Pastry & Bakery Category Leader

Bidfood; Selangor; On-site; MYR 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

Bidfood Malaysia is expanding its pastry and bakery categories and seeks a category manager to own the strategy and commercial proposition for the pastry portfolio, including frozen and ready-to-bake pastries, desserts, and related ingredients.

The role defines portfolio direction, strengthens principal relationships, and equips Sales with products and commercial tools for growth, while ensuring food safety, halal compliance, and cold-chain integrity.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree or Diploma in Business, Marketing, Food Science, Culinary Arts, Pastry, or related field.
• 5–8 years’ experience in category management, sales, purchasing, product development, or culinary applications in pastry/bakery/foodservice.
• Strong commercial acumen with proven experience managing sales, margins and supplier relationships.
• Knowledge of pastry and bakery products, food safety standards, and market trends.
• Excellent communication, negotiation, and interpersonal skills.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office; experience with ERP systems (e.g., SAP) is an advantage.

Responsibilities

• Build annual category and brand growth plans aligned with commercial objectives.
• Define portfolio, channel and routing-to-market priorities; onboard/rationalize brands or SKUs for CCO approval.
• Track market trends, competitor activities, customer needs, and white-space opportunities.
• Work with Sales to identify category penetration opportunities and translate insights into growth actions.
• Lead supplier relationships and joint business planning with principals.
• Lead product sourcing, ensuring food safety, Halal, allergen-labelling, cold-chain and company requirements.
• Lead pricing, margin architecture, inventory targets and activation planning; monitor sales, margins, stock turns and wastage.
• Develop commercial and activation proposals for CCO approval; equip Sales with USPs and pricing guardrails.
• Coordinate product launches and activations with Sales through tastings and demonstrations.
• Co-own forecasting, demand planning and slow-stock action plans with cross-functional teams.
• Present category performance, risks and recommended actions to management.

Skills

Commercial acumen

Communication

Negotiation

Interpersonal skills

Market trends knowledge

Education

Bachelor’s or Diploma in Business/Marketing/Food Science/Culinary Arts/Pastry

Tools

Microsoft Office

ERP systems (SAP)

Job description

Bidfood Malaysia is expanding its pastry and bakery categories and seeks a category manager to own the strategy and commercial proposition for the pastry portfolio, including frozen and ready-to-bake pastries, desserts, and related ingredients.

The role defines portfolio direction, strengthens principal relationships, and equips Sales with products and commercial tools for growth, while ensuring food safety, halal compliance, and cold-chain integrity.