Brand Manager

Brand ManagerChallenger Food & Wellness | London£45,000 – £55,000 depending on experienceTwo challenger brands. One big opportunity to shape what happens next.I’m working confidentially with a founder-led food business that has built two distinctive brands within the health, wellness and premium food space.The products are established. The brands have built genuine consumer followings. There is strong retail distribution and plenty of ambition for what comes next.Now they want an exceptional Brand Manager who can help take them to another level.This is a broad brand building role spanning brand strategy, campaigns, content, innovation, consumer insight, retail activation, partnerships and experiential marketing.You'll have a voice in how the brands look, sound and behave.You'll help decide where marketing investment goes.You'll work closely with the founders and commercial team.And you'll have the freedom to spot an opportunity, build the case for it and make it happen.The roleYou'll take meaningful ownership across two consumer brands, turning their wider strategy into marketing activity that builds awareness, relevance and ultimately growth.Some weeks that might mean developing the next major campaign or working with Sales on a retailer launch.Others could involve shaping an NPD proposition, briefing creative partners, analysing brand performance, building a partnership or getting out into London to see how consumers are actually interacting with the category.The role will span:Brand strategy & planningHelp shape and deliver the annual brand and marketing plans across both brandsTranslate brand positioning into clear campaigns, content and activationOwn projects from brief and budget through to execution and measurementKeep the brands distinctive, relevant and consistent as they growTrack brand and campaign performance and use the results to influence what happens nextCampaigns & creativeDevelop integrated campaigns across social, digital, PR, partnerships, retail and experientialWrite strong briefs and manage creative partners, agencies and freelancersOversee content development across Instagram, TikTok and other relevant channelsBring ambitious creative ideas into the business and have the judgement to know which ones are worth pursuingMake sure brilliant ideas actually get delivered brilliantlyConsumer, culture & insightWe want someone who is genuinely interested in why people buy what they buy.You'll stay close to emerging food, wellness and cultural trends, competitor activity, creators and changing consumer behaviour.You'll use consumer feedback, market data, social listening and your own curiosity to identify opportunities for the brands.That could influence a campaign, a partnership, a new audience or potentially the next product.Innovation & NPDYou'll work with the founders, commercial team and wider business to help shape the innovation pipeline.You'll bring consumer and category thinking into new concepts, support positioning and proposition development and help build the launch plans that give new products the best possible chance of succeeding.Retail & shopper marketingYou'll work closely with Sales to make the brands perform where consumers actually buy them.That includes retailer launches, shopper campaigns, sampling, POS, trade marketing and customer specific activation.You'll understand that building a brilliant consumer brand and building a commercially successful FMCG business need to happen together.Partnerships, community & activationYou'll identify partnerships, collaborations, events, sampling opportunities and cultural moments that can introduce the brands to the right people.Sometimes you'll brief others to deliver them.Sometimes you'll want to get involved yourself.Who we're looking forYou'll probably have around 4+ years of consumer marketing experience, ideally within FMCG food, drink, health, wellness or another fast moving consumer category.You might already be a Brand Manager.You could also be an ambitious Assistant Brand Manager or Marketing Manager who's ready for considerably more ownership.Challenger brand experience would be particularly valuable.You'll need evidence that you've personally owned and delivered meaningful marketing projects rather than simply contributed to them.We're particularly interested in people who combine:Strong FMCG brand fundamentals with genuinely good creative instinctsExperience taking campaigns from idea through to executionConsumer and commercial thinkingExposure to innovation and NPDUnderstanding of retail, shopper or trade marketingConfidence working with agencies and external partnersStrong project and budget managementAn instinctive understanding of social and digital cultureThe ability to use data and insight to make better marketing decisionsEnough curiosity to constantly ask what the brands could be doing betterAnd you'll need to be comfortable in a founder led challenger environment.Things move quickly. Priorities change. Good ideas can come from anywhere. There won't always be a huge agency or corporate infrastructure around you.You'll be expected to think, decide and deliver.Why join?You'll get breadth that can be difficult to find in a larger FMCG business.You'll work across brand strategy, campaigns, innovation, retail, social, partnerships, consumer insight and activation.You'll be close to the founders and commercial decision making.You'll have two established brands to work with and meaningful freedom to influence where they go next.You'll have room to experiment.And when something works, you'll be close enough to the business to see the impact.If you're already doing good work in a Challenger FMCG but want considerably more ownership over the brands you're helping to build, I'd love to hear from you.Applications and conversations will be treated confidentially.