Category Development Manager

Are you a analytical, business-oriented individual with a passion for category development? If so, are you interested in joining Sweden's largest FMCG company? This is a temporary position (fixed-term contract) for up to one year, ending no later than 18 December 2026 

Are you a sharp analytical business developer with commercial understanding who gets excited about driving growth by transforming brand strategies into commercial plans and ensuring their successful implementation in the market? Who thrives when identifying  growth potential within a specific category and commercialize the insights to our customers through insight-based selling stories. We are on a journey of change, aiming to become even sharper in supporting the sales organization to drive growth to our customers and our farmers, and we are looking for a new colleague to join the Category Development Retail team at Arla Foods AB

How you will make an impact:

The Customer Development team defines, develops, and drives growth for Arla's well-known brands together with our sales teams and our customers in the Swedish retail market. The team consists of several Category Developers responsible for different categories and/or occasions such as yogurt, cheese, and cooking products, as well as colleagues from Net Revenue Management, Customer Category, Space, and expertise in Shopper Marketing and Instore Activation.

Within the Category Development team you will work cross functionally with the Key account-, Brand - and Field sales team. You will be the expert for a specific Category and/or occasion on how to drive growth across all retail customers and formats based on a shopper profile, Brand/Private Label, assortment range, pack format, shelf space impact, etc. You contribute to developing tools to better understand the current situation and to create new improved plans and activities to drive value for our customers and our farmers. Analysis work is a very important part, as well as creating data driven persuasive presentations and creating impactful sales activities.

• Be the expert of a specific category and/or occasion on how to drive growth
• Create a Channel Strategy incl toolbox on how to optimize your category and/or occasion
• Trough analysis based on multiple sources and tools (e.g., Nielsen, ICA self-serve, etc) consistently track performance with focus identify gaps, opportunities and defends 
• Together with Marketing develop and implement launch plans for product innovations    
• Create strong category and product presentations for new product launched and identified growth opportunities and/or defends within your category; NPD and Base assortment
• Plan effective in-store activities for your category, track and monitor
• You will represent your product categories in various forums and projects

What will make you successful:

• You have a degree in Business Economics or equivalent in sales and/or marketing
• You have several years of work experience in marketing and/or sales from a supplier or retailer, preferably within FMCG
• You are driven, structured, analytical, with a strong commercial understanding
• You have very strong analytical skills, and experience working with ACNielsen is a must, Power BI, and driving strategy and analysis projects is a plus
• You are motivated by identifying opportunities and building insightful sales materials for trade, as well as transforming brand strategies into commercial plans for Arla's product innovations and ensuring their successful implementation in the market

To thrive in the role of Category Developer, you need the ability to in depth process information about sales and profitability and evaluate the effects of different sales efforts. Business focus, analytical thinking and good communication skills are also important. Furthermore, you excel in delivering presentations and simplifying complex analyses in an easily understandable way.

Last but not least, you are an enthusiastic team player who enjoys working independently and taking responsibility for your own work. You are driven and create your own structure and planning to achieve your own and the team's goals, contributing to a great team spirit.

What do we offer?

At Arla, we value professional development and promote from within.  Our positive and collaborative culture will bring out the best in you. And you will join a market leader who produces nutritious household-favourite brands in a way that make things better for our customers, the farmers who own us, and the whole world.

Arla Foods has collective agreements, and we always ensure to offer good and competitive working conditions. In addition to that, safety and working environment are our top priorities, which is why we, among other things, conduct random drug and alcohol tests.

Would you like to join us?

If you're ready to lead innovation and shape the industry, seize this exciting opportunity. Please apply as soon as possible, as we will process applications continuously and close the recruitment once the right candidate is found. Please be aware that any applications or CVs coming through email or direct messages will not be accepted or considered.

For additional information, please contact Hiring Manager Claes Leander,

Shape the Future of Dairy

Arla is a global leader in the dairy industry, committed to enabling good food choices that make life better, providing people with natural, sustainable nourishment, while taking care at every step to ensure Arla is a choice they can feel good about. If you are looking to shape the future with an ambitious global cooperative that truly cares about your growth, where everyone feels valued and empowered, and collaboration is the core of culture, Arla is a choice you can feel good about.

#LI-CAMON
Ref.: 105352