Category Manager

Summary

Join Once Upon a Farm as a Category Manager and leverage your analytical skills and retail experience to drive category growth. You will be responsible for creating compelling selling tools, building relationships with retailers, and leading category management initiatives across key accounts. This role requires strong analytical skills, experience with syndicated data, and excellent communication abilities. You will collaborate with cross-functional teams to achieve sales objectives and establish Once Upon a Farm as a category leader. The position offers a remote work option with some travel required, along with a competitive salary and comprehensive benefits package.

Requirements

• A Bachelor’s degree in Business, Marketing, or a related field, or equivalent years of experience, required
• 6-8 years of industry experience within Consumer Packaged Goods/Fast Moving Consumer Goods
• 3+ years of Retailer Facing Sales Category Management experience in the food and/or beverage industry
• Expert knowledge of syndicated and panel data tools, including SPINS/IRI/Nielsen
• Expert knowledge of Microsoft Suite, Outlook, Slack, and other professional platforms
• Up to 50% travel required: Although this role is a remote work-from-home position, we “Farmers” do meet as a company and/or as a department a few times a year. Anticipate possible travel up to a few times each quarter
• Exceptional organizational, communication, and time management skills
• Extremely strong analytical skills
• Must be able to establish and maintain strong internal and external working relationships
• Genuine passion for improving childhood nutrition for a healthier and happier planet
• Must reside in the United States to be considered for this position
• Please note that visa sponsorship is not available for this position

Responsibilities

• Establish Once Upon a Farm as a Category Captain and industry leader through best-in-class insights, performance & relationships
• Build and maintain effective relationships with sales, retailer, broker, and data provider contacts to support the achievement of our sales objectives and establish Once Upon a Farm as a Category Partner & Industry Leader
• Design and direct the development of best-in-class sales materials leveraging category/consumer data that includes market trends, competitive analysis, pricing, placement, promotion, and assortment recommendations
• Be accountable alongside the sales team to ensure we NEVER miss a reset opportunity, managing a robust and complete Category Review tracker across all categories and retailers
• Directly support key accounts across National Grocery Retailers (e.g., Ahold, Publix, Albertsons, Wegmans) and Natural Channels (e.g., Fresh Thyme, NCG), as well as alternative channels like Disney, Legoland, airports, and Peet’s Coffee
• Lead category management and insights across key accounts through the analysis of syndicated data, support of strategic selling initiatives, and development of impactful insights that meet category and retailer-specific needs
• Create and present account-specific category reviews providing unbiased analysis, interpretation, and recommendations for improving category performance
• Employ category management tools to develop customized solutions for distribution space, assortment, and planogram recommendations
• Proactively monitor industry trends and competitive activity to identify opportunities to improve Once Upon a Farm’s advantage in the market
• Provide monthly scorecards & business updates, articulating category trends and understanding the performance of all accounts to drive accountability and engagement across our broker teams
• Support the development and implementation of comprehensive category strategies, ensuring alignment with overall business objectives
• Support project work as requested by the Director or Vice President of Category Management & Business Development or the Executive Leadership Teams

Preferred Qualifications

• Knowledge of Numerator, Stratum/M6, and retailer portals is a plus
• Previous exposure to cross-functional work between Sustainability and Sales preferred
• Desire to contribute to a dynamic high-growth, purpose-driven work environment
• Demonstrated ability to thrive in ambiguity while deeply understanding business needs

Benefits

• Salaried, Full-Time, Exempt
• The anticipated salary range for this position is $120,000.00 to $140,000.00. The actual salary offer will carefully consider a few factors, including your skills, qualifications, experience, and location. Certain positions are eligible for additional forms of compensation such as bonuses, stipends, equity, and role-specific perks
• Employee Equity
• Annual Bonus
• Unlimited Paid Time Off
• Paid Volunteer Time
• Paid Time Off to fulfill civic responsibilities including jury duty and voting in local, state, and national elections
• New Parents: Up to 18 weeks of paid Parental Leave, Baby Steps Back To Work, 3 months’ supply of farm-to-fridge baby food, and Stork breast milk shipping service for those who travel
• Medical Insurance for the employee covered at 100% on select Kaiser and PPO plans, as well as additional plan options at a reduced cost to the employee
• Vision and Dental Insurance covered at 100% for the employee
• 401(k) & company match
• Employee Discounts and quarterly Farm-to-Fridge home deliveries
• Life insurance
• Flexible spending account (Medical & Dependent Care) and Health savings accounts for applicable plans
• Cell and Internet Stipend
• Employee assistance program (EAP)