Commercial Category Lead

Kraft Heinz is one of the largest food and beverage companies in the world. And they’re on a journey to strengthen its global brand even more. The Commercial Category Lead will manage the team, develop innovative strategies to reach more consumers, and drive the growth of their ketchup and sauces business.

About Kraft Heinz

Kraft Heinz is the fifth largest food and beverage company in the world and they own some of the biggest global food brands, including their iconic Heinz Ketchup, and popular Dutch brands like de Ruijter, Karvan Cévitam, Roosvicee, and Honig. Their unparalleled portfolio can be found in retail stores and food service channels worldwide and as a trusted household name, every family has their products in their fridge or pantry.

This global powerhouse has employees in more than forty countries and twenty-six billion euros in revenue. They highly value their customers and employees. As a people-centric brand, they place consumers at the center of everything they do. And they’re dedicated to providing high quality, great taste and nutrition for all eating occasions whether at home, in restaurants or on-the-go. Kraft Heinz values diversity and different points of view and encourages employees to innovate, anticipate and respond to the consumers’ future needs.

With the goal to become the best food company in the world, Kraft Heinz is undergoing a transformation journey to ‘sustainably grow by delighting more consumers daily.’ They are increasing their brand presence and extending their products’ reach in three key focus areas: the US; emerging markets; and the food service sector.

Vacancy: Commercial Category Lead

Kraft Heinz owns more than sixty of the world’s favorite food and beverage brands, yet are still most well-known for their Heinz brand. It is one of their most important brands and a strategic focus in the coming year. The market is complex and innovative and has become more competitive with rising prices due to inflation and an increase in private label brands. Kraft Heinz’s mission is to remain the world’s preferred sauces brand, and the Commercial Category Lead will be the driving force behind its transformational growth.

The Commercial Category Lead will take ownership of their deliverables and responsibility for the complete sauce category’s performance. They follow market trends and developments, and build expert knowledge about their category, its challenges, and competitors. Applying a commercial mindset, this role proactively responds to growth opportunities with concrete actions that deliver results.

The Lead will connect the right plans to the right stakeholders, and strategically manage multiple priorities and parties to achieve ambitious targets. They will manage the category team consisting of three trade category managers and one category controller, and work side-by-side with a commercial team, ensuring alignment with marketing, sales, demand planning, and finance. Together with the category and commercial teams, they will use a consumer-centric mindset to identify profitable ways to expand the category’s market share. Reporting to the Commercial Category Director, Fe Gunning, they are the bridge between their Category and the Leadership teams. To achieve this, they will prepare and present insights, plans, and strategies to be used in making business decisions.

An analytical data guru, the Commercial Category Lead will utilize strategic insights to develop and implement strategies for the sauces category, make decisions about which products should be sold in which stores, and determine the pricing. Constantly maintaining overviews of all sauce related data, they will track performance, meticulously analyze all category details, and adjust plans to drive growth and meet KPIs.

An excellent multi-tasker and people manager, the Commercial Category Lead is collaborative and can simplify complex tasks and messages. They are a dedicated team leader, with a strong commercial understanding of market dynamics as well as the ability to inspire and empower a team to translate strategy into tangible results.

“Kraft Heinz produces many of the world’s most iconic sauces in the market, but the company still sees plenty of room to grow. The Commercial Category Lead will bring a fresh vision to the category, leading the team and executing innovative strategies to remind consumers why they love our sauces most.” – Fe Gunning, Commercial Category Director of Kraft Heinz

Kraft Heinz offers a lively, creative and inclusive work environment with a diverse international team who are passionate about food. This role is an exciting opportunity for an energetic and entrepreneurial leader with a consulting background to make a lasting impact at one of the largest companies in the world. As the company continues to grow and innovate, it also offers ambitious individuals with professional growth opportunities within the organization.

Interested?

Kraft Heinz is working with Top of Minds to fill this vacancy.
To express your interest, please contact Emily Olij at emilyolij@topofminds.com