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Position Title: Marketing Manager - Proprietary Concepts, Retail & Beverages
Reports To: Communications Manager
Department: Marketing
Status: Exempt
Date: April 2026
Broad Functions: The Marketing Manager - Proprietary Concepts, Retail & Beverages is responsible for building, evolving, and activating the marketing strategies that drive brand equity, guest engagement, and revenue growth across the company's proprietary food and beverage concepts, retail merchandise offerings, and signature beverage programs. Unlike franchised brand roles governed by external brand standards, this position owns the full brand development lifecycle for company-created concepts - from brand identity and positioning to menu marketing, retail merchandising strategy, beverage program promotion, and consumer-facing storytelling. The Marketing Manager partners closely with the Culinary, Operations, Purchasing, and Design teams to ensure proprietary concepts are compellingly marketed across all guest touchpoints, that retail product assortments are presented to maximize attachment and impulse purchase, and that beverage programs - including coffee, specialty drinks, and non-alcoholic offerings - are differentiated in market and effectively communicated to guests. This role serves as the internal brand champion for the company's owned intellectual property, driving innovation in concept marketing and building lasting brand recognition in a competitive concessions and travel food service environment.
Main Duties and Responsibilities:
1. Develop and execute comprehensive annual marketing plans for all proprietary food concepts, retail concepts, and beverage offerings, including brand positioning updates, seasonal promotional calendars, limited-time offer (LTO) campaigns, and new product launch strategies.
2. Lead the marketing strategy for the company's retail merchandise program, including product assortment storytelling, display merchandising standards, impulse purchase strategies, seasonal product rotations, and packaging design in collaboration with the Purchasing and Operations teams.
3. Develop and manage both alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverage-specific marketing programs including menu board design, daypart promotional strategies, loyalty tie-ins, and new beverage launch campaigns aligned with Purchasing, Culinary, Beverage Standards and Operations priorities.
4. Conduct ongoing consumer research, competitive landscape analysis, and trend monitoring in the proprietary food concept, specialty beverage, and travel retail sectors to inform brand strategy, menu marketing priorities, and product innovation pipeline communications.
5. Create, manage, and distribute all marketing and brand materials for proprietary and retail programs, including digital content, photography direction, video concepts, printed collateral, packaging graphics, and digital menu board content, working with creative & design team and external creative partners.
6. Partner with Communication Manager in rolling out targeted digital and social media marketing strategies for proprietary concepts and beverage programs, including content planning, community management, influencer engagement, paid social campaigns, and email marketing to build brand awareness and guest loyalty.
7. Partner with Retail Operations in development and refresh of retail and beverage concept visual merchandising guidelines, planogram standards, and in-venue brand experience standards, ensuring all locations present proprietary retail and beverage programs in a consistent, guest-inviting manner.
8. Partner with the Culinary & Beverage Standard team to market menu innovations, seasonal food and beverage launches, chef-driven specials, and proprietary recipe stories that differentiate the company's owned concepts from national franchise competitors within the same venue environments.
9. Manage and track the marketing budget for proprietary concept, retail, and beverage marketing initiatives, ensuring spending efficiency, vendor accountability, and alignment with overall marketing department budget parameters. Ensure proper use of retail and beverage marketing funds provided from retail and beverage supplier partners, respectively.
10. Analyze and report on the performance of proprietary concept and retail/beverage marketing programs, using sales data, guest feedback, digital engagement metrics, and category performance indicators to measure impact and continuously optimize strategies.
11. Support new proprietary concept openings, retail program rollouts, and beverage concept launches at new and existing venues, developing opening marketing plans, training support materials, and launch-day guest activation strategies in coordination with the Operations team.
12. Build and maintain relationships with beverage suppliers, retail vendors, and creative/market research agencies to ensure the company's proprietary concepts benefit from best-in-class materials, innovation insights, and co-marketing opportunities.
13. Perform special projects and other responsibilities as assigned by the Chief Marketing Officer or Senior Director of Marketing.
Skills and Qualifications:
1. Minimum of 5-7 years of progressive marketing experience, with at least 3 years in brand management, proprietary concept marketing, retail merchandising, or food and beverage marketing; experience in a concessions, travel food service, or multi-unit restaurant environment is strongly preferred.
2. Bachelor's degree in marketing, Communications, Business Administration, or a related field required; master's degree or relevant professional certifications (e.g., AMA Professional Certified Marketer, Google Digital Marketing Certification) a plus.
3. Demonstrated experience owning a brand or proprietary concept from a marketing perspective, including brand identity stewardship, messaging development, visual standards management, and multi-channel campaign execution without the guardrails of an external franchisor.
4. Strong knowledge of retail merchandising principles, planogram development, impulse purchase strategies, packaging marketing, and product assortment storytelling within a food service or travel retail environment.
5. Proven experience marketing specialty beverage programs, including coffee, specialty drinks, and non-alcoholic offerings, with an understanding of daypart strategy, seasonal menu marketing, and beverage consumer behavior.
6. Proficiency in digital marketing platforms including social media management tools, email marketing systems, paid digital advertising platforms (Google Ads, Meta Ads), and content management systems (CMS); experience with marketing automation tools is a plus.
7. Strong creative instincts and aesthetic sensibility, with the ability to provide clear creative direction to designers, photographers, videographers, and agency partners to produce on-brand, guest-compelling marketing materials.
8. Solid analytical skills with experience using sales data, digital engagement metrics, and consumer research to measure marketing effectiveness, identify opportunities, and present data-driven recommendations to senior leadership.
9. Excellent project management skills with the ability to manage multiple concurrent brand initiatives, LTO launches, retail program rollouts, and agency workstreams simultaneously while meeting deadlines and staying within budget.
10. Outstanding written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to craft compelling brand narratives, develop marketing briefs, present strategies to senior leadership, and influence cross-functional stakeholders in Operations, Culinary, and Purchasing.
11. A passion for food, beverage trends, and the guest experience, with curiosity about emerging consumer behavior, specialty coffee culture, travel retail innovation, and proprietary brand building in the food service industry.
12. Proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite (Word, Excel, PowerPoint); familiarity with Adobe Creative Suite, Canva, or similar design tools for creative review and briefing purposes is a plus.
13. Ability to travel as required (up to 20-30%) to visit proprietary concept locations, retail merchandise rollouts, beverage program implementations, and industry or supplier events.
Physical Demands:
The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an associate to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.
While performing the duties of this job, the associate is regularly required to sit for extended periods, use hands and fingers to operate a computer, communicate verbally and in writing, and travel to field locations including proprietary concept venues and retail locations. The associate is occasionally required to stand, walk through venue and retail environments, and lift or carry marketing materials, merchandise samples, or retail display items weighing up to 25 lbs. Specific vision abilities required include close vision and the ability to review and evaluate detailed creative, packaging, and merchandising materials.