Terribly disappointed. Job did not deliver as pitched. 100% Sales/Ops focus...ZERO Strategic thought/Customer focus - Business Insights Manager Ocean Spray Employee Review

1.0
Jul 30, 2013
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

If you're in Insights or Marketing, you can goof off on YouTube all day and get paid, because the company doesn't value Insights or Marketing, doesn't spend against it, and has very limited resources to support those functions. Everything is done through a narrow SALES/OPS lense, and Insights, being Customer shopper consumer centric, providing thought leadership and delivering Category Strategy, etc. is all lip service. The organization tells their Customers this is important to them, and then returns to status quo....meeting their sales quota by spending all of their money on Trade spend, with VERY little left over for anything else STRATEGIC. Another pro....you have no where to go but up after leaving this org.

Cons

Too many to list. Top 5..1) ZERO Strategic thought, 100% sales/ops/tactical 2) unethical, dishonest Leadership - will make commitments to your face then abandon them when politically expedient 3) ZERO Category Management. Literally not one individual with a Category Manager title in a $2bb company. Remarkable! And speaks to the value Ocean Spray puts on Strategic functions such as being a thought leader and delivering department and category strategy recos 4) No cute girls. Sales meetings are 99.5% white males. The one poor Black dude stuck out like a sore thumb. Good 'ol boy, sales culture can be credited with this and 5) Cranberries are a dying product. Old people buy cranberry juice, and old people are dying. This company has THE WORST innovation pipeline I've ever seen or heard of in my 12 years in Retail/CPG. If you join the company, keep your resume revised and ready to field, because without any real plan for growth, no spend on Customer specific research in support of Customer specific innovation and category mgmt. strategy recos, the revenue outlook over the next 5-10 years is grim. However, the majority of leadership at Ocean Spray are only concerned with hitting bonus and retiring, thus the complete unwillingness to spend in areas outside of Trade to buy down price of juice in hi/lo Grocers, pay for cost of goods in Mass retailers like Walmart, and quid pro quo with retailers to secure slotting and merchandising space.

Explore other reviews about Ocean Spray

5.0
Apr 13, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

* Strong collaboration between IT, product, and business stakeholders * Leadership is open to structured product management practices and roadmap discipline * Opportunity to influence process maturity and product strategy * Fast-moving environment that allows ownership and visible impact

Cons

* Governance and prioritization frameworks are still evolving * Occasional shifts in priorities due to changing business demands * Cross-functional alignment can depend heavily on individual relationships rather than standardized processes * Documentation and long-term product strategy could be more formalized

2.0
Jul 12, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

My team was great to work with.

Cons

Unorganized, production and other staff ruin the schedule to cause issues for others. No help is given when asked

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