Category Manager

WaterBoy · United States · 1 wk ago

RemoteRemoteSalesFull-time

Location: Remote (optional in Austin, TX) • Full-time

About Waterboy

Waterboy makes hydration formulas that help you bounce back, keep going, and feel like a functioning human again... and we try not to take ourselves too seriously while doing it. We’re sold online and in major retailers nationwide (20k+ stores). We're growing fast, our voice is playfully loud, and we're looking for a highly analytical and commercially minded Category Manager to help drive our retail growth strategy across mass, drug, grocery, club and other key channels.

About the role

Waterboy is seeking a highly analytical and commercially minded Category Manager to serve as the connective tissue between Sales, Marketing, Product/Innovation and our retail partners. You’ll translate consumer, category and retailer data into actionable recommendations that grow distribution, optimize assortment and improve category performance. The ideal candidate brings strong CPG category management experience, with particular interest in candidates who have worked within Vitamins, Minerals & Supplements (VMS), wellness, functional beverage, hydration or adjacent categories.

Responsibilities

Own category analysis across Waterboy’s key retail channels and customers, translating data into clear commercial recommendations.
Analyze primary and secondary data sources, including syndicated data, retailer POS data, consumer/shopper insights and internal sales performance.
Develop compelling category stories and retailer presentations that support new distribution, assortment expansion, shelf placement and incremental SKU opportunities.
Partner closely with Sales to prepare for line reviews, buyer meetings, annual planning and ongoing retailer conversations.
Provide retailers with actionable insights on category trends, consumer behavior, assortment, pricing, promotion and emerging growth opportunities.
Monitor Waterboy and competitive performance by retailer, SKU, geography and channel to identify opportunities and risks.
Develop and maintain scorecards and dashboards tracking distribution, velocity, share, assortment, pricing and promotional performance.
Conduct competitive analysis across products, claims, ingredients, formats, pack sizes, pricing and innovation.
Partner with Product and Marketing to inform the innovation roadmap using category trends, consumer insights, retailer needs and whitespace analysis.
Help determine the right assortment, pack architecture and innovation pipeline by channel and retailer.
Support forecasting and annual planning by providing category and retailer-level insights.
Become a trusted analytical partner to both Waterboy’s internal commercial team and our retail buyers.

Requirements

5–8+ years of experience in Category Management, Category Development, Shopper Insights, Sales Analytics or a related CPG function.
Experience working with major retailers across mass, drug, grocery, club and/or specialty retail.
VMS, supplements, wellness, hydration, functional beverage or adjacent category experience strongly preferred.
Strong working knowledge of syndicated and retailer data platforms such as Circana/IRI, NielsenIQ, SPINS, Numerator, 84.51°, Luminate or similar tools.
Advanced Excel and PowerPoint skills with the ability to turn complex data into simple, persuasive commercial stories.
Strong understanding of category fundamentals including distribution, velocity, assortment, pricing, promotion, share and incrementality.
Experience supporting retailer line reviews and buyer presentations.
Strong analytical mindset paired with commercial judgment — able to move beyond reporting what happened to recommending what we should do next.
Comfortable operating in a fast-moving, entrepreneurial environment with high ownership and limited bureaucracy.
Excellent written communication skills; tone of voice is your thing.

Benefits