Brand Manager

Permanent employee, Full-time · HQ - London

About Deliciously Ella

Deliciously Ella’s mission is to help people eat real food again, with more plants, more of the time. We are growing fast and we’re looking for talented, passionate, purpose-led people who share in our mission to help us get there.
Every day, we work to cultivate positive change, sharing delicious, natural, plant-based recipes and food products with the aim of building the world’s leading plant-based platform. Starting from a recipe website, the business has evolved into a restaurant, a range of plant-based food products, an app, a collection of bestselling recipe books and a growing social media community that sits at the heart of what we do.
We launched our first food products in 2016 and have since launched a wide range of products across different categories. We work with all the major grocers and OOH retailers across the UK. We also have a growing international business in the US and Europe.
Take a look at our website to read more about our story.

Working at Deliciously Ella
We have around 75 team members across two sites. Our factory site near Milton Keynes produces some of our best-loved products like our energy balls, caramel cups, nut butter bites and dipped nuts. Our Head Office is based in the heart of central London, on Tottenham Court Road, and this is where our Leadership Team work, alongside our Commercial, Finance, Supply Chain, Marketing and People teams.

Deliciously Ella is part of Hero Group, a global family of brands united by a shared mission to Delight Consumers by Conserving the Goodness of Nature.

In the UK and Ireland (Hero UK&I) our house of brands include Deliciously Ella, Organix for baby snacking, and Goodies for pre-schoolers. This is a unique opportunity to make a visible impact in a market-leading organisation that prioritises sustainability, integrity, and natural goodness.

We’re proud to be a certified B Corp, using business as a force for good — for people, communities, and the planet. You’ll find our offices in sunny Bournemouth, and the heart of London with a Deliciously Ella factory in Milton Keynes, where our passionate teams make this delicious magic happen. We’ve been named a Great Place to Work, and we’re seriously proud of the positive culture and business we’ve built together.

About Hero Group
Hero is a global food company, founded in 1886 in Switzerland, specializing in branded nutritional products across the Growing Up and Adult categories. With a portfolio of trusted brands like Corny, Semper, Goodies, Beech-Nut, Organix, and Deliciously Ella, Hero delivers high-quality, great-tasting food rooted in natural goodness. Guided by its mission to “To delight Consumers through honest Goodness in every Bite”. With 4,000 team members worldwide, the company is driven by strong values, high performance, and a commitment to doing the right thing—always, without compromise.

Purpose of the role

Responsible for proactively managing, with the support and guidance of the Marketing Manager, the implementation of UK Annual Business & Brand Plans including performance management of existing foods and development & execution of NFD & EFD projects to deliver continued profitable growth for Deliciously Ella, to be measured in terms of sales, market share and gross margin. Support the Global rollout strategy for Deliciously Ella.

Key Responsibilities/ Accountabilities:
Performance Management and Portfolio Execution

Manage the day-to-day performance of the portfolio identifying risks, opportunities and required activations
Ensure range fits brand positioning, strategy and our audiences evolving needs
Understand the business P&L and track the range gross sales and profitability targets, flagging areas of concern when appropriate to the Marketing Manager
Support the delivery of the annual portfolio SWOT analysis, working with the Commercial and Category teams, with associated action plans to drive growth and efficiency.

Market, Consumer & Shopper Insight & Analysis

Develop a thorough understanding of our consumer and shopper needs in order to identify risks & opportunities and action plans
Working with the Category Team, use all relevant market and shopper data to understand market performance and dynamics
Work with Marketing Manager, Commercial Teams and Category Teams to develop proposals and briefs for key insight generation projects
Deliver and execute a monthly research plan using the engaged ‘DE Lab’ audience
Evaluate research outputs and translate insights into clear recommendations for the business.
Disseminate findings to cross functional teams to inform decision making and future planning.

