Sr. Manager, Product Strategy & Inbound Licensing - 10004-Charlotte- NC - Hawkins (Charlotte, NC)

Since its founding in 1937, Krispy Kreme's focus has remained the same - making fresh doughnuts using our founder's original recipe. The brand's iconic Hot Light lets consumers know when doughnuts are being made in the shop so they can stop in and enjoy them hot, right off the line.

Krispy Kreme's Senior Manager, LTO Product Strategy & Inbound Licensing leads the strategic development and approval process of Krispy Kreme's Limited-Time Offer (LTO) portfolio, with a focus on driving traffic, trial, and cultural relevance. In this capacity, this senior manager is responsible for non-core product strategy across doughnuts and beverages - understanding broader business needs, identifying product solutions (through form, flavors, partners), developing new product development briefs, and partnering with culinary innovation team on the product development and approval process. Additionally, this role is responsible for activating inbound licensing partnerships within our products that elevate brand excitement and deliver incremental growth - owning outreach, negotiations, contract development and partner relationships overall.

A TASTE OF WHAT YOU WILL BE DOING:

LTO Product Strategy & Ownership

• Own the overall non-core product strategy, including seasonal, LTO, and opportunistic product launches, from ideation, concept testing, new product development briefs, and the product approval process.
• Acts as a key stakeholder and partner with the commercialization team through the IDEAL (Ideate, Develop, Evaluate, Actualize, Launch) development process for all projects.
• Leverage insights, trend analysis, and competitive intelligence to inform LTO innovation recommendations and inbound licensing decisions.
• Partner with consumer insights and analytics to develop and formalize NPD briefs for each project, rooted in a strong understanding of our brand, coupled with relevant knowledge of our consumer and the market, ultimately supported with business justification.
• Collaborates with brand marketing, culinary innovation, and operations to ensure conceptual products/programs can be translated consistently with customer wonder and operational excellence.
• In partnership with culinary innovation leads and supply chain, ensures products are developed within specified cost parameters to achieve our business targets (traffic, profit, menu mix and sales), while also delivering on a quality experience.
• Support product "sell-in" with cross-functional partners and leadership.
• Continuously evaluates and prioritizes projects in the pipeline in partnership with marketing and culinary innovation partners, providing ongoing communications on status to ensure management alignment.
• Monitor launch performance to learn and optimize future LTOs.

Inbound Licensing & Brand Partnerships

• Identify and pursue inbound licensing opportunities that align with the LTO calendar, seasonal moments, and cultural trends.
• Sell-in partnership opportunity with external partners to gain excitement for partnership potential.
• Evaluate licensed IP for strategic/brand fit, commercial upside, and operational feasibility in partnership with culinary and marketing.
• Manage day-to-day licensor relationships, manage risks/issues as they arise and ensure timely approvals, maintaining both licensor guidelines and Krispy Kreme brand standards.
• Manage inbound negotiations and deal points in service of brand needs, as well as contracts in partnership with Legal.
• Manage licensing budgets and invoices.

YOUR RECIPE FOR SUCCESS:

• Bachelor's degree in Marketing, Business, or related field. MBA is a plus.
• 7-10+ years of progressively responsible experience in brand management, product marketing, or innovation within QSR, CPG, or food & beverage.
• Passion for food and beverage innovation is required.
• Strong organizational and project management skills with a proven ability to move multiple projects forward in a constructive and timely manner. Must have ability to effectively multi-task, managing numerous projects and effectively adapting to shifting priorities.
• Demonstrated ability working with and rallying multiple departments/key stakeholders around common goals.
• Strong people and negotiations skills to quickly develop and maintain partner relationships, including contract negotiations, troubleshooting issues, and partner approvals.
• Ability to work effectively under tight deadlines and in a high-pressure environment.
• Comfortable being a business owner, working independently and making recommendations and decisions using sound judgment and discretion.
• Self-motivated with an innovative, can-do spirit; always ready to lead and to learn.
• Proactive, results-oriented with strong business and analytic acumen.
• Strong written and oral communications skills with the ability to manage up to the executive level and down to the working team level.

*The above statements are intended to describe the general nature of work performed by the employees assigned to this job and are not the official job description for the position. The official job description will be provided during the application/interview process.

BENEFITS:

• Comprehensive benefits (medical, vision, and dental insurance)
• Employee discount program
• 401K plan
• Generous PTO Plan
• Company events
• Education Reimbursement
• Adoption Assistance
• Life Insurance
• FSA/HSA Plans
• Pet Insurance

Learn more at www.kkbenefits.com

WHY KRISPY KREME?

At Krispy Kreme, we focus on:

• Loving People:
• Our global culture is best captured by our Leadership Mix, a dozen behaviors that define how we work with one another across the world and give back to our communities. Check out our leadership mix here.
• Belonging happens once each Krispy Kremer knows their bold authentic self is welcomed, dignified, and loved, where their wonderfully original identities flourish and thrive.
• Loving Communities:
• At Krispy Kreme, sharing joy is at the center of everything we do, and we strive to inspire this in our communities. Our brand purpose truly shines through our Acts of Joy and community fundraising initiatives.
• In the U.S., we have been donating unsold doughnuts to local food banks, with a goal of bringing a smile to our consumers as they enjoy a small, sweet treat. We partner with Feeding America and Convoy of Hope, who in turn partner with organizations nationwide to distribute donations to people in need through diverse types of programs and services.
• In 2022, we helped community groups raise $40 million globally. Last year in the U.S., we supported more than 83,000 fundraising events, raising nearly $37 million.
• Loving Planet:
• We have been conducting a multi-year global GHG emissions assessment to establish an emissions baseline, using this foundation to soon set goals for greenhouse gas emission reductions.
• We are working on reducing food waste through donation efforts, animal feed, and composting programs.

Krispy Kreme is an Equal Opportunity Employer:?

At Krispy Kreme, we believe that your originality sweetens our recipe. We value the diverse ingredients of the ethnicity, national origin, race, age, sex, gender, intersex, or veteran status of every individual. We strive for an inclusive culture that allows each of our peeps to bring their bold authentic self to work regardless of their religion, gender identity & expression, sexual orientation, or disability.

About Krispy Kreme

Headquartered in Charlotte, N.C., Krispy Kreme is one of the most beloved and well-known sweet treat brands in the world. Our iconic Original Glazed doughnut is universally recognized for its hot-off-the-line, melt-in-your-mouth experience. Krispy Kreme operates in more than 35 countries through its unique network of fresh doughnut shops, partnerships with leading retailers, and a rapidly growing Ecommerce and delivery business with more than 14,000 fresh points of access. Our purpose of touching and enhancing lives through the joy that is Krispy Kreme guides how we operate every day and is reflected in the love we have for our people, our communities and the planet. Connect with Krispy Kreme Doughnuts at www.KrispyKreme.com, or on one of its many social media channels, including www.Facebook.com/KrispyKreme and www.Twitter.com/KrispyKreme.