Commercial Category Lead Bakery

Cargill is committed to working with farmers, producers, manufacturers, retailers, governments and other organizations to feed the world in a safe, responsible and sustainable way. The Commercial Category Lead develops and sets out the strategy of the Bakery/Confectionery category, thereby contributing to the sustainable growth of the organization.

About Cargill

Cargill provides food, agricultural, financial and industrial products and services throughout the world. The vision of its founder, W.W. Cargill, has been proudly upheld since its inception in 1865: helping farmers succeed, connecting markets and ensuring that consumers receive the products they need. In 1959 the company set foot on Dutch soil. In 150 years, Cargill has grown to become the largest family business in the world. Today, more than 160,000 employees in 70 countries work every day to provide the world with food in a responsible and sustainable manner. The company’s growth has been on the rise for years, and that trend needs to continue in the coming years: in 2025, Cargill wants to have a fully sustainable supply chain, with an increasing focus on value-added products.

Vacancy: Commercial Category Lead Bakery

The Commercial Category Lead Bakery & Confectionery plays an important role in achieving this growth ambition. The company’s growth must come both from commercial expansion and from Cargill’s product offering. The Commercial Category Lead Bakery bears full responsibility for the P&L of the Bakery/Confectionery category and the realization of its ambitious goals. The motto is to help determine and set out strategy, to build the category and to achieve growth.

Cargill is facing a challenge: provide answers to current and new trends, and ensure that the organization is not only relevant in terms of basic products, but also increasingly in added value products. In order to achieve this, various aspects of the organization need to be set in motion, including the sales and marketing approach. For this, the extensive knowledge and experience of the Commercial Category Lead in building and setting up a category is crucial. She/he knows exactly which knobs to turn so that the new approach is widely supported by all layers of the organization. Furthermore, she/he logically plays a proactive, driving role in this transition, as a motivator of the commercial teams and as an external ambassador. The Commercial Category Lead easily recognizes developments and spots opportunities in existing and new segments because of his or her feeling with the market, without losing sight of the budget for a second.

“The Commercial Category Lead identifies trends and opportunities in the market, and knows how to flawlessly translate these into category plans and projects that achieve growth.” – Klaas Mouton, Commercial Leader Food Ingredients Europe

Well-filled pipeline and ditto funnel
The Commercial Category Lead preferably has extensive knowledge of the European Bakery & Confectionery market, both from the customer’s perspective and from the production side (e.g. special oils and fats). She/he continuously strives for strategic, sustainable growth of the category, in which commercialization and professionalization are important elements. A continuously filled pipeline and funnel are essential, as well as excellent relationships with customers and stakeholders.

The Commercial Category Lead is a real jack-of-all-trades: she/he is involved in several projects at the same time, both on a regional and global level. She/he works closely with the Product Portfolio Managers and the Marketing Manager and reports directly to Klaas Mouton, Commercial Leader Food Ingredients Europe. The role comes with a lot of responsibility and freedom: they don’t micromanage at Cargill.

Affinity with confectionery and knowledge of value-added
The ideal Commercial Category Lead is someone who really knows how to build a category and establishes a clear structure and strategy. She/he has a proven track record in category management and has experience working in a (complex) matrix structure. In addition, the ideal candidate has an affinity with confectionery and knowledge of value-added.

Cargill works with Top of Minds to fill this vacancy.