Category Head – F&V — Wheelocity

Company Overview

Wheelocity is building a rural doorstep commerce platform for Bharat. Unlike typical e-commerce models where customers order on an app and the platform delivers, Wheelocity takes products physically to rural households every day through electric carts. Customers, whom we call Bhumi, buy directly from the cart at their doorstep. The carts are operated by our gig workforce, Bhuvanesh, who are not delivery boys but sellers, partners, and the physical interface of the business. Wheelocity is therefore a deeply operating, phygital retail business combining supply chain, field execution, merchandising, cash discipline, and technology.

Job Summary

The Category Head – F&V will own Wheelocity’s complete Fruits & Vegetables category, aiming to transform it into a high-growth, high-frequency, and economically strong segment. This role is pivotal in driving the category's topline, margin, assortment, pricing, sourcing strategy, availability, inventory health, perishability economics, and innovation. The Category Head will integrate operational and strategic insights to develop a robust category proposition, ensuring alignment with customer behavior and market demands.

Responsibilities

• Build the F&V Category and Customer Proposition: Own the topline, margin, assortment, pricing, pack architecture, and merchandising. Develop a compelling category strategy centered on trust and customer frequency.
• Own Sourcing Strategy and Category Economics: Establish sourcing architecture across various sources and optimize it based on quality, cost, seasonality, and reliability. Create visibility on SKU-level economics.
• Build Demand Planning, Availability, and Inventory Health: Oversee forecasting, Stock and Operations Planning (S&OP), and work closely with teams to enhance forecast accuracy whilst managing inventory health.
• Improve Sell-Through through Bhumi and Bhuvanesh Insight: Collaborate with marketing and business heads to ensure successful category propositions translate into cart-level sales by analyzing customer behaviors and buying patterns.
• Build the F&V Category Team and Operating System: Enhance the F&V organization across management, sourcing, and operations. Create operating rhythms, decision rights, and playbooks for team alignment.

Qualifications

• Educational Background: Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration, Supply Chain Management, Agriculture, or relevant fields; advanced degree (MBA) preferred.
• Experience: Significant experience in leading F&V, fresh food distribution, or perishables category; proven track record of improving growth and profitability in a volatile environment.
• Technical Skills: Strong analytical skills, understanding of SKU economics, demand risk management, perishability, and operational judgment.
• Soft Skills: Merchant instinct, field empathy, strong leadership, and collaboration abilities; comfort in ambiguous and fast-paced environments.

Preferred Skills

• Experience in B2C category building; familiarity with rural markets and customer behavior.
• Understanding of technology integrations and data-driven decision-making.

Experience

• At least 7+ years of experience in category management, sourcing, or operations, with a proven record in a high-growth, consumer-facing business.

Environment

• The role will require frequent travel to farms, markets, and rural areas, conducting field observations and interacting with Bhuvanesh and Bhumi.

Salary

• Salary information is not specified.

Growth Opportunities

• Potential for advancement within Wheelocity as the F&V category becomes a key revenue driver and operational focus.

Benefits

• Benefits information is not specified.