Senior Brand Manager - RAGÚ

Based in our Corporate Headquarters in Schaumburg, IL, Mizkan America is a subsidiary of the Mizkan Group, a global, family-owned company that has been Bringing Flavor to Life™ for over 220 years. As one of the leading makers of vinegars, condiments, and sauces in the United States, Mizkan America maintains 12 manufacturing facilities that serve the retail, foodservice, specialty-Asian and food-ingredient trade channels. We are committed to following our two core principles: continuously challenging the status quo and delivering only the finest products for our customers. Our leadership seeks out, embraces, and implements ideas for improvement from all of its employees. Transparency and accountability are two key factors that drive our company’s overall management approach.

 

We are looking for people who are seeking to deliver their best so that we can deliver ours. Above all, we’re dedicated to maximizing the potential of our greatest assets—our team members. That’s reflected in our ongoing commitment to recruit, develop, reward, and retain our talented, multicultural workforce. We hope to see you as part of our team’s future success!

 

 

POSITION SUMMARY:   

The Senior Brand Manager provides strategic leadership for an assigned brand portfolio and acts as the general manager of the business. This role is responsible for delivering net sales, operating income, market share growth, and consumption targets while driving brand equity and innovation. This role leads the development and execution of the marketing and communications strategy supporting consistent growth and plan delivery. Responsibilities span portfolio strategy, project management, innovation and commercialization, category management, and brand communications. 

 

About the job:

• Mizkan America has a portfolio that includes RAGU, Bertolli, Holland House, ANGOSTURA, Zing Zang, Nakano and Mizkan. Our product range spans pasta sauces, cooking wines, rice vinegars, cocktail mixers and more, with our products available through mass-market channels, specialty retailers and e-commerce.
• RAGU is synonymous with the pasta sauce category, with nearly 90 years of legacy since being launched by Assunta Cansitano in 1937.  RAGU is the category leader in Unaided Awareness, and one of America’s Most Loved and Trusted Brands across both 2025 and 2026.

• We are hiring a Senior Brand Manager to lead RAGU on the next chapter of the brand’s journey.
• The Senior Brand Manager is a strategic and hands‑on leader responsible for driving growth of the RAGU portfolio through business management, innovation, integrated marketing, and retailer‑specific activation. You will own the brand’s business performance, lead cross‑functional initiatives, and ensure excellence in execution across all consumer and customer touchpoints.

 

Essential Functions:

 

Brand & Business Leadership

• Serve as brand business owner by developing and executing comprehensive brand plans that drive growth and profitability.
• Lead day-to-day management, execution and optimization of plans to deliver against business objectives, leading business decisions to drive top and bottom-line growth.
• Collaborate with Revenue Management, Sales COE, R&D and other cross-functional stakeholders to operate as an integrated commercial team.
• Partner with Sales to strengthen channel strategy and expand physical availability across retail channels.
• Define and support pricing strategies, promotion and pricing architecture (PPA) optimization, and initiatives to grow category share and penetrate new retail frontiers.
• Refine brand positioning and consumer targets; ensure all activations and communications align with the brand strategy.
• Lead business analytics across consumption, gross sales, and marketing budget; providing insights and clear action plans.
• Manage syndicated data sources (e.g., IRI/Circana) and develop performance reports and analyses.
• Maintain and evolve brand guidelines and masterbrand principles to ensure cohesive positioning across the portfolio.
• Serve as the central point of coordination (“hub of the wheel”) for brand‑related and cross‑functional activities that influence the 4Ps.

Brand Marketing & Communications

• Lead the development and execution of consumer‑facing content and communications.
• Define, align, and track key brand performance metrics.
• Develop campaign platforms, write agency briefs, and lead the Integrated Marketing Team (IMT) from idea through activation.
• Establish campaign KPIs and performance measurement frameworks.
• Ap