Category Manager - Food

Key Responsibilities :

Here are the primary responsibilities you would be expected to handle :

Area Duties :

Category Strategy & Planning :

- Define and execute category strategy aligned with company goals (growth, margin, market share)

- Conduct market, competitor, and customer trend analysis to identify opportunities and gaps

- Build annual / quarterly plans for assortment, pricing, promotions, launch cadence

Assortment & Vendor Management :

- Identify and onboard new suppliers/vendors; negotiate terms, pricing, quality, delivery timelines

- Manage the product lifecycle: introductions, phasing out poor- performers

- Ensure the assortment meets customer needs in terms of SKUs, packaging sizes, standards (quality, safety)

Pricing, Margin & Profitability :

- Set and optimize pricing strategies-trade- offs between volume vs margin

- Monitor cost structures (procurement, logistics, storage), drive cost savings

- Work with finance to forecast margins and ensure category achieves profitability targets

Promotions, Marketing & Demand Stimulation :

- Plan and execute promotional campaigns, discount / incentive schemes to drive sales & improve uptake

- Coordinate with Marketing / Sales / Ops to push category visibility, special offers, etc.

- Monitor effectiveness of promotions and iterate

Inventory & Supply Chain Coordination :

- Ensure stock levels are sufficient to meet demand without excess (optimize turns, reduce wastage)

- Coordinate with operations, warehousing, logistics to ensure timely delivery and quality

- Monitor product expiry, quality, packaging norms, safety standards

Data, Analytics, Reporting & Performance Tracking :

- Track KPIs: sales volume, revenue, margin, inventory turns, vendor compliance, fill rates, returns

- Use dashboards, internal data sources, external market/industry data to make informed decisions

- Regularly review performance, identify issues / risks, propose corrective actions

Cross- Functional Collaboration L

- Work closely with Procurement, Operations, Supply Chain, Quality Assurance, Customer Success, Marketing teams

- Ensure alignment of product offerings with overall company & customer needs

- Be the voice of category in leadership discussions

Customer / Retailer Focus - Understand downstream customer (kirana / retail shop) needs-packaging sizes, pricing, delivery expectations

- Ensure product availability & quality across geographies

- Collect feedback & use it to improve assortment and supplier performance