Portfolio Development & Execution

Manage the development and delivery of the 2–3 year UK Innovation roadmap working closely with UK Marketing, Commercial, Food and Factory teams and aligning to the Global Wholesome Goodness Category Strategy and local market opportunities.
Responsible for managing and driving forward NFD and EFD concepts/projects from ideation stage, through pipeline stages to launch ensuring seamless project & process management with all key stakeholders and aligned to Hero processes (IMT / D2P / Local Reviews / Commercial Planning Mtgs etc)
Ensure all projects meet customer needs and are delivered on time, to budget, to include development of packaging & claims
Create compelling, insight-driven selling stories for NFD & EFD that create ‘wow’ moments for customers and drive retailer engagement.
Work with sales on category management reviews, range reviews, space planning and other customer facing presentations
Provide post evaluation of all NFD and EFD projects against clearly defined KPIs including sales and activity results, learnings and best practice, for presentation to internal key stakeholders
Participate in Ideation sessions to identify new food innovation ideas and work to develop these through to concept stage
Ensure brand and packaging guidelines are adhered to and executed to the highest standards, elevating any future improvements

Brand & Communication Plans – Development and Implementation

Plan and develop a cohesive and stretching annual brand plan together with the Deliciously Ella Marketing Manager and Digital Marketing Manager
Use influencing skills and personal impact to excite and engage key stakeholders in the brand communication and activation plans
Day-to-day implementation of the brand plan and activities, on time and within budget – working cross functionally and with internal marketing, shopper marketing and commercial teams and externally with agencies / brand partners / Ella as required
Support Marketing Manager in the development of advertising and media planning
Manage the implementation of the media plan, the PR plan and other activations
Liaise with the Digital Marketing Team on campaigns ensuring seamless execution
Overall day to day marketing budget management & tracking
Evaluate all activity against defined KPIs to ensure ROI is optimised

Pricing & Promotional Strategy

Support in-market pricing and promotional benchmarking across the Deliciously Ella portfolio.
Support in the development of strategic pricing recommendations to support brand positioning, competitiveness, and profitability.

Your team

This role can be based either in London or Bournemouth and your key relationships internally will include: All Hero UK&I teams including Marketing, Commercial, Shopper Marketing, Category, Food Development, Supply Chain, Finance. All key stakeholders within Hero business – Marketing Excellence, Category Teams, Other countries Marketing teams. And Externally: Packaging & Design Agencies; Advertising & Media Agencies; PR, Influencer, Experiential and Sampling Agencies; Other brands for brand partnerships / Collaborations

What you will bring (skills and experience)

Degree level or equivalent
Strong experience in brand management, portfolio strategy, or innovation within FMCG.
Experience leading cross-functional teams and influencing stakeholders at all levels.
Demonstrated experience developing and executing innovation pipelines (NFD/EPD).
Strong commercial acumen with the ability to translate insights into compelling selling stories.
Excellent analytical skills with experience in performance management and portfolio optimisation.
Ability to manage external partners and build productive, long-term relationships.
Strong communication and brief writing skills, particularly for research and creative development.
Confident working with research platforms and methodologies (e.g., VYPR). Desirable Skills
Experience in health focused FMCG categories.

Other Skills

Energy, tenacity and enthusiasm
Consumer first mentality
An ambitious, team player attitude
Keen problem-solving skills – able to use ‘gut instinct’ balanced with analytical evidence
Strong influencing and communication skills at all levels and cross-functionally
Attention to detail
Personal integrity
Be a role model for the Hero Values: Take Responsibility, Create Wow, Nourish Others and Everyone Hero

What we offer

You will have the opportunity to be part of a mission driven business at a hugely exciting point in our growth trajectory, where your voice is heard and where you’re able to actively impact our business. Some great perks in working for Hero UK&I include:

A competitive salary
25 days holiday. You will also get an extra day’s holiday to be taken on or around your birthday.
Free Deliciously Ella App Access for you and five friends and family
Contributory pension scheme and access to free pension advice
Access to Grocery Aid employee assistance resources.
Massages & Reflexology when you are in our Bournemouth office
Psycle Classes when you are in our London office
Home & Tech Scheme
Nursery Benefit
Bike to Work and Electric Car Schemes
Car Park benefits at our Bournemouth Office
Hybrid Working and Flexible Bank Holidays
Team breakfasts and Lunches and unlimited access to tea, coffee, milk, fruit and snacks from all of our UK brands (depending on availability).
Learning Opportunities and Study Leave

Our commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion
At Hero UK&I we are committed to cultivating and maintaining a culture that is inclusive and diverse. We celebrate differences and continually support all team members to be proud of who they are. We pride ourselves on equal employment opportunity regardless of gender, sex, age, disability, race, religion, sexual orientation, or social class. We hire the best people based on an evaluation of their abilities and effectiveness, nothing else.

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