We're hiring 2 Assistant Category Managers!
One will focus on Coffee & Espresso and the other on Non-Coffee Beverages.
These positions will work with cross-functional team to bring product offerings from ideation to testing, and then through launch and post-launch analysis. Support innovation pipeline development, menu renovations, and calendar planning for Dunkin'.
RESPONSIBILITIES
- Work with Beverage Category Manager to help fill innovation pipeline through the following activities:
- Assist in identifying and staying on top of product trends through trend tours, secondary research, conferences/trade shows, and partnership with competitive intelligence team
- Partner with culinary team to ideate product innovation. Draft concept development briefs to start the product development process. Manage agendas and recaps for weekly meetings
- Partner with consumer insights team to evaluate opportunity size and determine positioning. Write idea and concept screeners to gauge consumer interest.
- Pull together business case including insights, competitive landscape, and target audience to align XF leaders on product kickoff
- Work with Beverage Category Manager to plan out the calendar and get products ready for launch through the following activities:
- Work with XF team of R&D, operations, supply chain, demand planning, QA, commercialization and legal to ensure products are ready for launch
- Manage updates in the product tracker capturing all product details
- Partner with operations team on in-store testing and evaluating product performance against set criteria
- Partner with category manager and brand marketing team to help identify which products to launch based on learnings through screeners or testing
- Lead through and submit product readiness materials including readiness templates, POS forms, profitability forms, marketing input forms, app forms, and product one-pagers. Review all output from cross-functional teams.
- Write product briefs to kick off XF partners for agency briefings
- Help identify and resolve project-related risks and issues throughout process
- Assist Associate Category Manager Bakery on all calendar-related activities above, as needed
- Work with Beverage Category manager on post-launch activities including partnering with business analytics to measure and analyze the impact of programs, and assisting in field and franchisee communication and collaboration
EDUCATION QUALIFICATIONS
- 4 Year Degree / Bachelor’s
- Business and/or marketing major preferred
EXPERIENCE QUALIFICATIONS
- 1-2 years total work experience (internships included).
- Food and beverage or CPG industry experience preferred but not required, especially in marketing, product development, or consumer insights roles.
REQUIRED KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS or ABILITIES
- Creative and strategic thinking
- Strong communications and interpersonal skills
- Ability to work individually and with large cross-functional teams
- Ability to thrive in a fast-paced environment, multi-task, prioritize, and be detail oriented
- Project management
- Financial acumen
- Problem-solving agility
- Strong PowerPoint and Excel skills
Inspire is a multi-brand restaurant company whose portfolio includes more than 33,000 Arby’s, Baskin-Robbins, Buffalo Wild Wings, Dunkin’, Jimmy John’s, and SONIC restaurants worldwide.
We’re made up of some of the world’s most iconic restaurant brands, but we’re much more than just a restaurant company. We’re a team of hundreds of thousands who individually and collectively are changing the way people eat, drink, and gather around the table. We know that food is much more than a staple—it’s an experience. At Inspire, that’s our purpose: to ignite and nourish flavorful experiences.