Bakery Category Buyer — Hybrid Role & Growth Impact

Fresh Market Inc.; Fisher Park (NC); Hybrid; USD 85,000 - 115,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Team member discount up to 40%

Health, Dental, & Vision insurance

401K with match

Job summary

The Fresh Market is seeking a Category Buyer - Bakery to join our Store Support Center. This role focuses on promoting the bakery category to maximize consumer appeal, profitability, and sustainable growth.

You will support development, execution, and financial performance of the assigned category, collaborating across teams and vendors to drive demand planning, procurement, and lifecycle management.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent experience.
• 4-7+ years of Category Management or related experience.
• Knowledge of grocery business and systems/processes.
• Experience understanding consumer demand in fast-paced retail environments.
• Strong merchandising, product and marketing skills.
• Demonstrated analytical, negotiating, and problem-solving abilities.

Responsibilities

• Develop SKU-level demand plans by analyzing sales trends, promotions, and vendor agreements.
• Collaborate with distributors to improve service levels and negotiate costs.
• Manage procurement, allocation, and in-store inventory targets by category.
• Ensure cost data accuracy in the database.
• Forecast new items, transitions, and discontinuations with category teams.
• Track sales and build historical data for future launches.

Skills

Grocery industry knowledge

Demand planning

Analytical skills

Negotiation skills

Cross-functional collaboration

MS Office proficiency

Education

Bachelor’s degree or equivalent experience

Tools

Nielsen/IRI

MicroStrategy

Job description

The Fresh Market is seeking a Category Buyer - Bakery to join our Store Support Center. This role focuses on promoting the bakery category to maximize consumer appeal, profitability, and sustainable growth.

You will support development, execution, and financial performance of the assigned category, collaborating across teams and vendors to drive demand planning, procurement, and lifecycle management.