Category Manager – Bakery
Company
Are you a Category Executive or working in a junior Insights role and looking for your first Category Manager position? An exciting opportunity has arisen to join one of the UK’s fastest-growing bakery manufacturers as a Category Manager.
Their product range includes both branded and private label breads and morning goods. The business has secured national distribution across the Retail, Wholesale, and Foodservice channels and has also seen significant success in the Export market. Over the last five years, they have grown profitably from £200m to £400m, driven by category-leading NPD and the launch of the fastest growing bakery brand in the market. Their expansion into new markets includes the development of a state of the art production facility in Europe to support European growth.
With an outstanding reputation across the industry, their success has been recognised through multiple industry and supplier awards. Due to their continued growth and increased demand, they are now looking to add an additional Category Manager to their team.
Key Responsibilities
Position Overview
As a Category Manager, you will play a pivotal role in driving growth for our brands and supporting our customers. Using data-driven insights and strong relationship-building skills, you will develop collaborative strategies that align with commercial priorities and deliver impactful results.
Key Responsibilities
1. Manage category performance across key UK Grocery accounts.
2. Build strong partnerships with retailers, providing category insights and fulfilling ad hoc analysis requests.
3. Identify market trends and opportunities to drive growth.
4. Lead internal and external presentations, including retailer brand planning days and category reviews.
5. Drive category rationale for securing product listings and expanding distribution.
6. Conduct competitor analysis and store visits to stay ahead of market trends.
Requirements
The ideal candidate will have 2-3 years of experience in a Category or Insights role within the food industry. They will possess strong analytical skills, with the ability to translate large datasets into meaningful insights. Excellent relationship-building, communication, and influencing skills are essential, as is the ability to engage both internal and external stakeholders. A strong commercial mindset, combined with an understanding of shopper behaviour and market trends, will be crucial to success in this role. Proficiency in Excel at an advanced level is required, along with the ability to present data in an engaging and actionable way.
Location
This is a hybrid role, with the successful candidate spending 2-3 days per week at the company's Bedfordshire head office.
Benefits
£40,000 – £50,000 + Bonus & Benefits
#J-18808-Ljbffr