Category Insight Manager

Urban Farmer LLC • Manteno, IL

1d

About The Position

The Category Insight Manager is responsible for delivering strategic insights, data analysis, and category leadership that guide Urban Farmer’s customers and internal teams in making informed business decisions. This role serves as a key link between data and strategy, transforming syndicated data, customer trends, and marketplace analytics into actionable recommendations that drive growth within the frozen food and bakery categories. The Category Insight Manager partners closely with Sales, Marketing, Product Development, and the executive team to identify opportunities, inform innovation, and strengthen Urban Farmer’s position as a strategic, insights-driven co-packing partner. The ideal candidate combines strong analytical expertise, storytelling ability, and business acumen, with deep experience in category management and CPG data interpretation.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in Business, Marketing, Economics, or related field; MBA preferred.
• 5+ years of experience in category management, insights, or data analytics within a food manufacturing, private label, or CPG environment.
• Strong proficiency in syndicated data tools (IRI, Nielsen, SPINS, or similar) and Excel-based analytics.
• Experience creating data-driven presentations and category stories for customer-facing audiences.
• Strong understanding of retail and foodservice market structures, trends, and buyer expectations.
• Excellent analytical, storytelling, and visualization skills, able to simplify complex data into business recommendations.
• Detail-oriented with strong project management and time management skills.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite; experience with Power BI or Tableau preferred.

Responsibilities

• Lead category analysis across frozen food segments to identify growth trends, whitespace opportunities, and risks.
• Leverage syndicated data (IRI, Nielsen, SPINS) and customer data to monitor category dynamics, consumer shifts, and competitive performance.
• Translate complex data into clear, actionable insights for internal teams and customer partners.
• Support customer category reviews, joint business planning meetings, and innovation sessions with compelling, data-backed narratives.
• Identify key drivers of category growth and share best practices across channels and customers.
• Partner with Sales and Marketing to deliver category presentations and insights for key customer accounts, supporting product pitches, pricing discussions, and line reviews.
• Provide custom reports and analysis tailored to customer needs and channel strategies (retail and foodservice).
• Support customer business reviews with category summaries, data visualization, and market opportunity assessments.
• Serve as a subject matter expert for all category-related data inquiries and insight needs.
• Build strong partnerships with customer marketing and category teams to align data stories and drive collaborative growth.
• Collaborate with Product Development and Marketing to identify category gaps that can inform the innovation pipeline.
• Analyze emerging consumer and product trends, helping prioritize new concepts and line extensions.
• Support go-to-market planning with data that validates innovation opportunities and quantifies potential.
• Evaluate the performance of new product launches and provide recommendations for improvement.
• Maintain a forward-looking view of the category, anticipating shifts in consumer behavior, pricing, and competitive strategies.
• Develop dashboards and tools that provide ongoing visibility into category performance, pricing trends, and share shifts.
• Manage syndicated data subscriptions, ensuring accuracy and consistency of reporting across teams.
• Track and report category KPIs including volume, velocity, price, and distribution metrics.
• Partner with Finance and Demand Planning on data alignment for forecasting and business planning.
• Continuously improve reporting efficiency and data accessibility for cross-functional users.
• Work closely with Marketing, Sales, and Operations to ensure category insights are integrated into commercial strategies.
• Provide input during S&OP meetings to help translate category performance into demand forecasts and production planning.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Manager