Bachan’s is rooted in history, tradition, culture and family. Our Original Japanese Barbecue Sauce was created from a multi-generational family recipe, and our mission is simple: Bring Family Together®. We believe in a minimalistic and transparent approach to our products, using high-quality ingredients and obsessing over the details because Our Ingredients Matter®. We are a passionate, creative team of innovators and problem solvers committed to building something special while staying true to who we are.

Position Summary

The Director of Innovation is a senior marketing leader responsible for stewarding the Bachan’s Innovation strategy and helping shape the brand’s next phase of growth. This role brings together brand strategy, consumer insights, portfolio strategy, and innovation to strengthen Bachan’s connection with consumers while expanding the brand thoughtfully into new products, categories, and occasions.

The Director leads the innovation strategy, pipeline and roadmap for the business, from opportunity identification and concept development through commercialization and launch, partnering closely with Marketing, Sales, R&D, Operations, Finance, and other cross-functional partners. In addition, this role will provide thought leadership as it relates to consumer and brand insights.

Success requires a leader who can balance long-term strategic thinking with hands-on execution, use consumer and business insights to make decisions, and bring structure to a fast-moving environment without slowing it down. Collaboration and team work are essential to this leader’s success, and they must understand what makes Bachan’s distinctive and ensure that growth and innovation strengthen the authenticity, creativity, and entrepreneurial spirit of the brand.

Essential Functions/Primary Responsibilities

Innovation & Portfolio Strategy

• Own the strategic innovation pipeline and roadmap across breakthrough innovation, new categories, line extensions, flavors, formats, and other growth opportunities.
• Identify consumer needs, market trends, white-space opportunities, and areas where Bachan’s has a differentiated right to win.
• Lead innovation initiatives from ideation and concept development through validation, commercialization, launch, and post-launch evaluation.
• Partner with Project Management team to lead and continually strengthen the innovation/stage-gate process, ensuring clear decisions, accountability, and cross-functional alignment.
• Partner closely with R&D, Operations, Commercialization, Sales, Finance, and other functions to move innovation efficiently from concept to shelf.
• Guide packaging strategy and development for Innovation items, including packaging briefs, consumer communication, and product storytelling.
• Ensure new products and portfolio expansion remain rooted in Bachan’s heritage, brand promise, quality standards, and consumer expectations.
• Evaluate portfolio performance and recommend where to invest, optimize, extend, or rationalize.

Consumer Insights & Analytics

• Own the consumer learning agenda and ensure the voice of the consumer is integrated into brand, portfolio, and innovation decisions.
• Lead the annual brand tracker and other research used to understand brand awareness, equity, consumer perceptions, usage, and growth opportunities.
• Lead consumer research at key points throughout the innovation process to develop, refine, optimize, and validate concepts.
• Partner with external research and insights providers as appropriate to address key business questions and identify emerging opportunities.
• Combine consumer insight, market intelligence, brand analytics, and business performance to develop clear recommendations and action plans.
• Establish post-launch reviews to evaluate innovation performance, capture learnings, and inform future decisions.

Business & Cross-Functional Leadership

• Act as a strategic partner to Marketing leadership and the broader Bachan’s leadership team on brand, portfolio, consumer, and innovation decisions.
• Build strong partnerships across Sales, R&D, Operations, Supply Chain, Finance, Creative, eCommerce, and other functions.
• Bring clarity to priorities, roles, timelines, and decisions across complex cross-functional initiatives.
• Balance the speed and entrepreneurial mindset of Bachan’s with the processes and capabilities needed to support continued growth.
• Use data and sound business judgment to prioritize resources and focus the organization on the highest-value opportunities.
• Communicate strategies, recommendations, risks, and progress clearly to senior leaders and cross-functional partners.

Team Leadership & Culture

• Develop a high-performing, collaborative Innovation team.
• Establish clear priorities, expectations, accountability, and development plans for direct reports.
• Effectively lead external agencies, research partners, freelancers, and other strategic partners.
• Foster a collaborative, curious, consumer-obsessed, and action-oriented working environment.
• Encourage thoughtful experimentation, learning, and calculated risk-taking.
• Model Bachan’s operating principles by acting with agility, creativity, humility, transparency, and an ownership mindset.
• Help preserve the entrepreneurial and family-minded culture that has contributed to Bachan’s success while building capabilities needed for the company’s next stage of growth.

Working Conditions/Environment

Works in a remote and office-based business environment, with an expectation to work from either the Sebastopol or Los Angeles office approximately 2 days per week. The employee is regularly required to speak, see, hear, sit, stand, talk, type, walk, and bend while performing daily responsibilities. The noise level in the work environment is typically moderate. This role requires approximately 25% travel for plant trials, customer meetings, market visits, internal planning sessions, industry events, and company meetings.

Qualification Requirements

• 10+ years of progressive brand management and innovation work within CPG, preferably food or beverage.
• Significant experience leading innovation strategy and building or scaling consumer brands.
• Proven experience leading innovation and new product development from consumer insight and concept through commercialization and launch.
• Strong experience with consumer research, brand health measurement, market analytics, and insight development.
• Experience working cross-functionally with R&D, Sales, Operations, Supply Chain, Finance, Creative, and other business partners.
• Experience leading and developing teams as well as managing external agencies and strategic partners.
• Experience working in both established CPG organizations and entrepreneurial, founder-led, or high-growth businesses strongly preferred.
• Experience helping scale a high-growth food or CPG brand preferred.
• Bachelor’s degree in Marketing, Business, or a related field required.
• MBA or related advanced degree preferred.