Senior Manager, Innovation

BUILT ON FLAVOR. FUELED BY PEOPLE.

Whats it like to work at Kinders Well theres a lot of snacking and geeking out over what we all cooked over the weekend. Beyond that theres also plenty of hard work. Because we dont just like flavor were obsessed with it.

With over 100 products sold nationwide were now a top-five brand in multiple flavor categories at Costco Walmart Whole Foods and more. Were 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 youre looking for a place where you can see the real impact of your work... this is it!Every day youll be part of a journey to add flavor to millions of meals and lives.

Reporting to the Director of Innovation the Senior Manager Innovation will be responsible for collaborating with key cross-functional stakeholders to generate launch evaluate and optimize new product growth opportunities for Kinders and its partner brands. You will partner with the Director of Innovation and the broader Growth organization to develop a 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.

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 to CORE brand management team.

• Go-To-Market & Post-Launch Analysis

• Develop 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 building launch messaging plan identifying key channel activation opportunities and other key launch tactics.
• 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 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.
• Lead alignment on growth initiatives with key cross-functional stakeholders including Portfolio Management R&D Finance Operations Sales and Consumer Experience.
• Develop and present relevant business updates to executive leadership.

What You Bring to the Table

• Education / Experience

• Bachelors Degree required MBA preferred
• 7 years relevant work experience in consumer product innovation or growth strategy; brand management and product marketing experience is a plus
• Proven strategic thinker with experience 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 (e.g. Circana Numerator)
• 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 the humility to be a follower
• Enjoy making decisions and finding ways to say yes as often as possible to impactful and important priorities

Things About the Way We Work

• No two days here are the same
• We try to be good team members and good communicators but we dont 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 arent trying to be average we want to do exceptional things and we are willing to work hard to achieve them

Location & Travel

The position will be based out of our 40000 sq. foot 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. Typical travel includes industry conferences and key customer visits.

Pay Transparency

The expected starting salary range for this role is $150000- $165000 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 dont 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 arent 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. Kinders 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. Were 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:

Kinders 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