Category Manager (Bilingual in Korean)

Pulmone•Buena Park, CA

About The Position

Pulmuone Foods USA is seeking a Category Manager who will be responsible for developing and executing short-term and long-term category strategies for Asian FRM and K-Snacks in US and global markets (Canada and Europe) across all channels: Club, Retail, and Food Services. This role involves maintaining a strategic multi-year plan and roadmap to support category growth and profitability targets, delivering compelling product/category messaging and positioning, and managing products by closely monitoring sales volumes, market share trends, and competitive activities. The Category Manager will collaborate with cross-functional teams (Sales, SCM, R&D, Operations) on product innovation, planning, commercial and distribution strategies, and issue resolution. A key aspect of this role is leading the development of the annual marketing plan based on deep consumer insights and managing P&L targets by channel. The position also entails leading the new product development (NPD) process from conception to execution, including pricing, positioning, labeling, and packaging, and ensuring the necessary infrastructure is in place. Continuous market landscape monitoring, competitive analysis, and consumer insights will inform product decisions and lifecycle management. The role requires developing new product marketing plans, creating data-driven narratives for the Sales team, and conducting market research to track trends. The Category Manager will also support the annual marketing budget, deliver marketing activities within budget, and lead quarterly business reviews. This position oversees one direct report.

Requirements

Bachelor’s Degree required, preferably in Marketing, Advertising or Business Administration.
10+ years of relevant work experience in brand or product innovation marketing (CPG experience required) preferably in food industry.
5+ years in Marketing CM/similar level.
Strong P&L knowledge
Strong proficiency in MS Office, particularly Excel and PowerPoint, including experience with IRI, Nielsen, and Spins.
Excellent verbal, written communication skills and presentation skills.
Ability to accomplish tasks in a timely manner and meet deadlines.
Ability to travel.
Bilingual in Korean required

Nice To Haves

MBA is a plus.
Passion for food is a must!

Responsibilities

Responsible for short term and long-term category strategies for Asian FRM and K-Snacks in US and global markets in Canada and Europe across all channels Club, Retail, and Food Services.
Maintain a strategic multi-year plan and roadmap to support category growth and profitability targets and deliver compelling product/category messaging and positioning.
Manage products by closely monitoring and analyzing sales volumes, market share trends and competitive activities and based on consumer and product knowledge and insight.
Collaborate with cross functional stakeholders in Sales, SCM, R&D, Operations for product innovation roadmap, planning, commercial and distribution strategies, and any potential product issues.
Lead the development of annual marketing plan for the categories, through deep consumer insights including consumer needs, buying preferences, and macro trends.
Partner closely with stakeholders to drive results.
Set and manage P&L targets by channels.
Lead the development process of new products (NPD) and imports from HQ from conception through execution, including pricing, positioning, regulatory labeling, and packaging.
Work collaboratively with cross-functional depts, including SCM, Operations, R&D, to ensure the infrastructure is enabled to support the development process and overall product/category strategy.
Continually monitor and report on the market landscape using competitive analysis and consumer insights to inform product decisions.
Manage product lifecycle including product improvements and SKU rationalization.
Develop new product marketing plan and develop strategies to communicate with consumers.
Develop and maintain a dashboard of metrics to understand category performance (e.g., volume, profit); build data-driven narratives for Sales team for successful sales achievement.
Determine the consumer research and data needed and conduct marketing research; track market and competitive trends to remain abreast of category developments.
Support in developing annual marketing budget for the category and deliver marketing activities within the budget.
Support in leading the quarterly business reviews to present to the leadership team.
Oversee one direct report.