Senior Associate, Category Management

About Unreal

Our story began when two kids asked a simple question: Why does everything that tastes so good have to have so much junk?

They set out to prove that unbelievably delicious chocolate snacks could be made with real, simple ingredients and way less sugar. In doing so, they sent a bold message to the whole category: do better.

More than a decade later, that same ambitious spirit still drives Unreal. What started as a simple question has grown into a beloved national brand, raising the bar for snacking in over 35,000 stores including Target, Whole Foods Market, Costco, Sprouts, Kroger, and Publix. We're also sold online through Amazon, Thrive Market, and at unrealsnacks.com.

Job Summary

The Senior Associate, Category Management will support business analytics practices for Unreal to help drive strategies and execution forward. As we scale our presence across retail, we're looking for someone who will be at the heart of how we translate data into decisions, and decisions into growth. The Senior Associate will be the analytical engine behind our retail strategy — turning syndicated data, panel insights, and competitive intelligence into compelling stories that win at the category level.

This is a role for someone who is energized by a complex data set, knows how to make numbers speak, and wants to be part of a brand that's reshaping what snacking looks like. In this role, you will collaborate with key cross-functional stakeholders across Field Sales while gaining valuable insights into various areas of Unreal’s business.

The Senior Associate, Category Management will be a vital member of the Unreal Customer Strategy and Planning (CS&P) team and report directly to the Director, Category Management. This is a remote position, with approximately 10% travel required for conferences, sales meetings, and company offsite events.

What You’ll Do

• Support the Category Management team in understanding category dynamics, developing selling stories, and building insights to drive strategy forward.
• Assist the Sales team through analytical support for customer meetings and presentations, ensuring the team has what they need to win.
• Build and maintain monthly performance scorecards, dashboards, reporting, and insight updates.
• Lead deep-dive analyses through the synthesis of multiple datasets, including insights on the category landscape, SKU optimization, and/or competitive dynamics.
• Own the sampling process for all Sales and Influencer shipments.
• Play a central role on the CS&P team by providing data-driven recommendations for commercial execution.

Who You Are

• Hands-on background in business analytics, syndicated research, or shopper insights. Experience within CPG or at a research firm serving CPG clients is preferred.
• Prior experience working with point-of-sale (POS) data to perform data analysis. Experience navigating sources like Nielsen, Circana, and/or SPINS is preferred.
• Experience working with panel data from sources like Numerator is a plus.
• Proficiency in Excel (including Pivot Tables, VLOOKUPs, and complex formulas), with the ability to build dashboards and reports that surface trends and support data-driven decisions.
• Experience partnering directly with sales teams or cross-functional stakeholders to turn data into action.
• Strong attention to detail with a track record of maintaining data accuracy across complex datasets.
• Demonstrated data storytelling skills that make numbers resonate with different audiences.
• A collaborative, curious, and proactive approach — someone who seeks out insights rather than waiting to be asked.

The base compensation range for this position is between $86K - $103K annually. This position is also eligible for a 10% bonus. The salary range listed reflects the minimum and maximum target for new hire salaries for this position. Individual compensation is determined by additional factors, including role-related experience and relevant education and certifications. Bonus payout is pro-rated to start date. Employees must be employed by September 30 of the calendar year to be eligible for bonus for that calendar year. 

Applicants must be authorized to work for any employer in the U.S. Unreal is unable to sponsor or take over sponsorship of an employment visa at this time.

While Unreal’s culture is remote-first, our team highly values occasional in-person collaboration. As a result, Unreal team members get together for departmental and company-wide events a few times per year. Employees at Unreal are expected to attend apart from extenuating circumstances.

What We Offer

At Unreal, we are dedicated to providing our employees with a comprehensive array of benefits and perks that resonate deeply with our Core Values. We believe in nurturing our team members, ensuring they feel supported and valued, and enabling them to bring their best selves to work. Below, you'll find an overview of what each Unreal employee enjoys.

• Competitive salary and bonus
• Unlimited PTO & all federal holidays off
• Health, Dental, and Vision insurance - employee premiums are 100% covered,  dependent premiums covered at 60% 
• Health Reimbursement Account
• 401(k) with company match (eligible to participate after 6 months from hire)
• Up to 18 weeks Paid Parental Leave
• Paid Caregiver, Medical, & Bereavement Leave
• Tuition Reimbursement & Professional Development Stipend
• Wellness Stipend
• Monthly Home Office Stipend
• Coworking Stipend for remote employees
• Donation Matching Program
• Paid Volunteer Days
• Unlimited chocolate
• Great teammates and team culture - including department & team events
• Exposure to exciting opportunities at a rapidly growing brand!

Our Core Values

At Unreal, our values guide everything we do:

Do The Right Thing

By our consumers, our retailers, our farmers, our partners, and our world. Integrity is everything.

Endlessly Pursue Better

Challenge the status quo, sweat the small stuff, and don’t settle.

Always a Teacher, Always a Student

We share what we know while staying open to what we don’t.

Radiate Good Vibes

This is a biggie. We approach everything we do with positivity and our energy is contagious.

Make Every Bite Matter

We are creating the best bites ever, without sacrificing taste, health, or the planet to do it.

Unreal Brands, Inc. is committed to a policy of Equal Employment Opportunity and will not discriminate against an applicant or employee based on race, color, religion, creed, national origin or ancestry, ethnicity, sex (including gender, pregnancy, sexual orientation, and gender identity), age, physical or mental disability, veteran or military status, genetic information, citizenship, or any other legally recognized protected basis under applicable federal, state, or local law.