Vice President Brand Management

Job Location: Buffalo Grove, IL (hybrid — in office Tuesday-Thursday)

Direct Reports: Manufacturing and Fulfillment Teams — Will collaborate with CMO and have dedicated, dotted-line Director of Marketing

Role Summary

The Vice President of Brand Management has P & L responsibility along with responsibility for developing strategy and leading brand execution while overseeing end-to-end food manufacturing, CPG, and e-commerce fulfillment operations. This role ensures that product quality, food safety, regulatory compliance, and customer delivery experiences consistently reinforce the brand promise. This leader owns the intersection of brand integrity, food production, and fulfillment excellence, ensuring that every product shipped meets the highest standards of safety, taste, freshness, and reliability while supporting profitable growth through all TOC channels.

Key Responsibilities

Brand & Consumer Trust

• Serve as brand steward, ensuring food quality, packaging, freshness, and delivery experience reflect brand values
• Protect and strengthen consumer trust through transparency, consistency, and product integrity
• Partner with Marketing to align product storytelling with actual sourcing, manufacturing, and fulfillment practices
• Ensure packaging, labeling, and delivery experience support brand differentiation

Food Manufacturing & Quality Systems

• Lead food manufacturing strategy, including sourcing, co-manufacturers, and in-house production
• Ensure compliance with FDA, USDA, FSMA, HACCP, GMP, and applicable local and international regulations
• Oversee food safety programs, quality assurance, audits, and traceability systems
• Drive continuous improvement in yield, throughput, waste reduction, and cost of goods

E-commerce Fulfillment & Cold Chain Operations

• Own e-commerce fulfillment strategy, including warehousing, cold-chain logistics, and last-mile delivery
• Ensure temperature control, shelf-life management, and order accuracy across all fulfillment channels
• Develop scalable fulfillment models that support national or regional expansion
• Establish KPIs for on-time delivery, spoilage, returns, and customer satisfaction

Cross-Functional Leadership

• Partner with Product Development and Culinary teams to ensure manufacturability and scalability
• Collaborate with Technology to improve forecasting, inventory management, and traceability
• Work closely with Finance on unit economics, margins, and demand planning
• Build and lead high-performing teams across manufacturing, quality, and fulfillment

Strategy & Growth

• Translate growth goals into scalable food production and fulfillment strategies
• Evaluate new products, formats, packaging innovations, and sourcing opportunities
• Assess and mitigate supply chain risks, including ingredient availability and regulatory changes
• Use customer feedback and operational data to continuously improve quality and experience

Qualifications

• 10 years of leadership experience in food manufacturing, CPG brand management, or food e-commerce while having P & L responsibility.
• Deep knowledge of food safety, regulatory compliance, and quality systems
• Experience managing cold-chain logistics and perishable inventory
• Proven ability to scale food production while maintaining safety and brand integrity
• Strong financial, operational, and people leadership skills
• Experience working with co-manufacturers and third-party logistics providers

#J-18808-Ljbffr