Category Manager - Food

Our client is looking for a Category Manager to lead the growth and profitability of the Food category. This role will own the end-to-end category P&L, drive portfolio strategy, and work cross-functionally to deliver sustainable growth across channels.

The ideal candidate combines strong business acumen, consumer understanding, and execution rigor, with prior experience in food/FMCG categories.

Key Responsibilities

1. Category Strategy & P&L Ownership

- Own revenue, profitability, and market share for the Food category

- Define short-term and long-term category growth strategy

- Identify opportunities for expansion across sub-categories, formats, and price points

2. Portfolio & Product Strategy

- Drive portfolio mix (core vs premium vs value segments)

- Lead new product development (NPD), innovation, and renovation initiatives

- Identify gaps based on consumer insights and competitive benchmarking

3. Pricing & Commercial Planning

- Define pricing architecture and margin structure

- Work with finance to ensure profitability targets are met

- Plan promotions, trade spends, and discounting strategies

4. Cross-Functional Collaboration

- Partner with Brand/Marketing teams on campaigns and launches

- Work closely with Sales to drive distribution, visibility, and channel performance

- Collaborate with Supply Chain to ensure demand planning and inventory optimization

5. Consumer & Market Insights

- Analyze consumer behavior, trends, and category dynamics

- Track competitor activity and benchmark performance

- Use data to drive decision-making and category interventions

6. Channel Strategy (GT / MT / E-commerce)

- Define channel-wise strategy and assortment planning

- Optimize performance across General Trade, Modern Trade, and Online platforms

- Drive growth through emerging channels (quick commerce, marketplaces)

Key Requirements

- 6-10 years of experience in FMCG / Food / D2C category management, marketing, or business roles

- Strong understanding of food categories (snacks, staples, packaged foods, beverages, etc.)

- Proven experience managing P&L and driving growth metrics

- Strong analytical skills with comfort in data-driven decision-making

- Experience working cross-functionally with Sales, Marketing, and Supply Chain