives
- Conduct market research to develop compelling positioning and messaging pillars to resonate with target audiences
- Collaborate with cross-functional teams on annual marketing plans, product launches, and seasonal campaigns
- Serve as the key integrator across teams to ensure alignment and clear communication of messaging pillars, the brand marketing calendar and strategic initiatives
- Implement robust tracking mechanisms with the business insights team to evaluate impact of shopper marketing spend and marketing campaigns
- Collaborate with sales team to identify strategies to close distribution gaps and execute merchandising opportunities
- Product Innovation
- Lead our product innovation strategy, ensuring the seamless introduction of new products, line extensions, and existing portfolio renovations into the market
- Conduct qualitative and quantitative research to gather insights into consumer preferences, behaviors, and unmet needs to further build out innovation pipeline
- Work closely with Innovation Team to identify and prioritize new product opportunities that align with consumer preferences, market trends, and business goals.
- Assist with the development of new products, gaining and maintaining close familiarity with the category, competition, consumers, and key retailers to ensure the product meets financial targets
- Develop launch plans for new products in retail, ensuring efficient allocation of resources and maximum impact in the market
- Conduct post-launch evaluations for new products and marketing initiatives to assess their success and identify areas for improvement
- Work with cross-functional teams to determine and optimize price pack architecture
- Category Analysis
- Conduct category analysis to gain insights into market trends, consumer behavior and competitor performance
- Utilize data-driven insights to inform new product development, pricing strategies, and promotional tactics
- Conduct comprehensive reviews of the existing product portfolio, leading SKU rationalization and prioritization efforts to identify opportunities for growth
- Collaborate with cross-functional teams, including Product Innovation, Sales, Operations and Finance, to assess the performance of each SKU and its alignment with business objectives
Requirements
Qualifications and Competencies for Success:
- Proven experience (4+ years) in brand management within the CPG food and beverage space. Experience at both traditional and digitally native CPG brands is preferred.
- Demonstrated success in growing brands, with strong understanding of marketing principles and consumer behavior across multiple channels (e.g., grocery, DTC, Amazon).
- Familiarity working with syndicated and shopper data (SPINS, Nielsen, other retail platforms etc.) to create reports and gather insights
- Highly analytical yet able to go beyond the data: you are able to derive key insights from a variety of data points and sources and put them into context to get to the “so what?”
- Self-driven with growth mindset: You thrive under pressure and are comfortable navigating ambiguity. You can take on projects and manage them end-to-end, seeking guidance if needed.
- Exceptional communicator: You clearly communicate complex ideas and collaborate effectively across departments and external partners.
- Clear Thinker: You approach challenges with a strategic mindset and can ruthlessly prioritize to focus on high leverage work.
- High tempo execution: You can execute quickly with a bias towards action.
- Team Player: You seek to learn from others and eager to help your teammates improve. You are willing to roll up your sleeves to do what’s needed for the team to win.
Benefits
What We Offer:
The opportunity to be part of a mission-driven company that values transformation and efficiency. A competitive salary and time off package that appreciates your hard work and dedication. And benefits focused on ensuring our employees can take care of themselves including:
- Vacation & Holidays: We offer three weeks of paid vacation each calendar year. Along with vacation, we offer 12 paid holidays each year.
- Health insurance: You have the choice to opt-in to the best medical, dental and vision insurance we can get.
- Sparks Benefits include Nutrition, Fitness, and Education allowance and resources!
- Free product: You need to be able to brag about how awesome Kettle & Fire products are, so team members get free product for their personal use
