Category Insights Associate (Junior Level)

About the Company

Eating healthy shouldn't be complicated. That's why our team is dedicated to making delicious, plant-based super snacks with the cleanest, simplest ingredients. That's it. removes the hassle from eating fruit, making it easier than ever to get the nutrients our bodies need in the most convenient ways possible.

That's it. has transformed the natural foods category with its portfolio of super snacks, which includes: Fruit Bars, Mini Fruit Bars, Probiotic Bars, Truffles, Energy Bars, and Crunchables. Our entire range of simple and nutritious items is made with limited ingredients, and the brand’s flagship fruit bars—the #1 selling fruit bar in America—contain only two ingredients: fruit fruit.

Job Title: Associate, Category Insights (Junior Level)

About the Role

That's it. Nutrition is looking for an Associate, Category Insights to support the organization in the research, analysis, and interpretation of disparate data sources. This role's purpose is to drive accelerated growth, distribution gains, and elevate customer partnerships via category and shopper insights. The role will play a critical part in bringing a fact-based decision-making process to the sales team around areas of assortment, pricing, merchandising, and promotional investments. Advanced Excel proficiency and critical thinking skills are essential to provide actionable insights that drive business value.

The Associate, Category Insights will work closely with the Director of Category Insights and our internal Sales Team (Grocery, Convenience, Alternative, and International) to influence the development and implementation of category strategy and initiatives across major retailers. The candidate will play a pivotal role in driving the success of the Convenience channel sales team within That's it. This individual will own providing and supporting the Convenience channel with ad-hoc projects, sales decks, and reports, in addition to other category management initiatives by conducting data analysis and providing insights to the team. Your main responsibilities will involve supporting customer-facing presentations, assisting with various ad-hoc projects, and managing key reporting tasks.

A successful candidate will be self-driven and curious, thriving in a fast-paced, complex environment with ambiguity. The ability to be self-motivated and work in a team environment is also critical.

Key Responsibilities:

Category Management Leadership:

• Develop and execute comprehensive category management strategies aligned with overall business objectives.
• Conduct in-depth category analysis to identify growth opportunities and address performance gaps.
• Monitor market trends, competitor activities, and consumer behavior to share with the team during our internal Sales Meetings.
• Develop category assortment plans, pricing strategies, and promotional activities.

Data Analysis and Insights:

• Develop sales presentations with relevant consumer insights, category insights and product insights by working with the Sales Team to understand their customers’ needs
• Prepare weekly, monthly sales reports & quarterly business reviews (SPINS, Customer POS, syndicated data, etc.)
• Leverage data tools to extract meaningful insights from sales data, market research, and consumer behavior data.
• Develop robust reporting and dashboards to track category performance and identify key metrics.
• Review customer panel data and translate findings into clear and actionable recommendations through compelling analysis, storytelling, and presentations
• Conduct ad-hoc analysis to support decision-making and problem-solving.

Cross-Functional Collaboration:

• Collaborate closely with sales, marketing, design, and operation teams to ensure alignment and effective execution of category initiatives.
• Build strong relationships with key stakeholders within the Convenience channel and other channel leaders (Grocery, Alternative, and International).

Convenience-Channel Specific:

• Lead the Convenience Channel Category Management with the Convenience Sales Team
• Create customer sales presentations by collaborating with the Convenience Sales Team, using our internal deck request forms, brainstorming ideas, crafting presentations, and reviewing them with Sales Managers.
• Utilize the C-Store promotional tracker using the SPINS data, discuss the promo results, and develop the promo plans
• Be the channel expert by sharing the latest Convenience retailer news and trends to the team (Customer Annual Earnings Call, Circana, Nielsen, etc.)

Strategic Planning:

• Contribute to the development of long-term category strategies and growth plans.
• Utilize trend reports or trade shows to identify innovation white space
• Identify and evaluate new product opportunities and category extensions.
• Support senior team members in identifying trends and patterns

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration, Marketing, Economics, or a related field
• Minimum 1 year of full-time experience in a business-related role, with a preference for marketing, sales or analytics.
• Category management experience in the CPG / Food industry preferred
• High proficiency in Microsoft Office suite, specifically Excel and PowerPoint
• Extensive syndicated data knowledge (Panel data, IRI, Nielsen, SPINS, or Numerator, and retailer-specific point of sale etc)
• Advanced analytical skills, advanced understanding of consumer\shopper behavior and market research strategies, knowledge of consumer sales industry trends
• Proven ability to translate data insights into actionable strategies
• Experience driving successful projects with a cross functional team
• Strong communication skills, both written and verbal, with the ability to effectively present complex information to various stakeholders.
• Strong project management abilities. Capable of prioritizing and handling multiple projects simultaneously
• Experience with Kroger 84.51 OnDemand and Stratum Experience (preferred).
• Passion for the food industry and a desire to make a positive impact on consumers
• Travel to LA required 4-5 times per year for 2 day sales meeting