Consumer Affairs Manager

About Us:

Trilliant Food & Nutrition is a leading, vertically integrated manufacturer of premium coffees and powdered beverages, proudly headquartered in Little Chute, Wisconsin. With a legacy rooted in quality, innovation, and service, Trilliant delivers branded and private label solutions across retail, foodservice, and e-commerce channels.

Horseshoe Beverage Company, based in Neenah, WI, is a leading ready-to-drink beverage manufacturer dedicated to delivering an exceptional beverage experience. By combining industry-leading talent, cutting-edge equipment, and a vertically integrated supply chain, we drive innovation and consistently deliver the highest quality products to our customers-first and fast.

Our brand portfolio includes Victor Allen's, Dutch Bros beverages and Nurri, our better-for-you protein beverage line. We are passionate about beverages - and about building a team that's just as energized. We invite you to explore opportunities at Trilliant or Horseshoe, to see if your talents and career aspirations may fit with our openings.

Our Core Values:

Diversity and Inclusion at Trilliant and Horseshoe:

We believe talented, great people are the building blocks of our success. We believe in finding the right people, with the right attitude, and providing them with opportunities to excel.

Position Overview:

The Consumer Affairs Manager/Director is accountable for building, leading, and continuously improving the Trilliant Food Consumer Affairs function. This includes managing consumer interactions, developing a robust complaint handling and trending system, and transforming consumer feedback into actionable insights for business decision-making. This role ensures consumer trust through regulatory-compliant communication, while also supporting brand protection and long-term strategic improvements in product, process, and packaging.

Responsibilities:

Consumer Program Development

* Design, implement, and manage a comprehensive Consumer Affairs Program that aligns with corporate objectives, regulatory requirements, and industry best practices.

* Establish policies, SOPs, and training modules for consumer contact handling, documentation, escalation, and regulatory reporting.

* Define key program metrics (response time, resolution rate, consumer satisfaction, repeat complaint rate) and drive accountability across teams.

Data Analytics & Trending

* Develop and oversee systems for capturing, coding, and categorizing consumer feedback across multiple channels (call center, email, digital, social media, retail feedback).

* Conduct statistical trending and root cause analysis on consumer complaints, identifying emerging risks and recurring issues.

* Create weekly, monthly, and quarterly dashboards to communicate complaint trends, product performance, and consumer sentiment to senior leadership, Operations, R&D, and Marketing.

* Integrate consumer complaint data with quality, food safety, and production data to provide a holistic view of product performance in the market.

* Benchmark consumer complaint rates against industry standards and competitive data when available.

Quality, Food Safety & Compliance Alignment

* Ensure all consumer interactions and complaint investigations comply with FDA, USDA, CFIA, EFSA,HACCP, GMP, GFSI standardsand other applicable regulations.

* Support Regulatory and Quality in reportable event tracking and ensure proper documentation for recalls, withdrawals, and adverse event monitoring.

* Partner with manufacturing sites, R&D, and suppliers to close the loop on consumer complaints through CAPA processes.

Cross-Functional & Strategic Collaboration

* Serve as the voice of the consumer in company decision-making, ensuring feedback influences product innovation, labeling, packaging, and quality standards.

* Collaborate with Marketing and Corporate Communications to craft consistent consumer-facing messages.

* Provide strategic input during product launches, brand campaigns, and innovation projects, ensuring consumer expectations are proactively addressed.

Leadership & People Development

* Lead, coach, and develop the Consumer Affairs team to handle consumer contacts with empathy, technical accuracy, and brand consistency.

* Build future capability in the team for data analytics, complaint trending, and consumer engagement best practices.

* Foster a consumer-first culture across the company through training and communication.

* Partner with Supply Chain, Procurement, and Engineering to ensure systemic improvements tied to consumer feedback.

* Champion cross-functional "consumer feedback loops" that close the gap between the plant floor and senior leadership.

