Category Executive

apetito is entering a period of transformative growth, with ambitious targets across every business unit, powered by our 5X strategy. With a new B2B structure now in place and a renewed focus on driving our proposition forward, there has never been a more exciting time to join the team.

The B2B Category team sits at the heart of our journey; shaping propositions, evolving our product portfolio, and ensuring we deliver outstanding value across Healthcare, Care Homes, Education, Business Development and Local Authorities.

Reporting to the Category Manager - B2B, the Category Executive will be instrumental in bringing our strategy to life. You’ll lead high-profile projects, collaborate with senior stakeholders across the business, and directly influence the future of a £110m+ B2B operation as we accelerate towards our £200m ambition and beyond.

apetito is the UK’s leading food supplier to the health and social care sectors serving more than 1,300 care homes, health care and education settings.

Our meals are expertly crafted by our dieticians and chefs, and then frozen to lock in the goodness.

Wiltshire Farm Foods, our sister company, is the UK’s largest ready meal supplier cooking and delivering over 330 different delicious frozen ready meals across the UK.

In alignment with our category strategy, you will:

1. Launch with Impact
   
   Drive launches that deliver real growth. From helping to shape compelling campaigns, to working on projects with stakeholders across the business, you’ll be critical in making sure every launch lands powerfully both inside and outside apetito.

2. Intentional Innovation Across the Product Mix
   
   Play a key role in our category road-map, supporting exciting projects such as new kids’ ranges, tray-bakes, cultural meals, and food-to-go. You’ll help identify opportunities, shape briefs, support with pricing, and bring new ideas to life.

3. Exceptional Product Experience
   
   Elevate the customer journey end-to-end. From supporting the improvement of my apetito and ensuring exceptional product availability, to enhancing the quality of meals on the service user’s plate. You’ll work with the Category Manager and wider teams to make every product-focused touch-point seamless, consistent, and outstanding.

4. Transparency, Sharing & Openness
   
   Strengthen how we share information and ideas across the business, ensuring stakeholders are informed, engaged, and empowered to deliver change together.

5. Customer Obsessed Mindset
   
   Bring the customer voice to the heart of everything we do; from gathering insights and engaging directly with customers, to ensuring their needs shape every product, launch, and decision we make.

6. Structured Sustainability
   
   Champion sustainability as a core part of our category strategy, embedding it into our development process in a way that drives real change and creates a story we can proudly share with customers.

Skills and Experience:

• Proven ability to successfully manage projects with multiple stakeholders, keeping them on track and aligned
• Strong organisational skills with the ability to juggle multiple priorities and deliver at pace
• Commercial awareness, able to connect product and category decisions to business growth and customer value
• Comfortable working with numbers and data – confident reviewing sales, margins and performance metrics to draw out insights
• Great communication and presentation skills, confident engaging with a variety of audiences
• Digitally literate: proficient in Microsoft Office and confident learning new tools (e.g. PIM, survey platforms, SAP)
• Flexibility to travel and possession of a full, clean driver’s licence
• High attention to detail with examples of accuracy and thoroughness in work

Personal Qualities:

• Resilient and solutions-focused, with a positive, “can-do” attitude and a willingness to learn
• A creative thinker who brings fresh ideas and challenges “the way it’s always been done”
• Passionate about food and motivated to make a real difference to our customers
• A collaborative team player who builds strong relationships and works well across teams
• Able to influence and energise colleagues, bringing people with them on the journey

• Competitive salary – accredited Living Wage employer
• 25 days holiday per year, plus bank holidays
• Option to purchase up to 5 additional days holiday per year
• Discretionary annual bonus scheme
• Pension scheme - employer matched contributions up to 4%
• Life assurance scheme worth at least 1x annual salary
• Subsidised canteen
• Free parking
• Free turkey or voucher at Christmas
• apetito perks scheme including salary sacrifice options and retail discounts

As a family-owned business, we take great pride in being a company that makes a real difference and is dedicated to creating outstanding meals to be proud of.

We develop a range of products designed to enhance health and well-being for all our customers.

We are driven by a passion for service and dedicated to feeding some of the UK’s most vulnerable people.

We proudly support British food and farming, focusing on using the best ethical and sustainable produce in alignment with our goal to reach Net Zero by 2040.

Our ethical standards are recognised by the ETI and we are an accredited Living Wage employer.
Learn more about apetito’s commitment to a more sustainable future.

We embrace inclusion, empowering individuals from diverse backgrounds.

Our commitment to making a real difference extends to customers, communities, and staff and we're on a mission to build an inclusive workplace where everyone reaches their full potential.