Marketing Manager, Innovation for Bio-K+

Marketing Manager, Innovation for Bio-K+

Kerry Group is the world leader in taste and nutrition serving the food, beverage and supplement industry, globally. We have annualized sales in excess of €7 billion and employ over 26,000 people. Our purpose is to “Inspire Food and Nourish Life”, and we do this by supplying products in a sustainable manner which is good for our customers, the societies we live and work in, and our planet.

Bio-K+ North America
Bio-K+’s history began over 30 years ago, with the discovery of three remarkable and unique probiotic strains. Ever since our humble beginnings in the 1990s, our mission has always been focused on promoting people’s health through food and science. Over our +30 of history, we grew from 10 employees to a global company, owned by the renowned Kerry Group. The business expanded from a Québec-based natural health food outlets to an international network of pharmacies, health food and grocery stores and hospitals in Canada and the United States.

Canada is where Bio-K+ was born. The brand has a strong presence in Quebec region as the “#1 probiotic brand in Quebec” 8 years in a row. The rest of Canada is still a big opportunity for the brand to increase awareness and drive stronger sales.

In the U.S. we are very strong in the natural channel (i.e. Whole Foods, Sprouts). We have ambition to grow in Food, Drug and mass channels. We also would like to leverage our key initiatives to get into Target, CVS and Walgreens.

Job Summary

This role is key within Kerry for driving the innovation pipeline and creating new business opportunities by working with each market (Canada & USA) in identifying unmet needs of consumers. Insight & foresight will also be key to the role to continue to drive against our growth ambition. This role requires strong collaboration across the Bio-K+/Kerry to ensure successful execution of our strategic growth priorities.

What would you do?

• Support the internal/external rollout of new probiotic portfolio expansions in collaboration with business leadership and R&D.
• Research, collect and analyze data to uncover consumer insights and unmet needs to develop strategic platforms of growth.
• Develop the 5-year innovation pipeline and create new business opportunities for Bio-K+ by working with the Canadian & USA markets.
• Partner with R&D, regulatory and other cross-functional teams to ensure timely launch execution.
• Develop and deploy the innovation toolkit (i.e. concept, science and activation including content).
• Other duties related to marketing and innovation, as assigned.

What will you need to be successful?

• Bachelor’s Degree (essential) – MBA preferred in marketing, business, or related fields.
• Minimum 6 years of marketing experience along with minimum 4 years of CPG experience and minimum 2 years of innovation experience required.
• Consumer research, forecasting and analytical skills required.
• Product launch experience required; dietary supplements experience preferred.
• High level of strategic thinking.
• Experience in developing and evaluating new product development opportunities.
• Excellent communications skills, and a talent for storing, filling and sharing information with relevant stakeholders.
• Experience in leading and effectively interacting with different functions as an active participant on a multinational, multi-functional team.
• Ability to manage multiple projects from inception to completion, including the management of multiple stakeholders (internal and external).