Category Manager

Job Description

Heartland Food Products Group is a Carmel, Indiana–based consumer packaged goods company focused on sugar reduction, better-for-you beverages, and wellness-oriented food products. The company develops, manufactures, and markets low- and no-calorie sweeteners, liquid water enhancers, coffee products, creamers, beverage concentrates, nutritional beverages, and related private-label offerings.

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Our best-known brand is Splenda® , and our portfolio also includes Java House® cold brew coffee and SlimFast® . Heartland serves retail, foodservice, e-commerce, business-to-business, contract-manufacturing, and private-label channels, with products distributed internationally across North America, Latin America, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and Asia-Pacific.

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In May 2026, Heartland announced a definitive agreement to acquire Whole Earth Brands’ Americas business, which includes the Equal®, Whole Earth®, Swerve®, and Chuker® brands. The acquisition expands Heartland’s sweetener and wellness portfolio across North America and Latin America.

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Role Overview

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The Category Manager is responsible for driving category growth and consumer value by delivering data-driven insights, assortment, pricing, shelving, and promotional recommendations to retail partners for the full Heartland brands portfolios. This role serves as a trusted advisor to field sales and retail partners, using consumer, shopper, and market data to develop strategies that grow the total category while strengthening the Heartland portfolio.

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The ideal candidate combines analytical rigor with storytelling, translating insights into actionable, customer-ready recommendations.

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Key Responsibilities

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Category & Shopper Insights

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• Analyze category, brand, and SKU performance using syndicated and customer data
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• Identify shopper trends, white space opportunities, and growth drivers
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• Develop category growth hypotheses grounded in consumer and shopper behavior
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• Monitor competitive activity, innovation, and performance trends
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Assortment Strategy

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• Lead assortment optimization and SKU rationalization recommendations
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• Support new item launches with assortment and distribution strategies
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• Evaluate assortment productivity and shelf efficiency
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• Partner with Sales with line reviews and reset planning
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Shelving & Merchandising

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• Develop planograms, shelf principles, and merchandising strategies
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• Optimize shelf layout to improve shopper navigation and conversion
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• Build data-backed shelving recommendations aligned to retailer strategies
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• Support execution of resets and in-store merchandising initiatives
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Pricing & Promotion (Category Lens)

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• Analyze price tiers, pack sizes, and competitive price gaps
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• Partner with Revenue Growth Management (RGM) to evaluate promotion effectiveness
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• Support pricing and promo recommendations that drive sales and share
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• Partner with RGM and Sales on customer-specific strategies
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Customer & Sales Support

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• Create customer-ready presentations for line reviews, JBP meetings, and business updates
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• Act as the category expert for assigned retailers
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• Support Sales with fact-based selling and opportunity sizing
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Key Deliverables

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• Category growth strategies and playbooks
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• Assortment and shelving recommendations
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• Planograms and shelf optimization analyses
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• Retailer-specific category reviews
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• Executive-ready insight presentations
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Qualifications

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Required

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• Bachelor’s degree in Business, Marketing, Sales, Consumer Insights, or related field
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• 5–8 years of experience in Category Management, Shopper Insights, or Analytics
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• Strong experience with syndicated data (NIQ, Circana, SPINS, etc.)
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• Advanced Excel and PowerPoint skills
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• Experience with Power BI
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• Strong analytical and storytelling capabilities
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• Proven ability to synthesize large quantities of data into simple, actionable insights
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• Experience supporting retail line reviews and resets
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Preferred

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• Experience working directly with major retailers
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• Familiarity with space planning tools (JDA, Blue Yonder, Nielsen Spaceman)
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• Experience with shopper research and panel data
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• Exposure to omnichannel or e-commerce category management
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Competencies & Attributes

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• Shopper-first mindset
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• Strong commercial and retailer acumen
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• Ability to translate data into clear recommendations
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• Collaborative, cross-functional partner
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• Detail-oriented with executive presence
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Strong collaboration with Consumer Insights and IT

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This role is in Carmel, Indiana and 100% in office.