Job PurposeThe
Merchandising Category Manager / Food Service and Fountain owns the day-to-day business and performance of assigned Food Service and Fountain categories. This role owns the P&L, assortment, pricing, promotions, new items, suppliers and store execution, turning strategy into results. Success requires commercial judgment, customer curiosity, disciplined execution and an entrepreneurial mindset within established company direction.
Duties and Responsibilities- Own category performance across sales, units, gross profit, margin, waste and budget; diagnose gaps and execute action plans.
- Build and execute category plans across assortment, pricing, positioning, merchandising and promotions, using sales and market data to optimize mix, productivity and daypart performance.
- Own the promotional calendar and offer strategy, including LTOs and combos; align Marketing and Operations, measure results and refine.
- Own the new item lifecycle from discovery and business case through testing, launch, post-launch review and item rationalization.
- Source new products and suppliers through market research, trade shows, distributors, brokers and manufacturers; evaluate fit, economics and scalability.
- Manage supplier performance and negotiations, including contracts, cost, rebates, promotional funding, dead-net economics and service expectations.
- Partner with Operations and field teams to improve availability, quality, presentation, waste, consistency and store execution.
- Manage third-party distribution and supply continuity, including out-of-stocks, item availability and Stores Not Selling follow-up.
- Monitor customers, competitors and industry trends to identify opportunities, risks and differentiated product ideas.
- Partner with Marketing, Finance, Operations, IT and data providers to execute launches, reporting and category initiatives.
- Present category plans, business reviews, promotional recommendations and performance updates in company-wide meetings.
NOTE: Duties and responsibilities, as required by business necessity may be added, deleted, or changed at any time at the discretion of management, formally or informally, either verbally or in writing. Scheduling and shift assignments and work location may be changed at any time, as required by business necessity.
Qualifications and Skills- Bachelor's degree in Marketing, Food Retail, Business/Finance or a related field; equivalent relevant experience considered.
- 6 years of food category management experience required, including product merchandising, multi-store support, new product roll-out and operational execution.
- Demonstrated category ownership with accountability for sales, gross profit, margin, waste and budget performance.
- Strong financial acumen in P&L management, pricing, costing, forecasting, promotional ROI and business case development
- Proven promotional and sales planning skills that balance customer value, traffic, sales growth and profitability.
- Strong new item management experience from sourcing and testing through launch, measurement and optimization.
- Proven supplier sourcing, negotiation and vendor management skills; resourceful in finding differentiated products and partners.
- Strong analytical skills; advanced proficiency in Excel and PowerPoint with the ability to turn data into decisions.
- Convenience retail or multi-unit foodservice operating experience preferred.
- Entrepreneurial mindset, sound judgment and a bias for action, balanced with disciplined execution.
- Strong project management and cross-functional influence skills; able to move work forward without direct authority.
- Clear written, verbal, negotiation and presentation skills.
Physical requirementsThis position's physical demands listed below reflect activities employees are expected to perform during each day worked.
