Category Development Manager

Category Development Manager

The Category Manager directly assists the Director of Category Development in creating consumer- and customer-focused strategies, tactics, and category-based solutions. This role involves performing high-quality analyses and synthesizing multiple data sources to produce insights and actionable recommendations. Additionally, the individual will use effective communication and influencing skills to drive implementation across national small-format customers.

The ideal candidate should exhibit strong business judgment, excellent communication skills, and proven experience in areas such as assortment planning, negotiation, pricing strategies, online product presentation, sales, and cultivating productive relationships.

This role is also eligible to sit in the following locations : Atlanta, GA, Chicago, IL, Denver, CO.

Category Development

Develop and nurture strong business relationships with external retail partners, positioning RBNA as the essential partner for all category management needs.

Acquire in-depth knowledge of products, attributes, strategies, tactics, and competitive trends in the marketplace for assigned categories, both online and offline.

Manage the development and execution of comprehensive strategies for assortment / merchandising optimization, new product launches, seasonal programs, and pricing / promotional planning and evaluation across online and offline channels.

Utilize data from various sources to create impactful analyses and persuasive sales stories, identifying risks, opportunities, and performance gaps (e.g., distribution, assortment mix, incrementality, product sizing, shelving, placement).

Apply critical thinking and problem-solving skills to proactively identify and address challenges and opportunities, enhancing analyses beyond basic reporting and translating insights into actionable retail strategies.

Collaborate effectively with teams across Sales, Marketing, Shopper Marketing, Consumer Insights, Brand, eCommerce, and other Category Leadership resources to lead performance management efforts, including streamlining reporting processes, conducting macro assessments, and analyzing opportunity gaps.

Direct the use of Red Bull's Category Management resources to develop strategic plans that align with the goals of assigned customer teams.

Lead discussions with retailers to implement category development programs focused on driving overall category growth opportunities.

Integrate the customer business planning process with broader strategic business objectives.

Transform insights into actionable strategies by executing, analyzing, and evaluating category plans to uncover and leverage key opportunities for both Red Bull and its retail partners.

Deliver compelling presentations showcasing Red Bull's category management expertise to significant retail partners.

Category Management

Develop a comprehensive and in-depth understanding of the Energy category and the broader beverage market.

Deliver advanced Category Management solutions by leveraging insights from IRI and Nielsen syndicated scanning data, Household Panel data, market demographic data, customer point-of-sale systems, loyalty data, and other relevant resources used for Category reviews.

Create, develop, and present regular Category reviews, strategic plans, and actionable strategies to Retailer partners.

Perform business analysis to provide insights on sales performance, pricing trends, and opportunity gaps to drive incremental volume growth.

Oversee the creation of Planograms and manage store-level roundtable processes with Retailers to implement best-in-class strategies for the Category.

Analysis

Conduct analysis on new product introductions and assess their performance.

Deliver insights on new product / package mix analysis.

Develop evaluations to highlight the effectiveness of merchandising efforts, including displays and promotions.

Create, maintain, and enhance regular internal and retailer-specific scorecards and tracking tools.

Provide ad-hoc category management reports, trend analyses, customized reporting, and support for special projects directly to internal or external stakeholders as needed.

Stay updated on advancements and best practices in Category Management, continuously seeking knowledge to enhance departmental capabilities and professional adaptability.

Qualifications

A Bachelor's degree in Business, Marketing, Management, Accounting, Data Analytics, or a related field is preferred.

A minimum of 3-5 years of experience in consumer goods, retail, or syndicated data with a focus on category management, sales, business analytics, and / or shopper insights.

Extensive experience in understanding, utilizing, and applying syndicated data, customer card / POS data, and panel data to drive internal and external success through sales and market share growth (experience with data sources such as Nielsen, Circana, NPD, Numerator, 84.51, dunnhumby, SPINS, Stratum, Spectra / demographics, SPSOneScreen, Symphony Retail AI / EYC).

Demonstrated ability to develop indispensable, collaborative partnerships with retail customers and internal business partners across functional teams.

Proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite (Excel, Word, and PowerPoint).

Knowledge of retail merchandising and in-store execution tactics.

CPCM (Certified Professional Category Manager) certification and / or a Master's degree are preferred.

Experience in sales and / or analytical sales support with a track record of driving face-to-face engagement and initiatives is preferred.

Additional experience managing relationships with third-party agencies, including brokers, as well as data and insight providers, is preferred.

Experience in the beverages DSD industry is highly preferred.

Additional analytical skills and competencies (e.g., Tableau, Microsoft Access, Power BI, ProSpace, SQL, VBA, Alteryx) are preferred.