UK Category Manager

Back
Mutti Group, with 125 years of brave innovations, is the European leader in the tomato category and is present in 96 countries worldwide, with a net turnover of 703 million euros in 2024.
 
"Our legacy is not just a corporate legacy, but a system legacy.
It is not just patrimonial legacy, but a cultural inheritance.
It is a certain way of doing things: with charm, through true and fair relationships, starting from the possible to go above and beyond.
It is about choosing each other and knowing how to elect which paths to pursue, and when.
It is the tireless but always consistent action."

Established in 1899 the Company has been run by the Mutti Family ever since and with its fourth generation is today managed by Francesco Mutti who continues to strongly believe in the values that have let this brand become the most loved Italian tomato brand.
Our mission as a company is to raise the tomato to its highest expression. This passion has driven us for 125 years. Even today we are still learning new things about this wonderful fruit and constantly improving every aspect of its production to make the best tomato products we possibly can.
Working for Mutti means joining a business that is quickly growing on an international scale. Once you have joined us you will find yourself working within a strongly determined team aiming to succeed always with integrity and actively participating in challenging work projects.

Mutti UK
Following a 5 year journey of extraordinary growth, Mutti is now the No.2 brand in ambient tomatoes in the UK with ambition to become No.1 brand by 2028. To help continue our momentum, we are looking to hire a proactive Category Manager. The successful candidate will report to the Head of Category & Shopper Marketing and will play a key role in delivering our vision for UK category premiumization and continued retail growth acceleration.

Main responsibilities:
  • Own operational relationships with UK data providers and deliver the monthly market and key account reporting schedule to UK stakeholders
  • Develop and deliver regular / timely business performance tracking that covers strategic commercial targets such as distribution, on-line / convenience share and NPD
  • Analyse sales, consumer & shopper data for actionable insights to support ongoing business development planning in the UK and Irish markets
  • Support the development and delivery of compelling sales stories to unlock branded innovation & NPD listing targets across UK & Ireland
  • Build strong category management relationships with specific customers to extend Mutti’s role as a strategic and valuable supplier partner
  • Own category management processes across Tomatoes & Pasta Sauces with allocated customers including the timely delivery of range change recommendations, implementation support and post implementation reviews aligned to customer planning timelines
  • Collaborate with allocated customers to define tailored action plans which support our ambition to double the size of premium by 2027 (across Ambient Tomatoes & Pasta Sauces) and deliver a customer-category-commercial “triple win”
  • Regularly visit stores to observe and review executions in situ, competitor activity and best-in-class activations across other categories. This “eyes and ears” approach will allow this person to more effectively liaise with their customers and key internal and support partners to drive continuous improvement and learning.
  • Support the development of shopper marketing plans / promo plans / NPD launches using shopper, category and commercial insight to inform thinking

What are we looking for:

We are looking for an individual with high quality FMCG experience and a broad understanding of commercial marketing in UK grocery, based on previous roles in either customer marketing / category management / retail execution, account management or commercial business planning. Aptitude will be more important than seniority. The successful candidate will have the desire and agility to work in a fast-paced SME environment where they will need to “wear many hats”. This opportunity is perfect for somebody with a growth mindset who wants to make an impact that drives market change.

The successful candidate will have:
  • Previous experience in FMCG category / trade / marketing / insights / planning roles
  • Knowledge / understanding of the UK CPG & retail landscape including key players
  • Broad end-to-end cross functional interests and curiosity  
  • Strong analytics capability (inclu Nielsen & customer data + excel)
  • Effective insight, planning, presentation / story telling skills and the ability to take others “on the journey” for business planning with stakeholders and customers
  • Proven communication & relationship building skills
  • Experience in managing & implementing successful category range review processes within the grocery environment
  • Passion for high quality food brands and health, environmental and lifestyle benefits: the personal credentials to be an authentic ambassador for Mutti with external stakeholders and customers
  • Quality focus and pace
  • Growth mindset and the willingness to wear many hats in a small team

Despite 150 years of history and market leader status in Europe the UK retail space is relatively untapped for Mutti. The ideal candidate will realise the potential and elevate the brand to world class supplier status.

Position Details:
 
  • Location: Office based with flexible working: a minimum of 2-3 days per week in our central London office plus occasional travel to Mutti’s distributor in High Wycombe
  • Full time
  • Travelling required – distributor / customer visits and occasional travel to Mutti HQ in Parma, Italy

 
Business units
INTERNATIONAL SALES
Locations
Inghilterra