Category Manager - Walmart/Sam's Club

About the role

Perfetti Van Melle, a leading manufacturer and distributor of confectionery and chewing gum, is currently seeking an enthusiastic Category Manager to support Walmart and Sam’s Club. This role plays a pivotal role in shaping category growth and driving strategic partnerships with two of the world’s largest retailers.

Responsibilities

• Serve as the primary category expert for Walmart and Sam’s Club across all confectionery segments.
• Build and deliver category growth strategies that align with Walmart/Sam’s objectives and PVM business priorities.
• Develop annual and long-range category plans, identifying whitespace opportunities, innovation priorities, and shelf optimization needs.
• Define success metrics and KPIs for category initiatives to ensure accountability and continuous improvement.
• Leverage Walmart Scintilla and Sam’s Madrid to analyze trends, shopper behavior, switching patterns, leakage, and incremental growth opportunities.
• Translate complex data into clear, compelling narratives that influence Walmart and Sam’s buyers, senior leadership, and internal stakeholders.
• Identify growth drivers, competitive threats, assortment gaps, and pricing and promotion opportunities.
• Utilize predictive modeling and emerging analytics tools to anticipate future trends and shopper shifts.
• Deliver data-driven assortment, space, and flow recommendations using Scintilla, Circana, and other analytic tools.
• Provide strategic guidance on shelf layout, pack architecture, new item placement, and category navigation.
• Partner with Walmart and Sam’s buyers to influence modular resets, seasonal strategies, and space allocation decisions.
• Ensure recommendations are aligned with shopper navigation principles and drive incremental sales.
• Closely work with Sales and Marketing teams to develop and execute key growth initiatives with Walmart and Sam’s Club, including: Joint Business Planning (JBP); Line reviews and innovation sell-in; Pricing and promotional strategy; Shopper marketing and activation programs.
• Support top-to-top meetings and senior-level customer engagements with insight-led recommendations.
• Collaborate on digital activation strategies to enhance omnichannel presence.
• Cross-functionally collaborate with Sales, Shopper Marketing, Brand, Supply Chain, Operations, Finance, and Insights teams to align category strategies across the organization.
• Partner with analytics teams to refine models and create custom analyses tailored to customer needs.
• Act as a thought leader internally, sharing best practices and emerging trends to elevate organizational capability.
• Manage weekly, monthly, and quarterly reporting to track KPIs for both PVM and the total category.
• Communicate shifts in category performance and shopper behavior to internal and external partners.
• Lead post-event, post-promotion, and post-modular analyses to improve future strategies and execution.
• Develop dashboards and visualization tools to simplify performance tracking for stakeholders.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in Business, Marketing, Analytics, or a related field.
• 7+ years of experience in Category Management, Shopper Insights, or Sales Strategy specifically within the food and beverage industry.
• Direct experience working on Walmart account.
• Extensive knowledge of Walmart Scintilla.
• Collaborative & Strategic Partner: Ability to thrive in a cross-functional environment, partnering closely with Sales while independently owning category insights and analytics to support retailer strategies and business objectives.
• Analytical Storyteller: Strong analytical skills with the ability to mine and synthesize category data into actionable recommendations, delivering clear, compelling presentations that influence decision-making through effective data storytelling.
• Strong experience with syndicated data sources such as Circana and/or Nielsen.
• Proficiency in Excel, PowerPoint, and data visualization tools (Power BI, Tableau, etc.).
• Exceptional communication, presentation, and relationship-building skills.
• Proven ability to influence retailer decisions through data-driven insights.

Preferred

• Direct experience working on Sam’s Club account.
• Experience working with Sam’s Madrid.
• Experience in confectionery or snack categories.
• Category Management certification (CMA) or similar credentials.
• Experience with digital activation and omnichannel strategies.

What We Offer

• PTO package including vacation, wellness, personal, and pay it forward time off
• 13 paid holidays
• 401k with Company Match up to 8%
• Ranking in the top 1% of the country
• Annual Bonus potential and merit-based increases
• Comprehensive Health Insurance
• Annual well-being subsidy
• 20 weeks Maternity & 12 weeks Paternity leave options
• Sam’s Club or Costco annual membership reimbursement
• Tuition-Free College Program or Free Continued Education (BA, Masters, etc.)
• Modest monthly candy allotment (Airheads, Airheads Xtremes, and Mentos)