In a nutshell
Products are the heart of Picnic, and Fruits & Vegetables are the ultimate test of our promise to customers. In this role, you won’t just manage a category—you will own a dynamic, living ecosystem where freshness, seasonality, and razor-sharp pricing intersect. At Picnic, we differentiate ourselves through data. We don't rely on gut feelings; we build our strategies on state-of-the-art data infrastructure. As Category Manager for Fruits & Vegetables, your superpower will be marrying elite analytical insights with deep market knowledge and a robust supplier network. Together with your cross-functional team, you’ll take end-to-end accountability for building an irresistible assortment, optimizing complex supply chains, minimizing waste, and driving massive commercial growth.
Tricks of the trade- Data-Driven Category Ownership: Dive into Picnic’s data warehouses to track performance, predict trends, and uncover commercial opportunities that optimize assortment, pricing, and promotion strategies.
- Commercial & Negotiation Mastery: Lead end-to-end negotiations with growers, importers, and wholesalers. Secure competitive commercial terms and long-term volume commitments while building sustainable, trusting partnerships.
- Fresh Logistics & Agility: Own the unique challenges of the F&V supply chain. Proactively mitigate risks like sudden weather impacts, harvest fluctuations, and import restrictions to guarantee maximum product availability and shelf-life.
- Wastage & Quality Control: Collaborate closely with Quality Assurance and Supply Chain teams to optimize transit times, rethink packaging for sustainability and freshness, and keep food waste to an absolute minimum.
- Innovation & Sourcing: Spot upcoming food trends, drive local sourcing initiatives, and introduce eco-friendly innovations that excite our customers and elevate Picnic’s sustainability profile.
- Cross-Functional Collaboration: Act as the strategic bridge between analysts, supply chain planners, and operations teams to execute flawless daily execution and long-term category goals.
- Master’s degree (MSc) in Business, Economics, Food Innovation, Supply Chain, or a highly analytical field
- 2-7 years of commercial experience, ideally as a Category Manager or Buyer within the fresh produce (Fruit & Vegetables) sector.
- A data-first mindset. You are comfortable navigating large datasets to extract actionable insights and possess advanced Excel skills (SQL familiarity is a massive plus).
- Proven ability to hold your own in tough commercial negotiations while maintaining healthy, collaborative supplier relationships.
- High energy and a cool head. You thrive in a fast-paced environment where operational hiccups (like a delayed shipment or sudden frost) require swift, creative problem-solving.
- A genuine enthusiasm for agricultural dynamics, sustainability, and high-quality food.
- Fluency in English is required; professional proficiency in Dutch is a strong advantage given the local supplier landscape.
🥗Fresh Lunch, coffee, and snacks
Our offices are equipped with fully-fledged coffee bars and a kitchen and chefs. They prepare delicious fresh and warm lunches every day so you can keep your energy up.
🚴🏼♂️Health insurance discount & bike plan
We have a partnership with CZ (a health insurance provider). Picnic employees get a discount on CZ insurance packages between 5% and 15%. Furthermore, through our partnership with Lease a Bike, you can rent-to-own a new (e)bike at a discounted rate
✍🏼 Learning & development
You’ll get ample opportunity to work on yourself at Picnic. We offer personal development through Lepaya courses, Academy trainings, and more. Interested in improving your mental wellbeing? Through OpenUp you get free access to trained psychologists and many courses.
All the rest
At Picnic you get 25 holidays, we cover your travel expenses and offer a pension plan. And your phone and laptop are on us, as well.
Skills Required
- Master's degree (MSc) in Business, Economics, Food Innovation, Supply Chain, or analytical field
- 2-7 years commercial experience, ideally as Category Manager or Buyer in fresh produce (F&V)
- Advanced Excel skills
- SQL familiarity
- Comfortable navigating large datasets and a data-first mindset
- Proven commercial negotiation experience with growers, importers, or wholesalers
- Experience managing fresh produce supply chain, minimizing waste, and ensuring product quality/freshness
- Fluency in English
- Professional proficiency in Dutch
- High energy, calm problem-solving under operational disruptions
- Enthusiasm for agricultural dynamics, sustainability, and high-quality food
What We Do
At Picnic, we’re revolutionizing the way people buy groceries. Our affordable and sustainable service is made possible by our passionate people, cutting-edge technology, efficient planning, and, of course, our fleet of iconic electric vehicles! It’s why our customer base is growing rapidly across the Netherlands, Germany, and France. One of the things that makes Picnic different is that we handle almost everything in-house: forecasting, developing our first automated warehouse and new electric Picnic vehicles, internal and customer-facing applications—the list goes on. It gives us more freedom when it comes to trying out new and innovative ideas, which is something we do a lot! We love to challenge ourselves and learn new things. Our teams have access to various meetups, language classes, ‘Lunch & Learn’ sessions, our very own Tech Academy, and tailored soft-skills training. Professional development is as important to us as the service we provide to our customers. As a diverse team made up of over 80 nationalities, there are always plenty of activities to get involved with, whether you’re into sports, board games, charitable causes, dancing (at our legendary Picnic festival), or licorice tasting—yes, even that! Our scale-up culture means you get to own your role and bring fresh ideas to the table. So, if you’re looking for an opportunity to make a real difference, get in touch—we’d love to hear from you.
