Richmond Coffee Strategic Brand & Marketing Manager

The posting

Brown Distributing Company is a leading beverage distributor throughout the state of Virginia. Since 1919, Brown Distributing has grown into a beverage distribution business with combined sales of over 3 million cases annually and serving in excess of 3,000 retailers with nearly 200 employees. Brown Distributing offers their employees competitive compensation, complete benefit package, including medical, dental, vision, company paid life insurance and a 401K employer match.

The Strategic Brand & Marketing Manager will lead the strategy, development, and day-to-day execution of the Richmond Coffee ready to-drink “RTD” coffee brand within the Richmond market, along with future brands and markets as the portfolio grows. This is a hands-on, roll-up-your sleeves role that owns the brand from concept to shelf: managing co-packer relationships, directing brand and packaging design, building marketing programs, and ensuring a strong supplier experience. This role partners closely with the sales team and with chain, independent, and on-premise retail accounts to build brand awareness, grow distribution, open new accounts, and deliver volume and profitability goals. This role will also identify and lead brand expansion opportunities that drive future growth, and will manage the Sampling & Events Coordinator and the brand’s in-market sampling program.

Compensation:

$85,000-$110,000/year

Vehicle Allowance: $825/month

Phone Allowance: $75/month

Schedule:

Full Time position to include nights and weekends, and travel as needed to co-packers, suppliers, markets, and events.

Essential Duties & Responsibilities: Include the following. Other duties may be assigned.

1. Brand Strategy & Portfolio Management: Own the brand strategy, positioning, and annual brand plans for Richmond Coffee and additional brands as the portfolio expands, including the brand calendar, pricing strategy, SKU mix, case volume and sales goals, and brand P&L oversight.
2. Co-Packer Management: Source, onboard, and manage co-packer relationships, including production scheduling, run minimums, quality standards, cost negotiations, and contract compliance.
3. Product Development: Lead new product and line-extension development from concept through commercialization, including consumer and category research, flavor development, formulation, shelf-life testing, packaging, and launch timing.
4. Innovation Pipeline & SKU Management: Build and manage a multi year innovation pipeline; evaluate SKU performance and recommend additions, line extensions, and SKU rationalization based on velocity and profitability.
5. Brand & Packaging Design: Direct brand identity, packaging, and point of-sale design with internal resources and outside artists, ensuring a consistent look, voice, and message across every touchpoint.
6. Brand Guidelines & Sales Tools: Create and maintain brand guidelines, sell sheets, price sheets, and digital assets; develop point-of-sale (POS/POSM) and merchandising materials and ensure the sales team and retail accounts execute the brand consistently in market; develop display, cooler and cold-vault placement, shelf, and secondary-placement programs that turn awareness into purchase, and audit in-market execution during store visits.
7. Supplier Experience: Manage relationships with ingredient, packaging, and materials co-packers to ensure quality, on-time delivery, and cost efficiency; resolve supply issues quickly and build long-term partnerships.
8. Marketing Programs: Develop and execute integrated, 360-degree marketing plans, including digital and social media, influencer and consumer engagement, retail and chain promotions, trade marketing, PR, local community and cause-marketing programs, and partnerships, to build awareness and drive trial and repeat purchase. Build Richmond Coffee’s identity as a local, community-rooted brand through partnerships with Richmond-area organizations including non-profit, colleges and universities, sports and entertainment venues, festivals, and local businesses.
9. Sampling & Events Oversight: Set the strategy, budget, and goals for sampling and event programs; build an annual sampling and events calendar that targets high-traffic retail accounts, priority prospect accounts, chain in-store demos, and community events; set measurable goals for every activation (samples distributed, consumer engagements, sales lift, and new placements); ensure each sampling event is coordinated with the sales team so it converts into orders, displays, or new accounts; direct the Sampling & Events Coordinator and review post-event reporting and ROI, reallocating sampling dollars to the activations that drive the most sales.
10. Brand Expansion & Future Growth: Identify and evaluate new markets, channels, products, and brand opportunities; build business cases and lead go-to-market planning for expansion.
11. Sales Team Partnership: Partner with the sales team to develop sell-in presentations, quarterly programming, and sales incentives; support chain, independent, and on-premise account objectives; and conduct market visits and ride-withs with sales representatives to drive distribution, placements, displays, new accounts, and velocity.
12. Pricing & Market Planning: Support pricing, retailer margin structures, and planning for new markets and channels in partnership with sales leadership.
13. Market & Consumer Insights: Monitor category trends, competitive activity, and consumer insights using syndicated scan data (such as Nielsen, Circana/IRI), internal sales and depletion reporting, consumer feedback captured at sampling events, and consumer research to guide brand decisions and identify new opportunities.
14. Budget & Performance Reporting: Manage the brand marketing, sampling, and trade spend budgets; track key metrics (depletions, distribution points, velocity, share, new accounts opened, samples distributed, sampling-to-sale conversion, social media reach and engagement, and ROI); and report results, post-program analysis, and recommendations to leadership.
15. Industry Presence: Represent the brand at sales meetings, retailer meetings and reviews, trade shows, and community events, serving as the brand ambassador internally and externally.
16. Regulatory & Labeling Compliance: Work with co-packers and suppliers to ensure labeling, claims, and packaging meet applicable FDA and regulatory requirements; ensure sampling programs follow food-safety, product-handling, and retailer and venue sampling requirements.
17. New Account Development: Partner with the sales team to identify, prioritize, and pursue new accounts across grocery, convenience, drug, on-premise, foodservice, office, hospitality, and college and university channels; use sampling and in-store demos as a door-opener with buyers and store managers; track new accounts opened, distribution points gained, and reorder rates.
18. Brand Ambassador Program & Sampling Standards: With the Sampling & Events Coordinator, build and maintain a team of trained part time brand ambassadors (recruiting, training, product knowledge, talking points, and scheduling); set sampling execution standards covering setup and presentation, product handling and food safety, cold-chain, sample inventory accountability, and photo and recap reporting.
19. Digital & Social Media: Own the brand’s social media channels and content calendar; capture content from sampling events, accounts, and the community; grow followers and engagement; and use geo-targeted digital, local influencers, and user-generated content to drive consumers to retail locations where the brand is sold.

Supervisory Responsibilities

Directly supervises the Sampling & Events Coordinator, and direct the work of outside artists, designers, and vendors. Carries out supervisory responsibilities in accordance with the organization’s policies and applicable laws. Responsibilities include interviewing, hiring, and training employees; planning, assigning, and directing work; appraising performance; rewarding and disciplining employees; and addressing complaints and resolving problems.

Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree in Marketing, Business, or a related field (or an equivalent combination of education and experience), and at least 5 years of brand management or marketing experience in the beverage (alcohol or non-alcohol) or consumer packaged goods industry.
• Hands-on experience managing vendors; co-packers or contract manufacturers, leading packaging and brand design projects, and launching new products a plus.
• Beverage distributor experience, RTD coffee or beverage experience, experience building and running sampling, demo, or brand ambassador programs, established relationships with Richmond-area retailers and community organizations, and prior supervisory experience are preferred.
• Working knowledge of beverage distribution, including chain account programming and resets, depletion reporting, pricing, and trade spend management.
• Experience using syndicated scan data and internal sales reporting to build fact-based selling stories.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office; social media management and content tools, and sales/depletion data platforms is a plus.

All final applicants will be required to comply and pass all drug, background, and driving checks