Brand Manager

BRAND MANAGER

COMPANY SUMMARY (“Who are we?”)

At The Honest Kitchen, we believe pets deserve the same quality of food as the humans who love them. As pioneers of human grade pet food, we use thoughtfully sourced ingredients and gentle preparation methods to create foods that are as wholesome as they are nutritious. We’re a purpose-driven, growth-minded, proud B Corp, (which is a legal corporate structure that allows us to operate and make decisions based upon a triple bottom line, factoring in social and environmental impacts right alongside our prioritization of long-term financial sustainability!) company made up of people who care deeply about pets, their parents, and each other. If you’re looking to do meaningful work in a collaborative, entrepreneurial environment where your ideas can make a real impact, you’ll feel right at home here.

We strive for an inclusive work culture that supports a diverse array of skills, experiences, and perspectives our employees bring to the table. For us, differences are a source of strength. We celebrate strong performance and ethical processes, and we work hard every day to nurture an inclusive culture where all employees can innovate and thrive. Here, you will not only build your career, but you will also uncover new experiences and collaborate with passionate colleagues.

The Honest Kitchen values a diverse workforce. Everyone, including women, people of color, people with disabilities, and members of the LGBTQIA+ community are strongly encouraged to apply. The Honest Kitchen believes that an equitable and inclusive work environment and a diverse, empowered team are key to achieving our mission. We’re looking for candidates who can expand our business culture by bringing their whole, authentic selves to work. We strive to provide all qualified candidates with an equitable and accessible recruitment process.

POSITION SUMMARY (“What are we looking for?”)

We’re seeking a strategic, hands-on Brand Manager to help own the planning and lead the execution of marketing programs that build the brand and drive growth across retail and digital channels. The role reports to the Marketing Brand Director and is a remote role - but those local to San Diego are welcome to work out of our head office.

This role is ideal for a brand marketer who’s ready to jump into a small and nimble team where you will have the chance to touch multiple parts of the business - from consumer insight and positioning through go-to-market and in-market results. You’ll lead initiatives from brief to launch, make decisions grounded in data, and partner closely with our Growth, DTC, eCommerce and Sales teams, as well as Operations, R&D and agency partners, to deliver consistent storytelling across every touchpoint.

SCOPE OF POSITION

Brand & Portfolio Management

• Assist in building the annual brand plan for assigned product lines — objectives, KPIs and quarterly priorities — in partnership with the Marketing Brand Director.
• Turn consumer, category and competitive insights (syndicated retail data, consumer research, social listening) into clear recommendations on positioning, messaging and portfolio priorities.
• Track brand and product performance against plan; deliver monthly readouts and recommend course corrections.

Innovation & Go-to-Market

• Lead go-to-market for new products and renovations end-to-end: positioning, claims, naming, packaging briefs, launch timing and sell-in materials.
• Build and own cross-functional launch timelines in Asana, driving R&D, Operations, Sales and eCommerce to hit milestones.
• Develop and lead the integrated communications plan for innovation launches across retail, DTC, eCommerce and owned channels.

Creative, Content & Brand Standards

• Write creative briefs and give clear, decisive feedback on assets developed with the Creative team and agency partners.
• Set the standard for product content (thumbnails, enhanced content, product copy) and ensure it is accurate and on-brand across retail and digital, including syndication through Salsify.
• Own GEO and keyword strategy for product content, partnering with the Performance & Content team to implement it across channels.
• Equip the sales team and retail partners with sell-in and in-store marketing materials that drive distribution and velocity.

Budget & Measurement

• Own the budget for assigned programs, including forecasting, tracking spend against plan and monthly reconciliation.
• Define success metrics up front and lead post-launch and post-campaign analysis to guide future investment.

Leadership & Collaboration

• Manage day-to-day agency relationships for owned programs, setting clear direction and holding partners to timelines and quality.
• Mentor junior team members and help raise the bar on planning, briefing and execution across the team.

EXPERIENCE REQUIRED (“What are we looking for?”)

• Bachelor’s degree in Marketing, Business, or related field; MBA a plus.
• 3-5 years of brand marketing experience in consumer goods, including at least 2 years as an Associate Brand Manager or Brand Manager.
• Proven track record leading product launches end-to-end, from insight to in-market results.
• Experience owning a marketing budget and making smart investment tradeoffs.
• Strong analytical skills — comfortable using syndicated data (e.g., Nielsen, Stackline), retailer data and Excel to turn numbers into recommendations.
• Experience briefing creative and managing agency partners.
• Comfortable using AI tools, but not relying on them to do the heavy lifting
• Strong project management skills; able to lead multiple launches and cross-functional teams without direct authority.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the confidence to present recommendations to senior leaders.
• Familiarity with Shopify, Salsify, Asana and Smartsheets a plus;
• Previous experience in pet, natural or premium food experience a bonus

What You’ll Gain

• Ownership of a meaningful portfolio, with direct line of sight to how your decisions drive growth.
• Visibility with senior leadership and a seat at the table for key cross-functional decisions.
• The chance to shape how a mission-driven, human-grade brand shows up across every channel.
• Part of a small team driving big growth – that means you get to be part of the action and get exposure to different parts of the business

The salary range for this role is: $100,000 - $120,000/year.

BENEFITS OF WORKING FOR THE HONEST KITCHEN (“What do we offer?”)

We offer a competitive compensation package, including salary and robust employee benefits. Some key highlights include:

Ready to help bring better food to more bowls? We’d love to hear from you.

As a Public Benefit Corporation, our company's practices and outputs are assessed and evaluated across five categories: Governance, Workers, Community, The Environment, and Customers. We track our social and environmental impact over time and publicly disclose our performance in our annual impact report.

As an employee of a Certified B Corp, it is required that in performing your role, you factor social and environmental impacts into decision-making and actions as they pertain to your role with The Honest Kitchen, so as to ensure that our actions make a positive impact where possible.

*The Honest Kitchen is an equal opportunity employer. The Company’s policy prohibits discrimination based on race, religious creed (which includes religious dress and grooming practices), color, national origin, ancestry, disability, medical condition, genetic information, marital status, sex (which includes pregnancy, childbirth, breastfeeding, and related medical conditions), gender, gender identity, gender expression, age, sexual orientation, military or veteran status.