Brand Manager in Blackburn

The Brand Manager will lead the development and growth of the company's emerging branded portfolio, creating compelling consumer propositions that complement our established own-label manufacturing business. Working cross-functionally with Sales, NPD, Technical, Operations and Finance, the role will identify market opportunities, develop brand strategies, manage product launches and build brand awareness within target channels. This is a hands-on position suited to an ambitious marketer who enjoys creating structure, building brands from the ground up and delivering commercial growth. The successful candidate will act as the internal champion for branded growth, ensuring that consumer insight, category understanding and strong brand positioning underpin decision-making across the business.

Responsibilities of a Brand Manager at BBF

• Brand Strategy & Development
  • Develop and implement brand strategies aligned to company growth objectives.
  • Define brand positioning, architecture, values and consumer propositions.
  • Identify opportunities to build a differentiated branded portfolio alongside the existing own-label business.
  • Create annual brand plans with clear objectives, budgets and KPIs.
  • Act as brand guardian, ensuring consistency across all touchpoints.
• Consumer & Market Insight
  • Build a deep understanding of consumers, customers, competitors and market trends.
  • Analyse category performance, retailer dynamics and growth opportunities.
  • Conduct consumer research and insight projects to support strategic decisions.
  • Translate market intelligence into actionable recommendations.
• Product Innovation & NPD
  • Work closely with NPD teams to develop products that meet consumer needs and support brand growth.
  • Lead the branding, proposition development and launch planning for new products.
  • Develop and manage innovation pipelines aligned to strategic priorities.
  • Evaluate product performance and identify opportunities for continuous improvement.
• Commercial Growth
  • Partner with the Sales team to establish brand growth plans across retail, wholesale and other relevant channels.
  • Support customer presentations, category reviews and new business opportunities.
  • Develop compelling selling stories and brand activation plans.
  • Monitor sales performance, profitability and ROI against objectives.
• Marketing & Activation
  • Plan and execute integrated marketing campaigns.
  • Develop packaging, digital content, POS materials and promotional activity.
  • Manage external agencies and suppliers where required.
  • Increase brand visibility and engagement through appropriate marketing channels.
  • Measure effectiveness of campaigns and optimise future activity.
• Cross-Functional Leadership
  • Collaborate with Operations, Supply Chain, Technical, Finance and Commercial teams to ensure successful delivery of brand initiatives.
  • Build internal understanding of brand-led growth and consumer-focused thinking.
  • Influence stakeholders and drive alignment around brand priorities.
  • Support the development of branded business processes and best practices.

What we are looking for

Essential

• Experience in brand management, marketing or category management.
• Strong commercial awareness and understanding of FMCG markets.
• Experience launching products and managing brand plans.
• Ability to analyse data and translate insights into action.
• Excellent project management and organisational skills.
• Strong communication and stakeholder management abilities.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office and marketing analytics tools.

Desirable

• Experience within food, beverage, personal care, household or FMCG manufacturing.
• Experience working with both branded and private label products.
• Knowledge of retailer environments and category management principles.
• Experience managing agencies and marketing budgets.
• CIM qualification or marketing-related degree.

Who are BBF Limited?

BBF Limited are one of the UK’s leading ambient cake and chilled dessert manufacturers of retailer own label, licensed and branded cakes, supplying recognisable major retailers across the UK and European market. Our team of experts develop and manufacture a wide range of high-quality ambient cake products across several different categories including celebration cake, mini rolls, mince pies, fruit pies and a wide range of chilled desserts including cheesecake, crumbles and sponge cakes. We are passionate about our products and aim to put the customer at the heart of everything we do. With recent investment and acquisitions taking us to nearly 1,400 direct employees, this is an exciting time to join BBF Limited! We are continually looking to grow, but we can only do that with exceptional talent across all levels and disciplines of the business.

What do you get in return?

• Financial
  • Competitive salary
  • Pension
  • 4x Life Assurance/Death in Service Benefit
  • Access to the company Benefits Hub
  • Access to ‘Company Shop’ – a discounted re-distributor of surplus food and household products
• Health & Wellbeing
  • 25 days holiday + bank holidays
  • 24/7 Access to a GP
  • 24/7 Bereavement Service
• Personal & Professional Development
  • Dedicated in-house Learning & Development/Training team
  • Online training platform with access to 100+ training courses
• A few other bits
  • Free on-site parking
  • Onsite canteen
  • Onsite Cake Shop (majorly discounted)

Recruitment Agencies

All our recruitment is managed centrally via the internal recruitment team. We operate a recruitment PSL when we require assistance, and we aren't adding to this at present. Any agency assistance will be instructed accordingly and therefore any CVs sent to any BBF Limited employee will be treated as a gift and won't be liable for a fee. Please don't speculatively contact us in relation to this vacancy or any other vacancy.