Category Manager - Private Label

Ko wai mātou – About us

Kia ora. We’re Foodies. You know Gilmours, New World, PAK’nSAVE, and Four Square, right? That’s us!

Foodstuffs Own brands Limited is a 100% New Zealand owned and operated organisation, owned by the two Foodstuffs regional co-operatives. Own Brands is the business responsible for product development, sourcing and quality control of our Private Label products, with the most iconic of which being the much loved Pams brand!

From our humble beginnings when we supplied just Pams baking and custard powder, we now boast a range of over 3000 products with everything from baking to butchery, to fresh produce and grocery!

Te Tūranga – About the role

As a Product Manager in our Own Brands team, you will be part of building the most preferred Private Label and Exclusive brands in New Zealand!

You’ll lead the strategy, performance, and development of a portfolio of Own Brand products—ensuring they deliver value for our customers and our co-operative.

This is a unique opportunity to work closely with regional category teams and supplier partners to shape category strategies, drive growth, and bring innovative, customer-led products to life.

Ngā kawenga – What you’ll be responsible for

Managing the full lifecycle of Own Brand products—from concept through to performance optimisation

Developing and delivering category and brand strategies aligned with customer insights and regional priorities

Building strong relationships with internal stakeholders and supplier partners

Leading category reviews and identifying growth opportunities through data and insights (e.g. Nielsen, Dunnhumby)

Managing supplier performance, contracts, and negotiations

Driving new product development, renovations, and innovation pipelines

Monitoring performance metrics including sales, margin, and market share

Ensuring compliance with food safety, regulatory, and Own Brand standards

Leading projects and cross-functional initiatives to deliver strategic outcomes

He kōrero mōu – About you

You’re a commercially savvy product or category professional with a passion for the food industry and a strong understanding of FMCG. You combine commercial acumen, critical thinking, and customer insight to identify opportunities, solve problems, and deliver results in a fast-paced environment.

Confident and adaptable, you use data and market trends to inform decisions and drive performance. You’re a strong relationship builder who works effectively across teams and with external partners, influencing for successful delivery, bringing a proactive mindset, attention to detail, and a focus on continuous improvement.

Experience in FMCG, grocery retail, or the food industry is preferred, along with exposure to category management, private label brands, supplier engagement, range reviews, and procurement processes. Familiarity with tools such as Nielsen or Dunnhumby would be an advantage.

Ngā painga - What we offer

We’re committed to providing awesome experiences for our people, including offering a range of benefits

Free carparking - we’ve got over 1,000 carparks including EV plugs

Southern Cross plans for you and your family

Onsite café with subsidised meals, mini mart, 5% discount at our retail stores

Flexible working options, a day off on your birthday, lots of fun on site activities

Inhouse learning and development programmes and courses, flu vaccinations, and social network groups (we call them Tribes).

Experience awesome. Achieve awesome. Be awesomely you.

We’re proud to have a focus on Diversity & Inclusion here at Foodies and welcome courageous behaviour, encourage togetherness, inspire our people to be their best selves in our Foodies whānau.

We encourage you to apply with all your awesomeness and welcome your diverse background, including any disability, additional health and mental health needs, and/or neurodiversity.

If you require accessibility support to ensure you can fairly access our recruitment process, please reach out to [email hidden]. Accessibility support could include interview location, sign language interpreter, assistive technology.