Category Manager - Packaged Foods (FMCG)

Jumbotail Technologies; Bengaluru; On-site; INR 1,700,000 - 2,600,000; Full time

Job summary

Jumbotail Technologies, Bengaluru, seeks a seasoned Category Manager to lead FMCG Foods strategy and ensure product availability across the platform. You will own the P&L, analyze customer behavior and competitive offerings, and drive promotions in collaboration with merchandising and marketing teams.

The role requires strong expertise in FMCG categories, vendor negotiations, demand forecasting, and cross-functional coordination with Product, Catalog, and Operations teams.

Qualifications

• Extensive experience in Category Management, Buying, or Merchandising in FMCG Food.
• Strong understanding of FMCG food subcategories such as Biscuits, Confectionary, Snacks, Packaged foods, Tea & Coffee.
• Vendor management including commercial terms, trade schemes, and annual business planning.
• P&L ownership with GMV, margins, marketing income, and profitability responsibilities.
• Demand forecasting and inventory planning to maximize availability and minimize excess inventory.
• Excellent analytical skills with advanced Excel; SQL or dashboards a plus.
• Pricing and promotions experience including KVI pricing and benchmarking.
• Cross-functional stakeholder management with Supply Chain, Finance, Marketing, Sales, and Operations.
• Data-driven decision making to improve sales, margin, and inventory health.
• Strong communication and negotiation skills to influence internal and external stakeholders.

Responsibilities

• Develop and execute annual and monthly category strategies for FMCG Foods, with city/regional plans
• Define the assortment Staples & Grocery, Biscuits & Confectionary, Beverages, Packaged Foods and drive product availability on the platform
• Own the Category P&L: pricing, margins, promotions, and profitability
• Analyse customer behavior (search, traffic, conversion) and competitor offerings to sharpen value proposition
• Run targeted promotions and campaigns; track ROI and optimize with merchandising and marketing teams
• Work with Product and Catalog teams to improve navigation, search, and catalog quality for faster buying decisions
• Provide demand forecasts to Category Buyers to ensure availability and reduce dead inventory
• Partner with Business Operations to maintain competitive pricing via robust benchmarking
• Build and mentor a team to scale across 50-100 cities

Skills

Category Management

Vendor Negotiation

P&L Ownership

Demand Forecasting

Inventory Planning

Data Analysis

Pricing & Promotions

Cross-functional Collaboration

Communication & Negotiation

B2B E-commerce

Tools

Excel

Power Query

SQL

Job description

Role & responsibilities

• Develop and execute annual and monthly category strategies for FMCG Foods, with city/regional plans
• Define the assortment Staples & Grocery, Biscuits & Confectionary, Beverages, Packaged Foods - and drive consistent product availability on the platform
• Own the Category P&L: pricing, margins, promotions, and profitability
• Analyse customer behavior (search, traffic, conversion) and competitor offerings to sharpen the value proposition
• Run targeted promotions and campaigns; track ROI and optimize with merchandising and marketing teams
• Work with Product and Catalog teams to improve navigation, search, and catalog quality for faster buying decisions
• Provide demand forecasts to Category Buyers to ensure availability and reduce dead inventory
• Partner with Business Operations to maintain competitive pricing via robust benchmarking
• Build and mentor a team (category planning, marketing, managers) to scale across 50100 cities

Preferred candidate profile

1. 1. 58+ years of Category Management, Buying, or Merchandising experience in FMCG Food.
2. 2. Strong understanding of FMCG food categories (Biscuits, Confectionary , Snacks, Packaged foods, Tea & Coffee Snacks, , etc.).
3. 3. Vendor management and negotiation experience, including commercial terms, trade schemes, and annual business planning.
4. 4. P&L ownership with experience managing GMV, margins, marketing income, and profitability.
5. 5. Demand forecasting and inventory planning to ensure high availability while minimizing excess inventory.
6. 6. Strong analytical skills with advanced Excel (Pivot Tables, XLOOKUP/VLOOKUP, Power Query, basic dashboards). SQL is an added advantage.
7. 7. Experience in pricing and promotions, including KVI pricing, competitive benchmarking, and promotional planning.
8. 8. Cross-functional stakeholder management, working with Supply Chain, Finance, Marketing, Sales, and Operations.
9. 9. Data-driven decision making, using business metrics to improve sales, margin, and inventory health.
10. 10. Excellent communication and negotiation skills with the ability to influence both internal and external stakeholders.
11. Experience in B2B e-commerce, Modern Trade, Retail, or FMCG distribution is highly preferred.