Sarah Szefi

Senior Brand Manager 2020 – Present

Brand Manager 2017 – 2020

Strategy and portfolio

• Lead the dog and cat kibble and wet businesses.
• Previously led brand management for the total business, including raw frozen and freeze-dried, until the marketing team expanded and my focus moved to kibble and wet.
• Develop and execute overall brand strategy for a premium, innovative, and insurgent pet food brand within Pet Specialty and eCommerce channels: Petco, PetSmart, Neighborhood Pet, Chewy, and Amazon.
• Manage the product portfolio considering brand strategy, profitability, category trends, and market opportunities.
• Recommend SKU discontinuations and assortment changes using velocity, margin, and distribution data.
• Track premium kibble competitors and apply the findings to brand and portfolio planning.

Forecasting and pricing

• Build SKU and channel level volume and gross sales forecasts for launches, distribution changes, and price increases, including inventory and expiration risk.
• Recommend price increase timing based on retailer impact, margin, and consumer response.
• Use syndicated (Nielsen) and first-party data, consumer surveys, and panel analysis to stay current on the market, diagnose trial and repeat purchase, and inform decisions.
• Partner with Ipsos on consumer and market research to inform brand and innovation decisions.

Launches and marketing

• Launch market-leading innovation products, from consumer research to commercialization, by project managing a cross-functional team of Marketing, R&D, Operations, Demand Planning, Supply Chain, Finance, Regulatory, Quality, and Sales.
• Managed the kibble and wet portion of a packaging redesign across all Instinct products, including graphics updates, SKU and UPC changes, and transition plans for mixed inventory.
• Write creative briefs and direct agency partners on campaigns for new product platforms.
• Partner with the Integrated Marketing Communications team to plan launch marketing across paid search, paid social, creator content, and expert content.
• Originate on-pack naming and claims, as well as marketing communications, guided by consumer insights.
• Collaborate with Retail Marketing to pitch innovation products and marketing support plans to sales channels.

Leadership

• Present brand performance and plans to executive and sales leadership in business reviews.
• Manage and develop a direct report who supports research and analysis.
• Use AI tools to speed up analysis, forecasting, and content development.

Culture and community

• Organized and led Instinct's sponsorship and participation in Tower Grove Pride, St. Louis' largest Pride event and a pet friendly festival with 80,000+ attendees over the weekend. It was Instinct's largest annual sampling event, and we handed out thousands of samples.
• Served as a "cultural bloodhound" on interview panels, trusted to assess whether candidates were a good cultural fit.

Senior Marketing Analyst, Gatorade Endurance 2015 – 2017

• Led eCommerce and retail strategy and grew revenue 25% year over year in 2016.
• Reported monthly on portfolio performance, trends, and competitive analysis using first-party and syndicated data (Circana, formerly IRI and NPD).
• Optimized performance of digital media, paid social, and paid search using analytical results.
• Oversaw creative and digital agencies' campaign development and execution across digital, social, website, and print.
• Managed seven field sales representatives and grew retail accounts 70% in 2017.
• Collaborated with internal and external partners to launch PepsiCo's first business-to-business and direct-to-consumer eCommerce platform.
• Launched innovation products with a cross-functional team.

Marketing Analyst, Gatorade 2013 – 2015

• Designed and tracked KPIs for 40 field representatives.
• Overhauled the internal marketing and sales reporting structure and presented weekly reports to senior leadership.
• Directed four outside agencies on the creation of field marketing events, sales tools, and point of sale materials.
• Received the "Unsung Hero" award in 2014 for accomplishments above and beyond scope of work.

Market Development Associate, Gatorade 2011 – 2013

• Opened 30 new accounts through outside sales.
• Organized and executed field marketing events engaging over 500 athletes per event.
• Presented field insights to the corporate office.

Manager & Senior Strategy Developer

• Oversaw operations of 15 equity options traders, led daily meetings, and reviewed employee performance.
• Traded and managed an equity options portfolio of up to $5 million in assets.

High School Mathematics Teacher

• Taught two sections of Algebra II and Geometry to students in grades 9 through 11.