Head of Category & Insights

Hawkstone; North Common, Bourton-on-the-Water; Hybrid; GBP 45,000 - 70,000; Full time

Job summary

Hawkstone, one of the fastest-growing UK breweries, seeks a category and insight lead to shape how the business speaks to retailers and the on-trade. You’ll turn EPOS, panel and shopper data into clear, actionable stories for buyers and the sales team.

Lead category strategy across off- and on-trade, spot future trends, and work with marketing and innovation on formats built on real shopper insight. 1 day a week in Bourton-on-the-Water, Gloucestershire.

Qualifications

• Experience leading category management or shopper insight in drinks or FMCG.
• Proficiency with EPOS, Nielsen/Circana and panel data.
• Strong storytelling and commercial instincts with retailer relationships.

Responsibilities

• Building and leading Hawkstone’s category and insight strategy across the off and on trade
• Turning EPOS, panel and shopper data into stories buyers actually act on
• Arming the sales team with category-led propositions for range reviews, space and NPD
• Spotting where the category is heading and where Hawkstone can win next
• Working with marketing and innovation so new formats and variants are built on real shopper insight
• Measuring what works, from promotions to launches, and making sure the business learns from it
• Becoming a trusted voice with retailer category teams, the person they call for a point of view

Skills

Category management

Shopper insight

Data storytelling

Team leadership

Retailer relations

Tools

EPOS

Nielsen

Circana

Job description

Ever wanted to help turn one of the most talked-about breweries in the UK into a permanent fixture on the shelf and behind the bar? Here’s your shot.

Most drinks brands would love what Hawkstone already has. A story people genuinely care about, a fanbase that follows it on screen, and beers and ciders that keep winning awards. It’s the fastest growing brewery in the UK and has been for three years running.

It started life in 2005 as Cotswold Brewing Company. In 2021, Jeremy Clarkson invested, the brand became Hawkstone and things took off. It’s now one of those rare names that shoppers recognise before they’ve even reached the aisle. Its roots are in the Cotswolds, and parts of the range are brewed with barley grown on Clarkson’s own farm, giving it a real field-to-glass story, not a marketing invention.

This isn’t a celebrity badge on a can. It’s a proper brewery with a proper product, a team of experts and a plan to shake up a category that hasn’t been shaken in years.

Why should you care?

Because you don’t usually get a brand this well known while it’s still this hungry. Hawkstone has the awareness of a big player and the pace and ambition of a challenger, and that’s the sweet spot for someone in category and insight. You won’t spend your time trying to make buyers care about an unknown brand. You’ll be turning genuine shopper and drinker pull into a category story that retailers and on-trade customers want to back. You’ll be building the function and shaping how the business thinks across both channels. The off-trade leads the way, and there you’ll be working alongside an award-winning team that retailers and the industry already rate, while bringing the same insight to the on-trade. Get it right and you’ll be one of the people who made Hawkstone a permanent fixture, not just a moment.

What you’ll actually be doing

• Building and leading Hawkstone’s category and insight strategy across the off and on trade
• Turning EPOS, panel and shopper data into stories buyers actually act on
• Arming the sales team with category-led propositions for range reviews, space and NPD
• Spotting where the category is heading and where Hawkstone can win next
• Working with marketing and innovation so new formats and variants are built on real shopper insight
• Measuring what works, from promotions to launches, and making sure the business learns from it
• Becoming a trusted voice with retailer category teams, the person they call for a point of view

Who you are

You love data, but you love what it means even more. You can take a mountain of numbers and turn it into a clear, persuasive story for a buyer, a board or a brand team. You’re commercially sharp, curious about shoppers and confident challenging received wisdom. You’ll have led category management or shopper insight in drinks or FMCG, worked with major multiples, and know your way around EPOS, Nielsen or Circana and panel data. Experience leading or growing a team is a big plus. Beer isn’t essential. If you understand how retailers think about a category, you’re ready.

Ways of working: 1 day a week in Bourton on the Water, Gloucestershire

This role is being handled exclusively by Marvel FMCG. Hawkstone will not accept CVs from other recruitment agencies. Any candidate details submitted by a third party, whether requested or speculative, will be deemed the property of Marvel FMCG and no introduction fee or terms of business will be recognised.

How can we make the recruitment process more accessible for you? We're always open to adjustments and welcome feedback on how we can improve the experience. Feedback matters. We aim to respond to all applications as quickly as possible because clarity, communication and respect should be a given.