Senior Category Manager (Cooking category), Arla Food (Puck) – KSA/UAE Dec 2010 onwards
Key Profile
Category Partnership:
• Provide a yearly business plan and an aggressive activity plan for my category & the brand In-order to achieve my targeted sales and to increase the market shares aligning it with the 5 year plan building blocks of the brand and the category.
• Provide the brand strategy and the drives that we need to work on to trigger the growth factors.
• Regional strategic experience imbedding it in my local activity plan for my products.
• Analyzing marketing programs and adjusting the strategy and tactics to increase effectiveness in sales and branding aspects in channels for my products
• Setting the budgets plan for the category based on the yearly activity plan.
• Handle all the BTL and the ATL communications and strategic plan of it.
• Handle all the Promotion policy plan for my products.
• Customer marketing plan for each account. (Tailor made sales plan)/Carrefour, Lulu, union coop, panda),,etc
• Wide range of knowledge and experience in the retail sector and also in consumer knowledge due to more than 11 years of experience in KSA & GCC
• Provide the yearly forecast for my product and the promotion range too.
• Negotiates contract terms with outside agencies and suppliers.
• Reviews analysis of marketing surveys on current and new product concepts in order to recommend future product development. (sterilized cream, Whipping cream, cooking cream, Milk powder)
• Aggressive NDP pipeline succeed in launching and re-launching it; Cooking cream, Milk powder, evaporated milk in tins, flavored thick cream, flavored yogurt for kids, chocolate mousse, spray cream, butter spreadable, Labneh, sauces, milk powder: products that i have launched throughout my marketing career in almarai and Alra.
Sales Fundamentals
• Build strong incentives programs for all channels to lift volumes (sell in and sell out programs).
• Handling the entire ambient plan for the floor display support in the company including ramdan.
• Develop the best in store execution on shelf, floor display, and in the chilled section.
• Execute puck activations and sampling programs across KSA to increase sale and consumer awareness.
• Plans, promotes, and executes sales meetings and community and goodwill events.
• Chair meetings with ASMs, on a weekly basis to discuss the activity plan.(Othaim, Carrefour, Panda, union coop,)
• Execute, monitor and evaluate the activation of the campaigns.
• Negotiates and establish contracts with outside agencies and suppliers.
Insights & Marketing
• Monitor competitors’ strategies and proactively implement appropriate winning go-to-market activities to outmaneuver competition.
• Lead quantitative and qualitative research, and provide Weekly report to general manager on projects status.
Key Highlight
• Planned NDP pipeline and succeeded in launching and re-launching it (sauces,Cooking cream, whipping cream, Arla organic milk, puck Milk powder, evaporated milk in tins, flavored thick cream, flavored yogurt for kids, chocolate mousse, spray cream, butter spreadable, Labneh).
• Handling the entire ambient plan for the floor display support in the company since last two years.(including Ramadan).
PREVIOUS EXPERIENCE
Junior Category Manager/Assistant Brand Manager, Almarai Company (FMCG) - Riyadh, KSA 2008 – 2010
• Assist the Group Product Manager in the development of the marketing strategy which grows the designated product portfolio.
• Follow up on category performance and identifying the drops that we need to work on it
• Handling all the meetings of the media and creative agencies to support in building the brand & the category.
• Implemented robust strategies to translate customer insights into actionable category strategies and tactics that drive measurable results in growing the designated product portfolio.
• Brand Management focuses both existing products and new product development. (flavored yogurt with apricot, Chocolate mousse for kids, Butter ghee, butter).
• Activating the pillars of the category and to work hand to hand with the sales team.
• Handling all the activations of the category from shopper, customer and consumer of the category.
• Worked collaboratively with Customer Development to deliver aligned recommendations for both existing products and new product development (flavored yogurt with apricot, Chocolate mousse for kids) supported by strong category rationale.
• Followed up on the SFDA approvals and executed the necessary actions needed to work it out.
• Participated in the monthly meeting with procurement and supply chain in order to build strong, reciprocal, trusted relationships across organizational and functional boundaries and use these relationships to grow the brand.