Job description
Hungryroot is seeking a strategic, analytical, and passionate Meals Category Lead to shape and scale our prepared foods assortment in alignment with our customers’ needs and preferences. This high-impact role is responsible for defining and executing a data-informed category strategy that maximizes customer satisfaction, drives sales and profitability, and upholds our mission to make healthy eating easy.
As Meals Category Lead, you will own end-to-end category management for your assortment of heat & eat and ready-to-eat meals and sides – including strategy, product development, vendor and item selection, packaging, and merchandising – with a clear focus on developing and curating products and brands that meet the Root Standard: our commitment to quality, nutrition, convenience, and great taste. You’ll play a key role in building and managing supplier partnerships, unlocking value through cost optimization, vendor performance management, and innovation.
In this important role, you will report directly to the Director of Category Management and collaborate closely with R&D, Culinary, Food Safety, Marketing, and Supply Chain teams to develop, onboard and maintain an assortment of best-in-class products.
Responsibilities
- Lead the strategic development and management of Hungryroot’s Prepared Meals and Sides categories, curating a high-quality, health-forward assortment that meets customer needs.
- Partner closely with the R&D and Culinary teams to identify innovation opportunities and bring new product concepts to life, ensuring they align with Hungryroot’s standards for nutrition, convenience, and taste.
- Proactively identify and source innovative brands and products that drive customer satisfaction, sales, and margin.
- Own the end-to-end product lifecycle, leading cross-functional execution from pipeline planning and vendor negotiations through onboarding, launch, and in-market performance management.
- Leverage data and customer insights to inform category strategy, guiding decisions on product mix, pricing, promotion, and placement to improve business performance and customer value.
- Identify and deliver cost-saving initiatives, renegotiating vendor agreements or exploring alternative sourcing while preserving quality, performance, and margin goals.
- Steer long-term assortment health, identifying assortment gaps, whitespace opportunities, market trends, and rationalization needs to ensure the mix evolves with customer preferences and business priorities.
- Build and manage best-in-class supplier relationships, holding vendors accountable to performance standards across cost, quality, food safety, and service.
- Own category compliance and quality, partnering closely with food safety and regulatory teams to uphold federal, state, and internal standards.
- Collaborate cross-functionally with supply chain and fulfillment teams to ensure product availability, minimize disruptions, and maintain healthy inventory aligned with demand.
- Work with brand partners and our partnerships team to design and activate promotional opportunities that elevate category performance and support revenue goals.
Qualifications
- 5+ years of experience in category management, buying, or merchandising—ideally within eCommerce.
- Deep familiarity with the prepared meals and sidescategory—including ready-to-eat, and heat-and-eat formats—with a strong understanding of consumer preferences, supply chain dynamics, and packaging considerations.
- Experience collaborating on product development or private-label innovation in a fresh or perishable food category is strongly preferred.
- Proven ability to negotiate, manage projects, and communicate effectively across internal and external stakeholders.
- Experience building vendor partnerships and developing private-label products.
- Working knowledge of retail and eCommerce food safety standards.
- Strong analytical mindset with strong proficiency in Excel or Google Sheets.
- Highly collaborative, with a track record of effective cross-functional partnership.
- Agile and solutions-oriented; thrives in a fast-paced, dynamic environment.
- Self-motivated, positive, and proactive with a transparent communication style.
- Passion for food, health, and wellness, with a pulse on industry trends and consumer behavior.
- Familiarity with tools like NetSuite, Airtable, Looker, or other ERP systems is a plus.
Perks & Benefits
- Remote-first: work from home, work from our NYC office, work from anywhere in the U.S. - you decide!
- Equity
- Unlimited vacation policy
- Universal paid parental leave
- Monthly Hungryroot credit for delicious, healthy groceries
- Comprehensive health, vision, dental, and life insurance
- 401k with Company Match
- A work from home stipend to support your initial home-office setup
Expected Pay Range
$100,000-$130,000
#LI-REMOTE
The employer will not sponsor applicants for work visas.
Our mission to help make healthy eating easy, accessible, and joyful is better served by a diverse workplace. We are a proud Equal Opportunity Employer committed to building an inclusive workplace. We have zero-tolerance for harassment or discrimination. We do not discriminate on the basis of any protected class.
