SR Brand Manager Product Innovation & Brand Management

^{Bigelow Tea is the number one specialty tea company in the United States. We are a family-owned and operated business and a Certified B Corporation. Being a certified B Corp officially recognizes a commitment that has been part of the company’s DNA since it was founded 80 years ago. Our purpose has always been about much more than making profits. We are committed to good citizenship, ethical business practices, accountability, transparency, protecting the environment, sustainability and supporting our communities. We pride ourselves in caring about each and every one of our employees. We have a long-term outlook and are constantly working to create an environment that inspires people to make positive contributions every day. Bigelow is currently looking for a select, talented individual, that shares our values, to join our growing team.}

Position Summary

The Senior Brand Manager, Product Innovation & Brand Management is responsible for managing the brand’s product portfolio, leading innovation initiatives, and ensuring consistent execution of brand positioning and standards across all product expressions.

This role serves as a strategic steward of the brand, translating brand strategy and consumer insights into product innovation, packaging direction, and portfolio management. The Senior Brand Manager leads cross-functional teams to bring new products to market while ensuring brand consistency and visual integrity across the entire product portfolio.

The role also oversees the brand design function, providing strategic direction to ensure packaging, visual identity, and product presentation align with brand standards and strengthen overall brand equity.

Working closely with Design, R&D, Sales, Operations, and external partners, this role ensures that new and existing products reinforce brand positioning, meet consumer needs, and support long-term brand growth.

Key Responsibilities

Brand Stewardship & Positioning

• Serve as a primary guardian of brand positioning and core brand attributes.
• Maintain and evolve brand standards and guidelines to ensure consistency across all product expressions.
• Ensure brand standards are consistently applied across packaging, product innovation, and visual identity.
• Evaluate new product initiatives, packaging concepts, and portfolio changes for alignment with brand positioning.
• Guide long-term brand architecture and ensure consistency across the full product portfolio.

Product Portfolio Management

• Manage the overall product portfolio to ensure alignment with brand strategy and consumer needs.
• Evaluate product assortment and identify opportunities for portfolio expansion, renovation, or rationalization.
• Assess new product concepts and initiatives for strategic fit within the brand.
• Partner with Sales, Finance and Manufacturing to ensure product offerings support channel strategies and business needs.
• Provide ongoing recommendations to strengthen the portfolio and address emerging opportunities.

Product Innovation Leadership

• Lead development of new product concepts aligned with brand positioning and category opportunities.
• Identify innovation opportunities through consumer insights, market trends, and competitive analysis.
• Guide innovation projects from concept through commercialization.
• Establish and manage project timelines and cross-functional collaboration across R&D, Operations, and Design.
• Ensure new products deliver against brand promise and consumer expectations.

Design & Packaging Leadership

• Provide strategic leadership for the design function, including oversight of the Head of Design.
• Guide development of packaging architecture and visual systems across the product portfolio.
• Ensure packaging and visual identity reinforce brand positioning and maintain consistency across the portfolio.
• Oversee packaging redesigns, new product packaging development, and visual updates.
• Ensure high standards of design quality across packaging and point-of-sale materials.

Cross-Functional Leadership

• Lead cross-functional teams across Design, R&D, Operations, and Sales to deliver product innovation and portfolio initiatives.
• Serve as the central point of coordination for innovation and portfolio management initiatives.
• Facilitate collaboration and alignment across departments throughout product development.
• Present portfolio strategy, innovation concepts, and brand updates to senior leadership.

Channel Development Support

• Collaborate with Sales teams to identify product opportunities within key channels including:
• Mass
• Club
• Value
• International
• Food Service
• Ensure product offerings support channel needs while maintaining brand integrity.

Supervisory Responsibilities

This role manages four direct reports, including the Head of Design, and provides leadership across the design, product management and brand development functions.

Responsibilities include:

• Setting strategic direction and priorities for the design and brand management teams
• Coaching and developing team members to support professional growth and performance
• Developing a multi-year innovation pipeline and portfolio strategy
• Ensuring alignment between design execution, product innovation, and brand strategy
• Leading cross-functional project teams for innovation and portfolio initiatives

Education & Experience

• MBA or advanced degree in Marketing required
• 8–12 years of experience in brand management, product innovation, or portfolio management within consumer packaged goods
• Experience managing product innovation and development strongly preferred.
• Demonstrated experience leading teams and managing cross-functional product development initiatives

Technical & Professional Skills

• Strong understanding of brand positioning and brand architecture
• Experience leading product innovation and commercialization processes.
• Experience collaborating closely with design teams and managing packaging development
• Strong strategic thinking and problem-solving capabilities.
• Excellent cross-functional leadership and communication skills
• Strong analytical and research capabilities
• Experience using syndicated and panel data (Nielsen/IRI/Circana and Numerator) to inform portfolio decisions
• Strong presentation skills and executive presence; able to communicate key points clearly and succinctly
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office and standard business tools

Travel Requirements

Travel as required for product development, customer meetings, research and internal collaboration.

Bigelow Tea is an Equal Opportunity Employer. Bigelow Tea does not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, non-disqualifying physical or mental disability, national origin, veteran status, or any other basis covered by appropriate law.