Brand Business Unit Manager

Emma's Garden is looking for a Business Unit Manager to further grow our biodiversity brand for gardens and balconies: from a strong Belgian base to a pan-European, omnichannel brand. In this role, you will be responsible for brand, assortment, distribution, and P&L. You will work from Brussels, with regular presence at our sites in Lennik and Ghislenghien.

We founded Emma's Garden in 2020 within the Vadigran Group, a Belgian family business. In the meantime, the brand has outgrown the way we run it today.

With around €3M in revenue and double-digit annual growth, Emma's Garden is a well-known name in the specialized garden and pet retail in Belgium and France.

We believe that one of the greatest opportunities to restore biodiversity is closer to home than most people think. In Europe, over 100 million people have a garden or balcony. Each bird feeder, insect hotel, hedgehog house, or nature-friendly corner may seem like a small act on its own. Together, they form a connected network of habitats that supports nature on a large scale. This means more biodiversity, more greenery, less heat, and better water management: a healthier environment for humans and animals.

That is Emma's Garden's ambition: to help millions of people make a positive impact on nature, right outside their own front door.

That is why we are developing Emma's Garden into an independent business unit, and we are looking for an entrepreneur who shares that ambition and wants to build a Belgian brand into the leading European biodiversity brand for gardens and balconies.

As Business Unit Manager of Emma's Garden, you will lead the brand as if it were your own company. You will shape the strategy, assortment, distribution, brand, and P&L.

You will start with one colleague by your side, and the team will grow with the business. Yet, you will never be alone: Emma's Garden is part of Vadigran Group and can count on the colleagues of the group in logistics, sales, finance, purchasing, IT, and other support functions. You will have the freedom of a start-up, with the support of a €32M group behind you.

Let's be honest about what this is: a small unit with a big ambition. You might work on strategy in the morning, and help pack a box of samples in the afternoon. Today, the brand is strong in specialized retail in two countries. The step towards pan-European and omnichannel is still ahead of us, and we are happy to take it with you.

A typical day? You dive into the sell-out figures of a garden center chain and decide which references to push extra and which to phase out. You call a supplier in Poland about a prototype for a new insect hotel. You brief your colleague on the content for the spring campaign. And you end the day with a first meeting with a retailer in a country where Emma's Garden is not yet on the shelves.

Your main responsibilities

Leading the business unit

• Managing the P&L of Emma's Garden: revenue, margin, costs, and investment choices
• Developing the business plan and roadmap, from €3M to a pan-European brand
• Coaching and growing the team: starting with one colleague and expanding as the business grows
• Close collaboration with group functions (logistics, sales, finance, purchasing, IT)
• Setting up simple, lean processes to ensure the business runs smoothly

Developing the brand

• Making Emma's Garden the first brand people think of when they want to do something good for nature in their garden
• Shaping positioning, identity, and brand consistency across products, packaging, and communication
• Creating inspiring and educational content: guides, video, social media, newsletters, and PR around biodiversity
• Translating ecological knowledge into simple, attractive stories that inspire people to take action

Growing distribution: pan-European and omnichannel

• Expanding beyond Belgium and France to the broader European market
• Developing the mix of retail channels: garden centers, pet specialty stores, nature and lifestyle retail
• Developing our own webshop and connecting to marketplaces and other platforms
• Building and maintaining the portfolio of distributors and key accounts, together with our sales organization
• Ensuring availability follows demand, in collaboration with supply chain and purchasing

Developing the assortment

• Translating consumer insights and market trends into new products and categories
• Guiding product development from concept to launch: specifications, materials, sustainability, safety, prototypes, testing, and validation
• Managing the entire product lifecycle: expanding categories, launching, monitoring margins, and phasing out what doesn't work
• Finding and negotiating with suppliers in Europe and Asia regarding price, MOQ, delivery times, samples, and quality

In a few years:

• Emma's Garden is a reference brand for biodiversity in the garden in several European countries
• The brand is available where consumers actually shop, in-store and online
• Revenue and margin have grown to a multiple of the current level, and the team has grown along
• New products and categories have been successfully launched
• There is measurably more life in European gardens thanks to what we sell

What you bring

• Entrepreneurial experience: you have built or grown something yourself, whether it's your own company, a new brand, or a new activity within a company
• Experience in sales, marketing, and product development in consumer goods
• You are fluent in French and English
• Love for gardens, nature, and animals

A plus if you also bring this

• Experience with ultimate responsibility for a P&L or a business unit
• Experience in e-commerce

How you work

• You take ownership: the brand, the figures, and the people you work with are close to your heart
• You like to roll up your sleeves: in a small team, strategy and execution go hand in hand
• You have commercial insight: you understand margins, pricing, and which investments truly yield growth
• You are a brand thinker and storyteller: you know how brands grow and how content builds preference
• You make well-considered choices, based on data, and you are open to adjustments when the data indicate a different direction
• You believe that commercial growth and positive impact go hand in hand, and you like to demonstrate this in the results
• You like to connect: with colleagues within the group, retail partners, and suppliers

Practical matters

• You work from our office in Brussels and are regularly present at our production site in Lennik and our distribution center in Ghislenghien (Ath)
• You are willing to travel in Europe and Asia

• The closest you'll get to running your own business without having to finance it yourself: a real brand, real customers, real cash flow, and real freedom
• A family business with a warm, familial atmosphere in the office: results-oriented but flexible
• Short decision lines and few hierarchical layers
• A competitive salary in line with your expertise and experience, with a bonus linked to the performance of your business unit
• An electric company car with a charging card
• A mobile phone subscription and a laptop
• Meal and eco-cheques
• Flexible working hours and the possibility to work from home
• Employee discount on all Vadigran Group products, ideal for pampering your two or four-legged friends
• Quarterly events to catch up with colleagues from the entire group
• And yes, your dog is welcome at the office