Associate Brand Manager

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:

Reporting to the Sr. Brand Manager, the Associate Brand Manager will play a critical role in driving brand performance through business analytics, go-to-market excellence, portfolio management, and innovation planning. This role is ideal for a strategic, analytically rigorous, and execution-oriented brand builder who has a strong ownership mentality, a desire to learn, and thrives in a fast-moving, entrepreneurial environment.

Key Responsibilities of the Role:

Business Performance & Analysis

Provide regular consumption reporting using syndicated point-of-sale (Circana) and panel (Numerator) data

Analyze sales, velocity, distribution, pricing, and promotional performance

Track KPIs including sales growth, market share, household penetration, repeat rate, incrementality, and margin

Identify performance gaps vs. goals and recommend corrective actions

Monitor competitive landscape and emerging category trends

Support demand forecasting and financial planning processes

Go-to-Market Execution

Monitor distribution, shelving, pricing, and promotional performance across key accounts / channels ( Grocery , Mass, Club, eCom ) and identify optimizations

Partner with Sales Strategy to develop distribution priorities and trade strategies

Support development of sell-in materials and customer-facing presentations

Collaborate with Customer Marketing and Studio teams to build impactful brand support plans

Ensure cross-functional alignment to deliver initiatives on time and in full

Product & Portfolio Management

Monitor item-level velocity and incrementality to optimize assortment

Make recommendations on SKU prioritization, renovation, and discontinuation

Support full product lifecycle management from concept to post-launch analysis

Build and maintain product roadmaps aligned with strategic growth priorities

Conduct size-of-prize analysis and cannibalization modeling

Innovation & Business Planning

Support the creation of short and long-term growth plans, identifying opportunities to optimize category / segment goals, strategies, tactics and performance metrics

Develop and drive cross-functional execution of close-in innovation plans (e.g., new flavors, sizes, packaging) including insights, business case, pricing, and volume forecasting

Partner with Customer Marketing and Studio teams to develop new item launch plans that drive awareness and trial across key accounts / channels

Conduct post-launch reviews to assess performance vs. objectives

Cross-Functional Partnership

Lead alignment across Sales, Finance, Insights, Product Development, Operations, and Project Management

Anticipate executional risks and proactively solve issues

Communicate performance updates, strategies, and recommendations to senior leadership

Operate effectively in a lean, high-growth, high-accountability environment

What You Bring to the Table

Education / Experience

Bachelor's Degree required, MBA preferred

2+ years relevant work experience in business analytics, product/brand management, or innovation. Experience in consumer products is a plus

Strong analytical & quantitative acumen. Experience with syndicated point-of-sale data (e.g., Circana) and consumer panel data (e.g., Numerator) preferred

Proven strategic thinker with a strong sense of curiosity

Strong organization skills with understanding of go-to-market process

Understanding of P&L drivers including trade promotion and margin

Track record of successful collaboration with cross-functional partners to drive work forward and ability to be agile in fast-paced, high-change environment

Personal Characteristics

Business builder who owns and drives results

Growth mindset with an excitement to learn

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 finding ways to say ‘yes’ as often as possible to deliver 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 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

Location & Travel

The position will be based out of our 20,000 sq. foot office in Walnut Creek, CA. We strongly believe in the power of culture and community and have a work structure with 5 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.

The expected starting salary range for this role is $120,000 - $130,000 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 detai