Creative Strategist - Food and Beverage

Summary

Creative Strategist - Food and Beverage

About JLB

JLB is a retail business consulting firm dedicated to driving business growth for our clients. We offer Sales,Account Management, Category Management, Consumer Research, Business Insights, Creative Strategy + Experience and Retail Services support for numerous brands  team comes from a variety of backgrounds,and we are committed to fostering an environment that promotes diversity and inclusion.

The Role

Creative Strategist, Food & Beverage

The Creative Strategist, Food & Beverage is responsible for identifying and translating market and consumer trends into actionable business opportunities. This category-specific role leverages trend research (macro, product, cultural, and behavioral) and industry insights - from global trend resources, trade shows, and digital analysis - to uncover white space that aligns with retailer, merchant, and client strategies.

Partnering with cross-functional stakeholders including Sales, Category Management, Consumer Insights, and Merchants, the Creative Strategist, Food & Beverage delivers tailored trend reports, consumer mindset updates, and inspiration sessions that drive strategic decision‑making.

This role influences assortment planning, product development, and new business opportunities, while also shaping merchandising strategies. The Creative Strategist, Food & Beverage collaborates closely with Creative Team to bring concepts to life through merchandising, marketing, and showroom displays.

Responsibilities

• Research Market and Product Trends: macro, consumer, cultural, and category specific trends. Demonstrates mastery in researching and tracking market trends using trend resources, observational trends from trade shows, market tours, and extensive digital research to gain deep insights to identify retail trends and white space opportunities. Uses trend curve to align findings within company definitions and expectations
• Trend Reporting: Using understanding of company strategy and initiatives, connects the dots between observations from the market, trade show analysis, reports from leading trend publications and digital media. Expertly analyzes and applies trend research to create custom trend analysis reports that include macro, consumer, and product trends for a category. Creates and presents impactful reports inclusive of concise yet aspirational storytelling that shape product and merchandising strategies
• Business Development: Actively identifies new brands, products, style and new business opportunities that align with company initiatives while understanding the difference between a fad and a long-term trend. Proactively partners with sales and insights leads to ensure continuous focus on outputting trends and white space opportunities for current brand partners that grow share of wallet with the company.
• Strategic guidance and inspire action: Lead and inspire clients through trend safaris, brainstorms, workshops, line-review support, and ad‑hoc projects. Curate itineraries to inspire new ideas, create ideation plans, prepare stimulus aligned to client needs, highlight innovation and trends to drive new product development, and support seasonal strategy through strategic guidance and trend material
• Relationships: Serves as a trusted advisor and strategic thought partner to clients. Responsible for intimately understanding company strategies, brand strategies and the marketplace to help identify opportunities that can best drive business and grow share of wallet. Demonstrates the ability to navigate and balance needs of clients and the company. Able to interact at all levels of clients with comfort and ease
• Lead Creative
  
  Experience:
  
  Through the lens of company strategies, directs and inspires the…