Category Manager, Non-Produce in Toronto

Bondi Produce & Specialty Foods Co. is a progressive, family-owned, third generation food distribution company with a sharp focus on fresh produce and specialty ingredients. We are a recognized brand among Toronto's most distinguished chefs and foodservice operators — and we are relentless in our pursuit of being the most trusted, forward-thinking distributor in the province. We move fast, obsess the details, and take pride in making it happen for our clients, every single day.

THE OPPORTUNITY: Bondi has a built-in route to market that most distributors would take years to create: produce trucks arriving at thousands of GTA back doors several times a week. The opportunity is to turn the non-produce space on those trucks — grocery, Italian and Mediterranean specialty, dairy and eggs, and selected frozen — into a $30M+ business. As Category Manager, Non-Produce, you will own that mandate as a P&L, with the authority to determine the assortment, negotiate supplier programs, set pricing, manage inventory and build a category customers rely on. This is not a merchandising role, and it is not a coordination role. We need a proven buyer with the judgment to decide what earns a slot, the negotiating strength to secure the right cost and terms, and the commercial discipline to protect margin. You will be accountable for sales, gross margin, turns, service levels and working capital — and empowered to make the decisions that move them. For the right person, this is a rare opportunity to build a business within the business and make a visible contribution to Bondi’s next stage of growth.

WHAT YOU OWN: Reporting to the Managing Partner & Vice-President, Sales, the full non-produce category: product value and selection, vendor relations and negotiation, purchasing and replenishment, fulfillment measures, pricing architecture, inventory quality and the gross-profit line. You are the gate on every new item and every new vendor.

• CORE RESPONSIBILITIES
• Rationalize and set the range. Rank the current non-produce catalogue by GMROI and GP$ per SKU, retire the tail, assign each category a role (traffic, destination, convenience) and lock a core range of roughly 300–500 always-in-stock SKUs with per-SKU minimums a product must clear to stay listed.
• Negotiate vendor earned-income programs. Volume rebates, growth allowances, market development funds, payment terms, freight and pickup allowances. Consolidate vendors, move specialty import lines toward direct or importer-direct relationships, and manage vendor fill rate to a 97–98% target on the core range.
• Buy and plan demand. Own purchasing and replenishment for all non-produce, including days-on-hand targets by category (dairy 3–7, dry grocery 20–35, specialty 30–45), write-off and shrink targets, and container and pallet economics on import lines.
• Set the pricing architecture. Dairy and commodity lines indexed to market and reset weekly; specialty priced on value with a 25–35% GP target; dry grocery at competitive parity. Maintain landed-cost comparisons against the incumbent competitors on the top 50 SKUs.
• Keep a living gap list. A ranked shopping list of what the range is missing, driven by menu analysis of top accounts, sales-team feedback and the specialty market. Evaluate every new item against a formal 90-day performance review.
• Work the sales interface. Ride with reps at least twice a month, run the monthly category review with the sales team, and produce the on-your-truck-already core list reps sell from. Direct the trade-marketing function (vendor activation, demos, samples, collateral).
• Set up the Brampton dry and cooler slotting with Operations and Transportation so non-produce cross-docks onto produce routes without adding a second delivery.
• Prepare for private label. Identify the two or three lines (EVOO, tomatoes, pasta) where a Bondi-branded program earns its place and build the QA and sourcing path.

YOU HAVE DONE THIS IF: You have held a buying or category seat with real P&L ownership at a foodservice distributor, specialty importer or grocery retailer for 5+ years — Sysco, GFS, Flanagan, Chefs' Warehouse, an Italian or Mediterranean import house, or a specialty grocer. You can itemize a vendor income stack unprompted and have negotiated it. You know commodity dairy pricing and how a market-indexed cost-plus program works. You have retired SKUs and defended the decision to a sales team. You are fluent in Excel and have run GMROI, DOH and fill-rate reporting out of an ERP. Italian or Mediterranean specialty product knowledge is a strong asset; Italian language is an asset. You are comfortable being uncomfortable when asked to make a sell sheet.

WHAT WE'RE LOOKING FOR: Strong commercial instincts: you know how to grow a book of business, handle objections, and position value with sophisticated, time-pressured buyers. Exceptional communicator: you can distill complex data into a clear, compelling client story and hold your own in a room full of chefs and operators. Highly organized and deadline-driven — you manage competing priorities across multiple accounts without missing a beat. Genuine passion for food and the foodservice industry. Familiarity with Toronto's restaurant and hospitality scene is a meaningful differentiator. Comfortable in a fast-paced, entrepreneurial environment where initiative is rewarded and no two days look the same.

WHY BONDI: Joining Bondi means joining a team that takes pride in its product, its people, and the relationships it builds. We are recognized as one of Canada's Best Managed Companies, and we operate with the drive of a business that has something to prove — every day. You will have direct access to leadership, real ownership of your accounts, and every resource you need to build a career here. We offer a competitive base salary $110,000–140,000, commensurate with experience, plus a variable of 20–30 % of base tied to the scorecard above, paid on the fiscal year. Vehicle allowance, product at cost, a comprehensive benefits package, and a team culture that lives and breathes its values.

OUR COMMITMENT TO INCLUSION: Bondi Produce embraces diversity in the workplace. We encourage applications from all qualified individuals without regard to race, colour, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, citizenship, marital status, veteran status, disability, age, religion, or any other classification protected by applicable law.