About the company
Our client is the biggest producer of private label pet food in Europe and one of the most innovative players in their category. They serve more than 470 major European retailers, supermarket chains, specialist pet shops and veterinarians in the markets in which they operates. They offer a full range of high quality dog and cat food products including dry food, canned food, pouches, semi moist, snacks and cat milk.
What's in it for you?
- Impact & Ownership : You will manage a multimillion-euro portfolio with a diverse range of clients in Belgium (Retail, PSC, e-commerce). You’ll have the freedom to build, expand, and truly make an impact. In addition to developing private label products, you will also work with strong, established brands.
- Fast-Growing Company : Join an €800M company in one of its fastest-growing clusters (3x growth over the past 3 years).
- 360-Degree Commercial Role : You’ll collaborate with all departments – category managers, marketing, supply chain, and buying teams. This is not just about pricing discussions, but about building strategic partnerships, both internally and externally. The short lines of communication across teams strongly support this.
- International & Entrepreneurial : Enjoy a flexible working environment (Belgium/Netherlands), a strong team, high autonomy, and growth opportunities within a European context. No corporate red tape – just a hands-on, “getting things done” mentality.
Your role
You will have the complete P&L responsibility of multiple retailers/pet specialists within Belgium. Your main focus will be to grow the existing partnerships by expanding your own label share (via current and/or new product categories) and/or building the brands. Internally, a team of several departments is in place to achieve the common goals: category management, product management, supply, customer service, finance,.. In this role, you'll be reporting to the Country Manager Belgium/UK/Ireland.
- Develop strategic, long-term relationships with your retail/pet specialty customers;
- Take full ownership of the strategic plan for your accounts, driving sales and managing the profit and loss elements, aligning with the broader company goals;
- Lead forecast planning in unison with finance and supply teams to provide stellar customer service and financial consistency;
- Lead customer negotiations, representing the company's commercial interests and value-based trading terms effectivly;
- Work closely together with several internal teams (Catman, Production, Product Developers) to achieve our partner's and the company's mutual ambitions
This role is an exciting opportunity to be at the heart of a highly successful and innovative company and to build your career in a fast-growing industry.
Profile
Education & experience
You are an ambitious, customer-centric goal getter, who has:
A master's degree in business economics or similar
More than 4y relevant commercial working experience in FMCG (KAM/trade marketing/category management)
A proven track record of being able to achieve your goals (e.g. leaving a legacy), despite multiple setbacks
Knowledge of the Belgian (petfood) market is a strong plus
2.Relevant competencies
Resilient and result driven, focusing on long term sustainable growth
Fluent in Dutch / French / English
Create and implement a 360° negotiation approach
Strong sense of ownership: treat our company as if it was your own
Entrepreneurial spirit
Continuously identifying new growth opportunities and finding ways on how to unlock them.
Creative problem solver with a can-do mentality
Doesn't take a no for an answer
Strategic thinker, being able to make your own 1, 3 and 5y plan, in line with company's ambition
Strong internal stakeholder management, being able to collaborate with/get things done from several departments
Ability to read and understand your P&L in depth and act upon it
Ability to understand multiple datasets e.g. Nielsen/Catman data
Affinity with Pets/Petfood - nutritional/production knowledge is not must have as long as there is a high willingness/openness to learn?