Marketing Manager - RTD

Description

Job Summary:

The Marketing Manager (RTD Category) will drive the growth and awareness of Asahi Beer USA’s portfolio. It is responsible for defining the right product mix, identifying business opportunities, delivering innovation, building and executing effective brand strategies, and ensuring best-in-class trade and sales support to maximize impact on the market.

If you’re passionate about building distinctive brands, driving purposeful innovation, and shaping the future of beverage, joining the Asahi Beer USA marketing team could be the opportunity you’ve been looking for. The Marketing Manager – RTD Category is a hands-on, strategic role that leads both brand building and innovation in one of the fastest-growing segments of the alcohol industry.

Working closely with our U.S. production facility, Octopi Brewing, and Asahi’s international brand and innovation teams, this role offers the best of both worlds: entrepreneurial ownership with the backing of a strong global organization.

RTDs are one of the most dynamic and fast-evolving categories in beverage alcohol. Our ambition is to lead with bold brand building, insight-driven innovation, and best-in-class trade and sales support. If that excites you, we’d love to hear from you.

Company Overview:

Asahi Europe & International (AEI) is a subsidiary of Asahi Group Holdings Ltd, a global beverage and food company listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange in Japan.
 

Employing over 10,000 people, AEI have world-class brewing and production facilities in 8 markets – UK, NL, ITL, PL, CZ, SK, HU, RO. In most of these markets, we are the leading brewer with full portfolio of Domestic and International premium and super premium brands.
 

Asahi EMEA & Americas (EMEAA) are growing Asahi's broad portfolio of well-established and iconic international brands such as Peroni Nastro Azzurro, Pilsner Urquell, Grolsch, Kozel & Asahi Super Dry, both directly and through our global distribution network.  Asahi EMEAA have a clear remit to continue establishing and strengthening our premium portfolio across our regions, both in our direct branch markets, and through our third-party distributors.  We are expected to contribute disproportionately to the future growth of Asahi Group Holdings so we have an ambitious, high-performance culture.  The business is well positioned to inspire people around the world to drink better through our shared purpose of Creating Meaningful Connections.  Very excitingly, Asahi has recently purchased a fantastic new production facility in Wisconsin USA, Octopi Brewing.  This marks a key step forward in accelerating our growth journey and realizing our ambitions for our Global Brands, most notably Asahi Super Dry for North America.  Octopi is the leading contract beverage facility in the Midwest.  Our reach goes beyond making great products.  At Octopi, we are committed to seeing our clients’ brands grow.  Our facility is located in Waunakee, WI and was built to cater specifically to the needs of the modern beverage client.  Our services and capabilities extend far beyond the average contract beverage facility.  At Octopi, we strive to be a one-stop shop for our client’s brands.  Whether it is sourcing packaging materials, collaborating on new recipes, designing new brand identities, or helping navigate regional distribution channels. 

 Primary Responsibilities:

• Category & Portfolio Strategy
• Monitor and analyze (RTD) category trends, consumer insights, and competitor activity. Identify new business opportunities andlead their deployment.
• Collaborate with our international innovation team to bring best-in-class global innovations into the U.S. market, adapting them to local relevance.
• Develop strategic recommendations for portfolio evolution through New Product Development (NPD) or optimization of the existing range. Build strong business cases. 
• Lead end-to-end NPD projects, from concept to commercialization, in collaboration with cross-functional teams.
• Support the Marketing Director in the development of the innovation long term pipeline. Estimate the required operating and capital investments behind each initiative.
• Brand Management
• Build and execute brand strategies across the (RTD) portfolio, ensuring differentiation, relevance, and consumer appeal.
• Drive brand awareness and equity through development and execution of integrated marketing campaigns, digital activation, and PR initiatives.
• Lead the development of core brand assets, campaigns, and content, with hands-on involvement in execution and assets production. 
• Manage brand budgets, ensuring efficient allocation of resources and tracking of ROI.
• Lead ongoing analysis of brand and portfolio performance (e.g., VIP depletions, Nielsen, brand funnel), translating into strategic recommendations and actions.
• Trade Marketing & Commercial Support
• Develop and deliver best-in-class trade marketing tools and point-of-sale materials to support commercial teams and retail execution.
• Partner closely with Sales to ensure alignment of brand plans with channel strategies and customer needs.
• Develops and implements tailored Consumer and Trade programs including sweepstakes, display incentives, mass display pieces, racks and generic coupon programs. Develops both local and regional programming.
• Monitor performance of marketing initiatives and adapt plans to maximize in-market results.
• Adhere to all PPE and GMP requirements.
• Maintain clean, safe, and organized work environment.
• Performs other related duties as assigned.

Requirements

Required Skills/Abilities: 

• Ability to see beyond today. Strategic thinking and deep understanding of what brands need to deliver – both short and long-term.
• Expertise in developing and executing integrated brand marketing plans
• Strong commercial skills with focus on income / margin statement. 
• Conceptual, analytical, influencing, communication skills
• Solid understanding of consumer insights and ability to turn them into action. 
• Excellent project management and organizational skills.
• Both ways input from/into Global Innovation strategy.
• Hands-on, proactive approach in a lean team environment. 

Education and Experience:

• Bachelor’s degree in marketing, Business, or related field. 
• 5+ years of experience in FMCG marketing, ideally within the beverage or alcohol category.
• Proven track record in brand management and product development.
• Strong commercial acumen and understanding of trade and shopper marketing.
• Excellent project management, communication, and cross-functional leadership skills.
• Strategic thinking capabilities, with hands-on, can-do approach.
• Passion for consumer trends and innovation.
• Willingness to travel 1-2-times a month – primarily Octopi brewery & key market locations.