Product Manager

At CURiO, people are the heartbeat of our business. There would be no Thymes or Capri Blue without the collective passion and commitment of our employees. We consistently strive to return the same care that our employees bring to CURiO every day.

As a company that helps consumers enhance life’s big and small moments through fragrance, we are in the business of self-care. And we share that focus on self-care within the company as well. It’s how we balance our AMBITIOUS cornerstone. We work hard to deliver our mission and vision, but we also value taking time to care for ourselves.

We work at CURiO for many reasons, such as our love for our products and our coworkers. Among the many other reasons is CURiO’s welcoming, friendly culture. We are growing quickly, but we are still small enough to know each other’s names and help each other celebrate individual successes.

We pride ourselves on the CREATIVITY of our employees. From the chemists who mix intriguing fragrances and the designers who create stunning vessels to the operations teams who overcome obstacles to get our products to customers both quickly and safely, we celebrate CURiO innovation.

If you are looking for an opportunity to be CONNECTED to those that you work, be COURAGEOUS and apply.

Position Profile:

The Product Manager is part of the Thymes & Pura brand team and is responsible for leading the innovation strategy and managing the day-to-day activities and long-range projects for the Thymes and iconic fragrances such as Frasier Fir, Eucalyptus and Goldleaf as well as the Pura partnership. This includes the supporting development and then execution and implementation of the product pipeline to help support short and long-term business objectives. The Product Manager works cooperatively with Brand Marketing, Design & Innovation, Sales, and Operations teams to implement the Thymes and Pura Innovation Plan. Specifically, they manage tasks and lead support to help launch products and other campaigns in the marketplace, including new product development, process improvements, new launch forecasting, and competitive research.

Work Responsibilities:

Brand Product Strategy

• Engage qualitative and quantitative research techniques to assess product and category performance and work with General Manager to identify strategic innovation opportunities for the brand.
• Work with Fragrance Strategist on competitive analysis, market trends, product comps, and other research needed to drive pipeline development and to make strategic decisions for new product development.
• Manages all innovation projects for the assigned brand and ensures accurate visibility to project list and status of milestones, forecasts, and the timely performance of each project to brand marketing team and upper management.
• Prepare and present product innovation pipeline presentations for upper management.

New Product Development

• Lead a cross functional team from Marketing, Design & Innovation, Sales, and outside partners in the creation of new collection concept recommendations that will be successful in the marketplace and contribute to achieving the brand’s financial objectives.
• Provide comprehensive feedback and direction to Design & Innovation on new product design from concept to final design approval to ensure the company launches products with the best chance for marketplace success.
• Lead the crafting of collection concept positioning that creatively and uniquely differentiates them from competitors and creates desirability among consumers.
• Ensure product formulations, packaging design, copywriting and collateral materials deliver upon collection positioning to create integrated, compelling offerings that experience in-market success.
• Manage projects to effectively achieve margin goals and timeline deadlines.
• Engage qualitative and quantitative research techniques to enhance in market success of new and existing collections.
• Regularly test sample products to ensure positive and on-brand consumer formulation, fragrance and packaging experience and then articulate feedback to greater Design & Innovation team on change requests.
• Partner cross-functionally with sales channel leaders and demand planning team to analyze historical performance and develop launch forecasts for new items.
• Own the Brand’s innovation team product tracker with accurate details on project’s current status, upcoming milestones, and forecast needs.

Market Knowledge

• Have a broad understanding of brand, product offerings and competitive landscape and continually monitor trends as the marketplace shifts.
• Know and understand customer’s wants and needs, performing customer interviews as needed.
• Complete ad hoc competitive pricing analysis to determine new item pricing.
• Identify and run necessary reports and draw conclusions from data to help determine brand strategy and innovation direction.

Leadership:

• Supports CURiO Cornerstones and strives for individual and functional leadership by using cornerstone behaviors in the workplace and in daily decision making.
• Engages in a strong team atmosphere and positive team culture, fostering collaboration across the organization and ensure teams are working cross-functionally to meet CURiO goals.
• Actively participate in and lead by example through all change management initiatives, including proactive communication and support of company initiatives, programs, and policies.

General Responsibilities:

• Follows all policies and procedures of the company. Works cooperatively with all departments, maintaining a positive work atmosphere by acting and communicating in a manner that promotes cooperation with co-workers, supervisors, and managers.
• Maintain individual skills, keeping up to date with latest best practices, trends, concepts, and regulations in the specific job area.
• Manage time effectively, meet personal goals and collaborate effectively with other members of the team to meet CURiO goals.
• Follows all safety guidelines and polices. Makes supervisor/manager immediately aware of any observed safety issue. Keeps work area clean and organized.

Minimum Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree in marketing, business, or related field
• 5-7 years’ experience in consumer product innovation
• Experience with personal care/beauty/home fragrance/affinity for fragrance a plus

Computer and/or software qualifications:

• Intermediate level of proficiency in Microsoft Excel, Microsoft Word, Power Point

Core Competencies

• Demonstrated experience and success in consumer brand product innovation and development.
• Ability to recognize, appreciate and foster great design.
• Knowledge and affinity for fragrance in general.
• Intellectually curious self-starter with a drive for results.
• Ability to lead multi-functional teams on large-scale projects.
• Ability to hone and present information – both written and verbal – appropriate for the audience and to the desired effect.
• Ability to perform consumer research, analyzing, and reporting of data and trends to drive strategy.
• Ability to perform research, reporting, & analyzing of data in Excel.
• Ability to maintain and protect company proprietary information.

Travel Requirement: Less than 10%

Hybrid Working Environment and Physical Demands:

• Role must be located in greater Minneapolis/St Paul area, commutable to office on an as needed basis
• General office or home office environment: Works at a desk in a well-lit, air-conditioned cubicle/office/home office, with moderate noise levels.
• Ability to sit for hours at a time, viewing computer monitor on a constant basis. Some walking and standing relative to interaction with other personnel.
• Occasionally required to lift and/or move items weighing 10 – 15 pounds.