Qualifications:

* Bachelor's degree in Food Science, Nutrition, Data Analytics, Business, or related field required.

* Advanced degree (MBA, MS, PhD, or equivalent) preferred.

* 7+ years of experience in consumer affairs, consumer insights, or quality systems within the food & beverage, nutrition, or consumer goods industries.

* Demonstrated experience in data analytics, statistical trending, and reporting dashboards.

* Experience developing or enhancing consumer affairs programs, complaint handling systems, or consumer insights functions.

* Leadership experience managing cross-functional initiatives and teams.

* Experience collaborating with manufacturing operations and supplier quality assurance in complaint resolution.

* Experience supporting recalls, withdrawals, or adverse event investigations in food and beverage

* Strong analytical skills with ability to apply statistical methods to consumer complaint and trend data.

* Advanced proficiency in Excel, Power BI, or equivalent analytics platforms.

* Knowledge of CRM, consumer complaint management, and quality management software systems.

* Strong knowledge of food safety, labeling, and consumer protection regulations.

* Excellent written and verbal communication, with ability to translate technical and regulatory language into consumer-friendly messaging.

* Empathy, consumer advocacy, and professionalism in handling sensitive or high-visibility consumer issues.

* Familiarity with complaint-tracking tools that can integrate with ERP, MES, and QMS platforms in a manufacturing environment

* Development and execution of a best-in-class Consumer Affairs Program with clear governance, SOPs, and metrics.

* Establishment of a robust trending and analytics system providing actionable insights to leadership.

* Timely, compliant, and empathetic resolution of consumer inquiries and complaints.

* Tangible influence of consumer insights on new product launches, process improvements, and packaging upgrades.

* Improved consumer trust, satisfaction, and brand reputation.

* Reduction in repeat manufacturing-related complaints (e.g., foreign material, package integrity).

* Improved closure rate and timeliness of CAPAs linked to consumer complaints.

Hours, Location and Pay:

We offer a competitive base pay rate and comprehensive benefits package for full-time employees. This role works standard business hours Monday - Friday at our Little Chute or Neenah, WI manufacturing facility.

Physical and Mental Demands:

* While performing the duties of this job, the employee is frequently required to sit, hear, use hands to type data, use a personal computer and telephone. This employee may occasionally have to operate business machines and lift and/move up to 50 pounds.

* Specific vision abilities required in this job include close vision and the ability to adjust focus. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

* Mental demands include multi-tasking, decision making, problem solving, comparing, copying, computing, compiling, analyzing, coordinating, and synthesizing data.

* Potential for exposure to chemicals, heights, loud noises, mechanical equipment, wet environments, and other potential hazards exists.

Safety Statement:

At Trilliant and Horseshoe, safety is every employee's first responsibility. We expect all employees to adhere to all safety practices, have the moral courage to stop other individuals from performing unsafe acts, and immediately report unsafe conditions.

Disclosures:

* The above statements are intended to describe the general nature and level of work being performed by people assigned to this classification. They are not to be construed as an exhaustive list of all responsibilities, duties, and skills required of personnel so classified. All personnel may be required to perform duties outside of their normal responsibilities from time to time, as needed.

* Responsible for following food safety/regulatory policies and procedures, executing responsibilities as identified in standard operating procedures, and reporting food safety/regulatory concerns to the Production or Quality Manager.

* Trilliant Food & Nutrition and Horseshoe Beverage Company are Drug Free Workplaces. All applicants are subject to a drug screen and background check as a condition of employment.

* Trilliant Food and Nutrition and Horseshoe Beverage participate in the E-Verify process.

* EEO/AA including Vets and Disabled

* If you need a reasonable accommodation for any part of the employment process, please contact us by email at HR@trilliantfood.com and let us know the nature of your request and your contact information.

* Trilliant Food and Nutrition and Horseshoe Beverage are Equal Opportunity Employers.

* The principles of the OECD and UN have been taken into consideration and used as guidance in our human rights practices and procedures.