Founded in 2003 by Dong Hyun Kim, his mission was simple, to make fresh and flavorsome sushi and bento available to everyone.

Almost 20 years later Wasabi have 39 successful branches across London, other UK major cities and 4 in New York.

The journey continued in 2019 with the launch of Wasabi Home Bento exclusively into Sainsburys. After several years of great success there, the grocery business expanded launching into Tesco in September 2022. Wasabi has now firmly established itself as the No2 chilled ready meal brand and a driver of significant market growth. And we’re just getting started. The leadership team have set out their 5 year strategy which encompasses company growth, franchise and international expansion.

Our menu is renowned for its distinctiveness, freshness and flavour. The cold food range of sushi, pokes and salads are made fresh daily in our branch kitchens and our hot bento, noodle bowls and soups offer an indulgent and comforting alternative to our broad and democratic demographic.

As we prepare for our next phase of growth and innovation, we have an incredibly exciting opportunity for a Grocery Marketing Manager to join our Marketing Team based in Park Royal.

The Role:

As the marketing lead for Wasabi Grocery, you’ll help shape the strategy and bring our brand to life through bold campaigns, compelling retailer plans and exciting customer initiatives. You’ll lead the Grocery marketing programme across integrated campaigns, new product and category launches, packaging development and shopper activation. Through creative, commercially focused marketing, you’ll help Wasabi stand out and unlock new opportunities for growth.

Working closely with the Head of Grocery Marketing and teams across Marketing, Sales, Category, Insights and Food, you’ll use consumer, shopper and retailer insight to identify opportunities and shape impactful marketing plans. You’ll lead and inspire the Brand Manager and Shopper Marketing Manager, bringing brand and shopper marketing together to build our brand, engage shoppers and drive sales.

This role is a great opportunity for someone looking to join an ambitious, high-growth challenger brand, where they can make a real impact and help shape the future of Wasabi in Grocery.

Key Responsibilities:

Grocery Brand Leadership & Marketing Planning

· Act as the day-to-day marketing lead for the Wasabi Grocery business, translating the grocery marketing strategy into integrated annual marketing plans ensuring alignment to business priorities.

· Partner closely with the Head of Grocery Marketing to support the development and execution of brand growth plans, ensuring activity is aligned to commercial priorities, retailer objectives and business goals.

· Lead and develop the Grocery Marketing Team, providing direction, priorities and support to the Brand Manager and Shopper Marketing Manager to ensure joined up planning and effective delivery across consumer and shopper marketing.

· Coordinate and influence cross-functional teams and senior stakeholders to ensure marketing plans are delivered effectively at pace.

· Provide strategic oversight of the Grocery marketing programme, working closely with the Brand Manager to ensure the annual marketing calendar, campaigns and go-to-market activity are delivered consistently and to a high standard.

Creative, Campaign & Agency Leadership

· Own the annual Grocery marketing calendar, ensuring integrated consumer and shopper marketing activity is planned effectively across social, digital, PR, retail media, in-store and other relevant channels.

· Lead key agency relationships across creative, media and PR partners, setting briefs, managing feedback, and maintaining high output standards.

· Champion bold, distinctive creative thinking within the agreed brand framework, ensuring all marketing activity is consistent with Wasabi's brand positioning and delivers maximum impact across consumer and shopper touchpoints.

· Embed a robust post-activity analysis process, ensuring learnings are captured and fed back into future planning.

Innovation, Category & Brand Plans

· Support the development of the innovation pipeline by bringing together consumer, category and retailer insight to identify growth opportunities and strengthen launch plans.

· Ensure marketing plays an active role throughout the innovation process, from concept development through to post-launch evaluation.

· Lead the development and delivery of brand plans with key retailer customers, partnering closely with sales and category to align on shared objectives and deliver best-in-class retailer marketing plans.

· Lead the marketing workstream for packaging development and redesign projects partnering with Marketing and Design.

Insight, Performance & Reporting

· Champion a consumer-first approach, ensuring consumer, shopper, retailer and market insight informs marketing plans and business decisions.

· Own marketing performance measurement and reporting across brand and shopper activity, ensuring plans are tracked against agreed KPIs and insights are used to optimise investment and effectiveness both in-flight and post campaign.

· Work closely with the Customer Insights Manager and Category Growth Manager to surface growth opportunities and bring insight to briefs and strategy.

Stakeholder & Cross-functional Leadership

· Build strong relationships across Marketing, Sales, Category, Food and Finance to ensure marketing priorities are aligned with wider business objectives.

· Represent Grocery Marketing in cross-functional forums, influencing stakeholders and driving collaborative decision-making.Collaborate with the Restaurant Marketing team to ensure a joined-up Wasabi brand experience across channels where appropriate.

Budget Management

· Manage the Grocery marketing budget across brand and shopper, ensuring investment is effectively prioritised, accurately tracked and delivers strong return on investment.

· Provide timely financial reporting to the Head of Marketing, flagging risks and opportunities as they arise.

Our Requirements:

Proven experience in a senior marketing role within FMCG, with experience across grocery, retail or consumer brands.

· Strong experience developing and delivering annual brand plans, with a solid understanding of shopper marketing and retailer activation.

· Demonstrable experience leading new range or product launches from concept development through to successful market execution.

· Commercially astute, with the ability to balance consumer insight, retailer objectives and business priorities to deliver measurable growth.

· Strong understanding of consumer, category and shopper insight, with the ability to translate data into actionable marketing recommendations.

· Proven ability to influence and coordinate cross-functional teams, building strong relationships across Commercial, Sales, Category, Food and Finance.

· The ability to operate at pace when not everything is perfectly defined.

· Experience overseeing creative, media and PR agencies, providing strategic direction while supporting high-quality campaign delivery.

· A collaborative leader with a passion for coaching and developing others

· Highly curious, proactive and solutions-focused, with the resilience and adaptability to thrive in a fast-paced, evolving business

In return we provide:

A great working environment
Pension scheme
Target Bonus
Refer A Friend Scheme
Free Sushi or hot food (vegan options available)
50% discount in our Branches
Employee Assistant Programme
Long Service Awards
Stream - a financial wellbeing benefit that lets you access your pay as you earn it in real time and manage savings
Life Assurance
Cycle To Work
Free on-site parking
A variety of discounts (shopping, food & drink, entertainment and health & fitness) through Perkbox
Online GP service via Perkbox and
The opportunity to develop your skills within a growing company.

Our people make us who we are. If you're looking for an exciting challenge and this sounds like the job for you please apply today as we can't wait to hear from you.

COME ROLL WITH US!