Product Assistant Manager (Beverage)

The Manager, Product – Beverage owns the beverage category for Starbucks Vietnam and is accountable for its commercial results. The role sets the multi-year beverage strategy and innovation roadmap, leads the product team, and turns strategy into a pipeline of launches that grow sales, margin and customer relevance.

Working closely with key stakeholders, the role identifies product growth opportunities, builds product-platform plans for year-round promotional windows, and shapes future beverage concepts that are customer-centric, relevant, innovative, and consistent with Starbucks brand strategy. The role models Starbucks guiding principles in every decision and interaction.

Key Responsibilities

1. Category Strategy and Commercial Ownership

• Sets the 3-year beverage category strategy and innovation roadmap in line with Starbucks Vietnam business goals and Starbucks brand strategy, and refreshes it every year.
• Owns beverage category results, including sales, gross margin, mix and ticket contribution, and is accountable for meeting the annual operating plan.
• Makes portfolio decisions on which products to add, keep, change or remove, based on financial performance, customer relevance and operational complexity.
• Sets costing and pricing strategy for new products and the full beverage menu, balancing margin goals, price perception and competitive position.

2. Innovation Pipeline and Portfolio Management

• Leads the annual product pipeline and the product-platform plan for every promotional window, with clear business goals, timelines and success measures for each launch.
• Shapes future beverage concepts and platforms that are customer-centric, relevant, innovative and consistent with Starbucks brand strategy, drawing on consumer insight and market trends.
• Leads cross-functional project teams (Marketing, Operations, Supply Chain, Finance, Store Development, Training) through the full product lifecycle, from concept and business case to launch, review and retirement.
• Runs stage-gate reviews for new products and makes go / no-go recommendations to senior leadership.
• Partners with Starbucks regional teams throughout the product-development process to ensure alignment with applicable brand and product requirements
• Leads integrated programs with other categories (e.g., food, merchandise, coffee) and channels (e.g., delivery, digital, retail) where they add value.

3. Performance Management and Insights

• Sets the category KPIs and the reporting rhythm, and presents beverage performance and outlook to the leadership team on a regular basis.
• Owns category forecasting and works with Finance and Supply Chain to keep demand plans accurate.
• Finds barriers to growth and puts in place corrective action plans when performance falls behind plan.
• Leads consumer-insight and market-research work on trends, competitors and customer needs, and shares the findings and their implications with Starbucks Coffee Asia Pacific and business leaders.
• Evaluates and ranks new product and sales opportunities based on financial viability, growth potential and brand fit.

4. Stakeholder and Partner Management

• Builds strong relationships with senior stakeholders across the matrix organization, aligns priorities, and resolves conflicts and dependencies that affect the pipeline.
• Manages key suppliers and external partners for ingredients and beverage development, including selection, cost negotiation, quality and continuity of supply, together with Procurement and Quality Assurance.
• Works with Operations and Training so that new beverages are practical to make in store, meet speed-of-service and quality standards, and are launched with the right partner (barista) training.
• Oversees beverage development, system setup and launch administration so that products are delivered on time and to standard.

5. People Leadership

• Leads, coaches and develops the beverage product team, and sets clear goals, priorities and performance expectations.
• Assigns work across the team and the pipeline so that resources match business priorities.
• Builds a team culture that is collaborative, customer-focused and consistent with Starbucks Mission and Values.

Key Performance Indicators

• Beverage category sales and gross margin against the annual operating plan.
• Sales and margin contribution from new products and promotional windows.
• Pipeline delivery: launches on time, on budget and to brand standard.
• Forecast accuracy for new and core beverages.
• Team engagement, development and retention.

Experience

• At least 5 years of progressive product-management or category-management experience in food and beverage, quick-service restaurants, coffee or FMCG, with a strong focus on beverages.
• Proven record of leading cross-functional projects from concept to launch in a matrix organization.
• Experience working with regional or global headquarters in a multinational company is preferred.

Required Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

• Strong strategic thinking, with the ability to turn market and consumer insight into a clear category strategy and pipeline.
• Deep beverage-development knowledge, including beverage construction, recipes and ingredients, and experience sourcing ingredients and managing suppliers.
• Strong commercial and financial skills, including P&L management, pricing, forecasting, business-case development and reporting.
• Proven leadership skills, with the ability to coach, develop and motivate a team.
• Strong influencing and negotiation skills, with the ability to align senior stakeholders and guide decisions across functions without formal authority.
• Ability to present clearly and persuasively to senior leadership and regional teams.
• Sound judgment and decisiveness, including in ambiguous situations and under time pressure.
• Strong organizational and prioritization skills, with the ability to manage several launches and priorities at once and meet deadlines.
• Fluency in English and Vietnamese; another Asian language is an advantage.