Sr Manager Consumer Insights

We are seeking a strategic and innovative Senior Manager of Consumer Insights to lead our Consumer Insights function at Yerba Madre. This role will lead various forms of research to build a comprehensive understanding of our consumers through integration of multiple data sources (quantitative and qualitative), advanced analytics, and (ideally) AI-powered insights. This role requires extensive collaboration and partnership with the cross-functional teams to synthesize complex data and drive strategic decision-making across new products, marketing, and brand positioning. This is a hybrid position, and this person will be expected to be in our Oakland, CA office 2-3 times a week.

What you’ll provide

• Consumer understanding at depth: Lead primary research (e.g., Segmentation, A&U, journeys, personas, motivations/psychographics).

• Omnichannel synthesis: Combine quant qual, social listening, reviews/Reddit, CX feedback, custom studies, and sales/customer data (with Category Dev) into a single view.

• AI-powered insight generation: Operationalize ML/NLP to mine open-ended feedback and large datasets; build repeatable pipelines for faster, richer learning.

• Education & enablement: Create toolkits, readouts, and learning forums that strengthen the org’s consumer fluency.

• Hands-on partner-led research: Comfort executing DIY scrappy work and guiding external vendors to scale.

What you’ll contribute

Foundational Consumer Understanding & Omnichannel Data Synthesis (~25%)

• Design and run strategic primary studies with internal/external partners.

• Maintain a living knowledge estate (personas, JTBD, journeys) that informs brand and product decisions.

• Organize multi-stream insights into clear, accessible narratives for teams.

Product / Innovation Insights (~60%)

• Consumer Needs & JTBD: Map unmet needs, barriers, rituals, whitespace to feed the pipeline.

• Category & Trend Research: Track macro/micro trends, culture scans, competitive landscape, future-of-beverage signals.

• Innovation Research Toolkit: Agile testing from concepts/claims to packaging, flavor names, pricing.

• Product Testing: Build processes for exploratory work plus CLTs/IHUTs; define success metrics.

• Post-Launch Evaluation: Measure trial, repeat, sentiment; translate learnings to the roadmap.

• Claims Development: Optimize consumer-facing claims across touchpoints.

• Brand inputs: Feed positioning, messaging, and creative briefs with sharp consumer truths.

Brand / Marketing Support (~15%)

• Trend translation for content/comms: Turn signals into briefs and campaign springboards.

• Brand tracking & equity: Partner with vendors to monitor awareness, consideration, penetration, associations vs. competition.

• Creative/message testing: Pre-test ideas, headlines, and claims (e.g., Loops).

• Cultural listening: Keep teams tapped into relevant food & bev culture.

How you’ll do it (Methodology Innovation)

• Build approaches with an innovator’s mindset to increase speed, quality, and efficiency.

• Bridge general population Yerba Mate consumer research with our Ambacebadores (influencer community) for authenticity and scale.

• Implement AI/ML to accelerate synthesis and pattern detection; apply NLP to open-ends, social, and review data.

• Pilot emerging tools/methods that deepen understanding without sacrificing rigor.

Research operations & vendor management

• Manage budget, vendors, and standards to optimize cost and quality.

• Build/maintain a research panel & community for ongoing engagement.

• Establish best practices, file hygiene, version control, and a searchable insights library.

What We Offer:

Yerba Madre—formerly Guayakí Yerba Mate—is the nearly 30-year pioneer of regenerative yerba mate [yer-bah ma-tay] and the category leader in ready-to-drink mate beverages across North America. The name Yerba Madre, meaning “Mother Herb,” is a tribute to Mother Earth and the ancestral wisdom of the Indigenous communities who have cultivated yerba mate for generations —a reflection of the values the brand has championed since day one. 

Headquartered in Sebastopol and Venice, California, Yerba Madre sources organic, shade-grown yerba mate in direct partnership with 255 family farmers and Indigenous communities across Argentina, Brazil, and Paraguay. Using its Market Driven Regeneration™ model, every purchase helps reforest the Atlantic Forest, support fair trade premiums, and build long-term economic resilience for grower communities. 

In 2025, the brand became the world’s first yerba mate to achieve Regenerative Organic Certified™ Gold® status——setting a new global standard for ecological integrity, cultural respect, and environmental restoration. 

As an original founding member of the B Corp community and a founding member of the Purpose Pledge, Yerba Madre is committed to ethical business practices across ten key pillars, including climate positivity, living wages, circularity, and inclusion. Yerba Madre is available in over 45,000 retail locations across the U.S. and Canada. To learn more, visit www.YerbaMadre.com. 

Yerba Madre is an equal-opportunity employer committed to creating a diverse and inclusive workplace. All qualified applicants will be treated with respect and receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, creed, religion, sex, gender identity, genetic information, sexual orientation, national origin, disability, uniform service, Veteran status, age, or any other protected characteristic per federal, state, or local law, including those with a criminal history, in a manner consistent with the requirements of applicable state and local laws, including the CA Fair Chance Initiative for Hiring Ordinance.