Manager, Innovation

Kinder's Premium Quality Seasonings & Sauces; Walnut Creek (CA); Hybrid; USD 140,000 - 150,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

401k

Bonus eligibility

Equity grants

Health benefits

Parental leave

Job summary

Kinder’s is seeking an Innovation Manager to partner with cross-functional stakeholders to generate, launch, evaluate and optimize growth opportunities for Kinder’s and its partner brands.

You will develop business cases, lead product development, pricing and packaging considerations, and drive go-to-market plans and post-launch reviews with Sales, Marketing, and Finance. This role is hybrid, based in Walnut Creek with periodic travel.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree required; MBA preferred.
• 5+ years in CPG innovation or growth strategy; brand management and product marketing a plus.
• Experience developing business cases and execution plans.
• Experience identifying consumer needs via research or market analysis.
• Strong cross-functional leadership and data-driven decision-making.

Responsibilities

• Develop opportunities and evaluate growth potential with key stakeholders.
• Build business cases, strategic rationale, and go/no-go decisions for innovation programs.
• Lead go-to-market planning and post-launch analysis with cross-functional teams.
• Coordinate packaging, pricing, and technical evaluations for new concepts.
• Present updates to executive leadership and align on priorities.

Skills

Analytical skills

Cross-functional leadership

Project management

Strategic thinking

Creative thinking

Market research

Data-driven storytelling

Education

Bachelor’s degree

MBA preferred

Tools

Circana

Numerator

Job description

BUILT ON FLAVOR. FUELED BY PEOPLE.

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.

How You'll Have An Impact At Kinder’s

The Innovation Manager will be responsible for working with key cross-functional stakeholders to generate, launch evaluate and optimize new growth opportunities for Kinder’s including its associated partner brands. You will partner with the Director of Innovation and the broader organization to deliver the strategic pipeline of high-growth opportunities that deliver a unique and compelling innovation capability to our consumers and customers in a way that drives sustainable value for everyone.

What Are The Key Responsibilities Of This Role

Opportunity Development & Evaluation

• Demonstrate a deep understanding of consumer needs and motivations and translate into actionable insights.
• Proactively identify consumer, customer, market and macro trends and contextualize these into growth opportunities.
• Closely partner with our insights & analytics team to develop and execute learning action plans to evaluate and develop target opportunities.

Innovation Brand Management / Business Plan Development

• Develop business cases for key innovation projects and support leadership in aligning on key go/no-go decisions.
• Build business plans for key innovation programs including development of strategic rationale, evaluation of consumer and customer need / white-space, coordination of technical evaluation (e.g. product development, packaging, or manufacturing hurdles), development of pack / pricing strategy, and evaluation of key financial characteristics (e.g. sales opportunity, margin profile).
• Support innovation categories with interim brand management support until programs are turned over tour CORE brand management team.

Go-To-Market & Post-Launch Analysis

• Activate strategic go-to-market plans for new opportunities and work with cross-functional stakeholders to drive alignment around execution needs including establishing business and financial objectives.
• Drive internal & external alignment around key programs and support customer engagements on new projects including partnering with the sales organization and developing sell-in materials.
• Evaluate in-market performance post-launch through analysis of key data sources and communicate findings internally and drive alignment on any optimization opportunities in real-time.

Cross-Functional Leadership

• Collaborate with 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.
• Support alignment on the growth initiatives with key cross-functional stakeholders including Brand Marketing, Product Development, Finance, Operations and Sales.
• Develop and present relevant business updates to executive leadership.

Education / Experience

What You Bring to the Table

• Bachelor's Degree required, MBA preferred.
• 5+ years relevant work experience in CPG innovation or growth strategy; brand management and product marketing experience is a plus.
• Experience as a strategic thinker and developing business cases and corresponding execution plans.
• Experience in identifying consumer needs and motivations through research and / or market analysis.
• Track record of creative thinking, generation of new product ideas, and working with internal and external partners to develop new concepts / products.
• Experience working with and leading cross-functional teams.
• Strong analytical & quantitative skills with capability to use data and / or research to make insight-based arguments to drive organizational alignment.
• Knowledge of key syndicated data providers (Circana, Numerator preferred).
• Strong project management skills and understanding of new 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 learn (and teach).
• 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

We strongly believe in the power of culture and community and have a hybrid work structure with 4 days in the Walnut Creek Headquarters on a weekly basis to encourage collaboration and personal connections that will allow us to better serve our customers, consumers 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. Typical travel includes industry conferences and key customer visits.

Pay Transparency

The expected starting salary range for this role is $140,000- $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 [e-mail]