Grocery Brand Manager

Founded in 2003 by Dong Hyun Kim, his mission was simple, to make fresh and flavorsome sushi and bento available to everyone.

Almost 20 years later Wasabi have 39 successful branches across London, other UK major cities and 4 in New York.

The journey continued in 2019 with the launch of Wasabi Home Bento exclusively into Sainsburys. After several years of great success there, the grocery business expanded launching into Tesco in September 2022. Wasabi has now firmly established itself as the No2 chilled ready meal brand and a driver of significant market growth. And we’re just getting started. The leadership team have set out their 5 year strategy which encompasses company growth, franchise and international expansion.

Our menu is renowned for its distinctiveness, freshness and flavour. The cold food range of sushi, pokes and salads are made fresh daily in our branch kitchens and our hot bento, noodle bowls and soups offer an indulgent and comforting alternative to our broad and democratic demographic.

As we prepare for our next phase of growth and innovation, we have an incredibly exciting opportunity for a Grocery Brand Manager to join our Marketing Team based in Park Royal.

The Role This role puts you at the heart of Grocery, translating consumer and market insight into distinctive campaigns, culturally relevant content, standout product launches and compelling retailer activity. You’ll play a key role in shaping how the brand shows up across channels and ensuring our marketing is relevant, engaging and commercially effective.

You’ll help shape the Grocery brand strategy and take ownership of the activity that brings it to life, working closely with teams across Marketing, Sales, Category and Food. From campaign development through to launch and evaluation, you’ll turn insight and ideas into impactful activity that builds brand relevance, strengthens retailer partnerships and drives growth.

Key Responsibilities Deliver standout brand campaigns

• Take ownership of defined elements of key Grocery campaigns, including social and creator/influencer activation from initial brief through execution and to measurement
• Craft incisive creative briefs and guide both agency partners and internal stakeholders to deliver quality work within stipulated timelines and on brand
• Lead post-campaign evaluation, leveraging performance data to sharpen and optimise future investment

Build a distinctive digital & social presence

• Shape and deliver the annual Grocery social and influencer strategy and annual content calendar
• Ensure content is consumer-led, culturally relevant and delivers against clear engagement objectives
• Own the creative development and delivery of all Grocery website content throughout the year
• Manage day-to-day relationships with agencies and freelancers, setting clear expectations and holding quality, pace and budgets to account.

Turn insight into Growth through Innovation

• Partner with the Food team to build a robust pipeline of new products and range innovation (NPD and EPD) grounded in market, category and consumer insight
• Ensure marketing is a driving force throughout development from concept to launch and post-launch evaluation
• Lead assigned brand and category refresh projects through the stage gate process to successful launch

Safeguard brand quality and consistency

• Manage day-to-day artwork and packaging projects with the Design Team, delivering to timeline and budget while protecting brand integrity
• Lead the creation of Grocery brand communication materials from brief to final execution
• Own retailer gifting and merchandising requests while also spearheading head office activation events that strengthen retail partnerships Champion the consumer
• Champion a consumer-first approach across Grocery, acting as a strong brand guardian and ensuring the consumer remains at the heart of marketing decisions
• Apply consumer and market insight to identify growth opportunities and inform Grocery brand plans
• Monitor competitor activity and translate emerging challenges and trends into clear, actionable recommendations

Our Requirements

• Proven experience in a Brand Manager or similar marketing role within FMCG, with experience across grocery, retail or consumer brands
• Experience planning and delivering brand campaigns, with a good understanding of shopper and retailer activation
• Strong understanding of digital…