Senior Brand Strategy Manager

Heartland Food Products Group

$110K — $130K *
Food & Beverages
5 - 7 years of experience
Job Overview by Ladders

Qualifications

  • Bachelor's degree required; 7+ years in brand strategy for consumer food products.
  • Experience in sweeteners, nutrition, coffee, or ready-to-drink categories.
  • Proven ability to manage category and brand P&L performance.
  • Sales experience with strong skills in customer presentations.
  • Solid comprehension of CPG, category management, and brand-building principles.
  • Ability to translate data into actionable growth strategies.
  • Strong communication and leadership capabilities.

Responsibilities

  • Lead brand and category strategy and execution for assigned brands.
  • Own P&L performance including budgets, forecasts, and growth initiatives.
  • Develop consumer-led marketing strategies and innovations.
  • Identify growth opportunities using consumer and market insights.
  • Collaborate with Sales to create effective customer strategies and presentations.
  • Present strategic plans to customers alongside the Sales team when needed.
  • Work cross-functionally to successfully launch new initiatives.
  • Monitor business performance and adapt strategies as necessary.

Benefits

  • Opportunity to shape brand strategy and category growth.
  • Collaborative environment working with cross-functional teams.
  • Full P&L responsibility for significant consumer categories.
  • Direct reporting to a Senior Director facilitating professional growth.
  • Located at corporate headquarters in Carmel, Indiana.
Full Job Description
Senior Brand Strategy Manager

Heartland Food Products Group is seeking experienced, strategic, Senior Brand Managers to lead key consumer food and beverage categories. This role offers full P&L responsibility and the opportunity to shape brand strategy, innovation, commercial execution, and long-term category growth.

Senior Brand Managers support category groups:
  • Sweeteners: Splenda, Equal, Whole Earth, and Swerve
  • Nutrition, Coffee & Ready-to-Drink: SlimFast, Java House, and Ready-to-Drink categories


Position Summary

The Senior Brand Manager will own the development and execution of brand and category strategies that drive sustainable growth. This role will partner closely with Sales, Insights, Innovation, Finance, Operations, and external partners to translate consumer and customer needs into actionable plans. Reports directly to Senior Director Brand Strategy for the category.

The ideal candidate combines strong consumer brand strategy experience with commercial acumen, P&L ownership, and the ability to partner effectively with Sales in customer-facing settings.

Key Responsibilities
  • Lead brand strategy, annual planning, and execution for assigned brands and categories.
  • Own category P&L performance, including revenue, profitability, budgets, forecasts, and growth initiatives.
  • Develop and implement consumer-led marketing, positioning, innovation, packaging, and activation strategies.
  • Use consumer, customer, category, and competitive insights to identify growth opportunities and inform decisions.
  • Partner with Sales to develop customer strategies, selling stories, presentations, and commercial plans.
  • Present to customers as a strategic partner alongside the Sales team, when needed.
  • Collaborate cross-functionally to bring programs, innovation, and go-to-market initiatives to market successfully.
  • Monitor business performance and adjust strategy to achieve financial and brand objectives.
  • Build strong relationships with internal stakeholders and external agency partners.


Qualifications
  • Minimum bachelor's degree and 7 years of brand strategy experience within consumer food products.
  • Experience in sweeteners, nutrition, coffee, beverages, or ready-to-drink consumer categories.
  • Demonstrated experience managing or contributing to category and brand P&L performance.
  • Prior Sales experience or a proven track record of partnering with Sales and presenting directly to customers.
  • Strong understanding of consumer-packaged goods, category management, and brand-building principles.
  • Ability to synthesize data and insights into clear, actionable growth strategies.
  • Excellent communication, presentation, collaboration, and leadership skills.

This role is 100% in office at our Carmel, Indiana Corporate headquarters.

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