Founded in 2003 Wasabi's vision is to lovingly create and serve delicious Asian food for a busy nation.
Wasabi now has 42 thriving restaurants across London and major UK cities and 4 in New York and in 2019, we introduced Wasabi Home Bento the grocery channel, launching exclusively in Sainsbury’s. Building on that success, the grocery business broadened its reach to Tesco in September 2022, followed by exciting launches in Co-op and Morrisons in 2024. Wasabi grocery has seen phenomenal growth and is now a £62m RSV brand. Wasabi proudly stands as the No. 2 chilled ready-meal brand in the market, consistently attracting new customers to the category through an innovative East Asian range.
Wasabi’s menu is celebrated for its unique character, exceptional freshness, and bold flavours. Our diverse range is designed to delight a wide audience, delivering both comfort and excitement with every bite.
We have an ambitious 5-year growth strategy, focusing on new restaurants, franchise partnerships, and international expansion.
As we prepare for our next phase of growth and innovation, we have an incredibly exciting opportunity for a Category Growth Manager to join our Team based in Park Royal.
The Role:
The incumbent will own the definition and execution of the category growth strategy across key UK grocery accounts, identifying and capitalising on new opportunities to drive sustainable sales and profitability.
This role will harness data, shopper insights, and market trends to inform both internal strategy and external customer engagement, positioning Wasabi as a trusted and influential category partner.
Collaborating across functions, you will lead category-focused initiatives that enhance category value, shape retailer decisions, and deliver measurable, incremental growth for both our customers and the business.
Key Responsibilities:
Category Strategy & Growth
* Develop and lead the category growth strategies aligned to business objectives and retailer priorities
* Identify and unlock new whitespace growth opportunities
* Lead key commercial initiatives including range reviews, macro space resets and category deep dives to deliver incremental category growth
* Own relationship with external data partners (Kantar, IRI, Dunnhumby) ensuring best-in-class insight capabilities that drive competitive advantage
Insight & Analysis
* Leverage EPOS, panel, and shopper data to identify trends, risks, and opportunities
* Translate data into actionable insights and clear recommendations
* Monitor competitor activity, pricing, and promotional strategies
* Track category performance and optimise accordingly
* Act as a category growth partner for key retail customers (Tesco & Sainsbury’s) influencing category direction and long-term strategy
* Build strong relationships across buying, category and range planning teams
* Partner closely with sales, food and marketing teams to deliver impactful, insight-led presentations to support NPD launches and new business opportunities
* Support Joint Business Planning (JBP) processes
* Optimise and help shape product range using data and shopper insight
* Lead planogram development and shelf layout recommendations
* Identify and unlock distribution and visibility opportunities to drive incremental sales and category expansion
New Product Development (NPD)
* Collaborate with marketing, food and sales teams to identify gaps in the category
* Partner cross-functionally with marketing, food and sales to shape and deliver impactful NPD
* Evaluate post-launch performance and recommend improvement
* Identify opportunities for differentiation and brand expansion into new categories
Our Requirements:
* Key experience and capabilities:
* Previous experience in a Category Management or Category Analyst role within FMCG
* Strong understanding of UK grocery retail landscape and exposure working with major UK retailers
* Experience working with data sources such as IRI and Kantar
* Advanced Excel and strong analytical skills
* Confident presenter with excellent storytelling ability
* Commercially astute with a proactive, results-driven mindset
* Strong stakeholder management and relationship-building skills
Personal attributes:
* Commercially focused with a strong instinct for growth and opportunity
* Clear and confident communicator
* Strong influencer and relationship builder
* Action and solution oriented
* Comfortable with ambiguity, have a real ‘can do attitude’, and prepared to get their hands dirty to make a difference in an exciting and fast-growing business
* A great working environment
* Refer A Friend Scheme
* Free Sushi or hot food (vegan options available)
* 50% discount in our Branches
* Employee Assistant Programme
* Long Service Awards
* Wagestream - a financial wellbeing benefit that lets you access your pay as you earn it in real time and manage savings
* Life Assurance
* Electric Vehicle Scheme through Octapus
* Cycle To Work
* Free on-site parking
* A variety of discounts (shopping, food & drink, entertainment and health & fitness) through Perkbox and
* The opportunity to develop your skills within a growing company.
Our people make us who we are. Join a company where you’ll have the opportunity to work for a growing company and build a real career.
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