Category Manager – Home & Kitchen Appliances

Company Overview

100X100 is building a new-age Home & Appliances brand, starting with the Cooling category, with ambitions to develop a differentiated portfolio across multiple home and appliance categories. The company is backed by 100X.VC, providing access to an established startup and investor ecosystem. The organization values innovation, ownership, and building from the ground up.

Job Summary

The Category Manager – Home & Kitchen Appliances will take end-to-end ownership of building and scaling new categories, primarily focusing on the Cooling segment initially. This role is ideal for a proactive individual who enjoys creating and executing strategies from scratch, working across consumer insights, product development, pricing, distribution, and demand generation. The candidate will be a key part of the founding team, contributing to the growth of a disruptive brand in the home and appliances space.

Responsibilities

• Category Strategy & Building

  • Identify whitespace opportunities across Home & Kitchen Appliances.
  • Understand consumer pain points, needs, and demand drivers.
  • Develop category strategies from scratch, including product positioning and pricing.
  • Build comprehensive category plans based on market data and consumer insights.

• Product & Portfolio Development

  • Identify, evaluate, and launch new products aligned with consumer demand.
  • Assess product-market fit and translate consumer insights into product features.
  • Collaborate with procurement, manufacturing, and R&D teams for product development.
  • Build a differentiated, sustainable product portfolio through iterative market testing.

• Pricing & Unit Economics

  • Own the commercial economics of the category, including product costing, margins, and pricing architecture.
  • Manage channel margins, distributor economics, and marketplace economics.
  • Optimize promotional strategies and demand-generation initiatives to maintain profitable unit economics.

• Omnichannel & Go-to-Market

  • Scale the category across online platforms (Amazon, Flipkart, D2C, quick commerce) and offline channels (Croma, Reliance Digital, retail chains, local electronics retailers).
  • Understand and manage the complete distributor-to-consumer ecosystem, including margins and incentives.
  • Drive product launches, marketplace scaling, pricing, promotions, and channel activation.

• Consumer & Data Analytics

  • Leverage consumer insights and data to identify business opportunities.
  • Analyze demand trends and validate assumptions using marketplace and consumer data.
  • Build business cases for new products and categories based on data-driven insights.

• Hands-on Execution

  • Personally drive product launches, marketplace scaling, pricing, and promotional activities.
  • Lead demand analysis, consumer research, vendor negotiations, and commercial discussions.
  • Ensure timely and effective execution of category strategies.

• Cross-functional & Founding Team Ownership

  • Collaborate closely with product, procurement, supply chain, marketing, pricing, distribution, and commercial teams.
  • Take ownership beyond traditional category management, contributing to broader business decisions and growth initiatives.

Qualifications

• Strong experience in Home & Appliances, Consumer Electronics, or related consumer categories.
• Proven track record in building or launching products/categories from scratch.
• Deep understanding of consumer behavior and category dynamics.
• Excellent analytical and data-driven approach.
• Strong knowledge of pricing, margins, and unit economics.
• Experience with marketplace platforms and online demand generation.
• Demonstrated hands-on execution ability.
• Entrepreneurial mindset with high ownership and initiative.
• Ability to thrive in an early-stage, fast-paced, and ambiguous environment.
• Educational qualifications: BTech, BSc, MBA, or relevant degree.

Preferred Skills

• Experience working in startup environments or new brand launches.
• Knowledge of supply chain, procurement, and manufacturing processes.
• Strong negotiation and stakeholder management skills.
• Familiarity with digital marketing and demand generation strategies.
• Ability to analyze large datasets and derive actionable insights.

Experience

• Mid-level experience in category management, product launch, or consumer electronics/home appliances.
• Typically 3-7 years of relevant experience in building or managing consumer categories.

Environment

• The role is based in Bangalore with openness to candidates across India.
• The work environment involves collaborative, cross-functional teamwork within a startup setting.
• The role requires hands-on execution and active engagement in product, marketing, and distribution activities.
• The position may involve travel for vendor, distributor, and retail engagement.

Salary

• Not specified; competitive compensation package with equity participation and performance-based incentives.

GrowthOpportunities

• Opportunity to be part of the founding team and shape a disruptive home & appliances brand.
• Significant exposure across product, commercial, supply, marketing, and distribution functions.
• Potential for career growth into senior leadership roles as the company scales.

Benefits

• Equity participation alongside fixed compensation.
• High ownership and autonomy in decision-making.
• Opportunity to build and lead a new category from inception.
• Backing by 100X.VC ecosystem, providing access to a broad network of investors and industry experts.