Category Buyer (All Genders)

Category Buyer (All Genders) – Hamburg

Join ahead® as a Category Buyer. Your mission is to build a product range that excites customers, drives strong business performance, and makes “low sugar” the new standard.

Your Tasks

• Category strategy and expansion
  • Develop and implement category strategies focusing on growth, margin and differentiation.
  • Identify consumer trends and market opportunities and develop business cases for new formats.
  • Manage the assortment structure and pack‑price architecture.
• Supplier discovery and management
  • Identify, evaluate and onboard new suppliers for ingredients, packaging and co‑manufacturing.
  • Conduct structured RFQs and RFPs and ensure quality, delivery reliability and compliance.
  • Build a resilient supplier network with primary and secondary sources.
• New product development leadership
  • Co‑lead the NPD process from idea to launch, ensuring timeline, cost and stakeholder management.
  • Translate consumer insights into marketable product briefs.
  • Select suitable raw materials and packaging with regard to quality, cost and sustainability.
• Product lifecycle management
  • Track and analyse category performance, including sell‑in, sell‑through, margin and contribution margin.
  • Implement optimisation measures such as reformulations and packaging updates.
  • Make data‑based decisions and actively manage complexity.
• Commercial excellence and cost optimisation
  • Conduct market and sourcing analyses to identify cost savings and efficiency potentials.
  • Collaborate with Finance on margin models, pricing strategies and scenario planning.
  • Support promotional planning and assortment optimisation.
• Governance and compliance
  • Ensure suppliers meet legal, ethical and quality standards.
  • Maintain master data and follow structured stage‑gate processes.
  • Manage risks and plan proactively for bottlenecks, lead times and minimum order quantities.

Your Skills

• At least three years of professional experience in category management, procurement or sourcing in the food or FMCG sector.
• Solid experience in supplier selection, negotiation and margin optimisation.
• Experience in NPD processes and cross‑functional project management.
• Strong analytical skills and confidence working with market, cost and performance data.
• Structured working style, responsible and highly team‑oriented.
• Fluent in English (spoken and written) and German at a basic conversational level.

Why ahead?

• Hypergrowth environment – real impact and creative freedom.
• Great workspace – central Hamburg office with top equipment and plenty of snacks.
• Amazing team – young, international, ambitious colleagues.
• Career growth – cross‑functional projects, structured feedback and a steep learning curve.
• Great benefits – monthly €50 allowance for sports club, mobility options, vouchers.
• Vacation days – 28 days plus extra off on Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve.
• Events & off‑sites – regular after‑work hangouts and memorable annual off‑sites.

Your Next Steps

Send us your resume and a few reasons why you want to be a part of ahead. We will schedule an interview, followed by a small case study and a presentation. If both sides are happy, we’ll arrange a quick start.

Contact

Questions? Email

Equal Opportunity Employer

ahead GmbH is an equal opportunity workplace and is devoted to providing equal employment opportunities regardless of race, color, ancestry, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, age, citizenship, marital status, disability or gender identity.

About Us

ahead is building a low‑sugar snack brand for a new generation, using cutting‑edge food tech to reinvent childhood favorites. We’re growing across Europe and looking for smart, driven, curious minds to join us.