Category Manager - Food & Beverages (3-7 yrs)

Category Manager - Food & Beverages

Key Responsibilities:

Consumer-Centric Product Strategy:

- Customer Research & Insights: Lead consumer research efforts to identify both explicit and latent needs through surveys, focus groups, and market analysis. Use these insights to drive the development of innovative food products that meet customer demands.

- Trends Analysis: Stay on top of global and local food and beverage trends, particularly in the convenience food space, and leverage that knowledge to create forward-thinking product concepts.

- Segmentation & Positioning: Understand and define the customer segments that will be served by the fresh food & beverages category. Position products according to taste preferences, health-conscious trends, convenience, and affordability.

Product Development & Innovation:

- Product Conceptualization: Translate consumer needs and market trends into tangible product concepts. Work cross-functionally with culinary teams and design to create viable and appealing food offerings.

- Culinary Excellence: If applicable, contribute your culinary knowledge to ensure products are of high quality, well-received, and easily producible within the given constraints.

- Branding &Positioning: Develop a strong food brand identity, from packaging to messaging, ensuring the brand speaks to the target audience in a compelling way.

End-to-End Product Lifecycle Management:

- Product Launches: Oversee the development and launch of new products, including market testing, pilot rollouts, and full-scale launches. Use a data-driven approach to assess the success of new product lines.

- Continuous Improvement: Implement a feedback loop from both customers and internal stakeholders (store managers, sales teams) to iterate on products and ensure that they continue to meet evolving consumer preferences.

- P&L Ownership: Take responsibility for the profit and loss of the food category, ensuring products are profitable while maintaining the highest standards of quality.

Cross-Functional Collaboration:

- Sales & Marketing: Collaborate with marketing and sales teams to ensure that product messaging, promotions, and displays resonate with the consumer. Support the development of in-store and online promotional campaigns.

- Operations & Logistics: Work with the operations team to ensure that the supply chain, inventory management, and distribution systems can support the demand for fresh food and beverages across locations.

Supply Chain & Vendor Management:

- Vendor Network Development: Build and manage a strong network of vendors, manufacturers, and suppliers who can consistently deliver quality ingredients and finished products across multiple cities.

- Quality Assurance & Sourcing: Ensure that all products meet strict quality standards and are sourced ethically and sustainably. Establish long-term relationships with suppliers who can scale with the business.

- Cost Optimization: Balance quality and cost-effectiveness by negotiating with vendors and creating a robust supply chain capable of supporting large-scale distribution.

Strategic Growth & Expansion:

- Scaling Products: Identify opportunities to scale successful products across multiple cities, ensuring operational efficiency and consistency across diverse markets.

- Expansion Strategy: Develop strategies for expanding the fresh food and beverages program to new locations, taking into account regional tastes, local preferences, and logistical challenges.

Required Skills & Qualifications:

Educational Background:

- Culinary degree or equivalent experience in food product development. MBA or a business-related qualification is a plus.

Professional Experience:

- At least 3-7 years of experience in food product development, brand building, and/or managing fresh food & beverage categories in a retail or QSR environment.

- Demonstrated experience working with successful food brands (e.g., Faasos, Sharief Bhai, or similar) in both offline and online settings.

- Proven track record of launching and scaling food brands/products in a highly competitive environment.

Key Competencies:

- Strong customer-first mindset with the ability to empathize and deeply understand consumer pain points, desires, and trends.

- Expertise in first principles thinking-using data and foundational reasoning to develop solutions from scratch.

- Creative thinking with a focus on culinary innovation and product differentiation.

- Excellent ability to manage vendor relationships, negotiate contracts, and ensure quality control across the supply chain.

- Strong analytical skills, with the ability to assess product performance, understand market dynamics, and adjust strategies accordingly.

- Project management skills to manage the product lifecycle from concept to launch, including managing timelines, budgets, and resources.

Personal Traits:

- Strong entrepreneurial drive with the ability to take ownership and lead a new business initiative.

- Ability to thrive in a fast-paced, ever-changing environment, with flexibility and adaptability.

- Excellent communication and interpersonal skills for effective collaboration across departments and external partners.

Preferred Skills:

- Prior work experience in consumer goods or the convenience food industry of having launched food products for target demographic

- Experience with online and offline retail setups for food, digital platforms (apps, e-commerce) and/or physical retail locations.

- Strong network of suppliers/vendors for food production, packaging, and distribution across multiple cities