UK Category Manager

Hello, we’re Pret

Proud makers of freshly made food, organic coffee and big ideas. Across 750+ shops and 20+ countries, our teams are shaping the future of Pret through innovation, inclusion, great customer service and a shared passion for doing the right thing. We’re growing fast on our mission to be the hospitality employer of choice everywhere we operate - so it’s an exciting time to hop on board.

Growing good things

Pret is where passionate, hardworking, wonderful people (like you!) find what they need to shine. Growth is at the heart of everything we do - from supporting our people to grow in confidence and skills to pursue their unique paths, to figuring out how to make our food and coffee even more delicious and accessible.

What we’re looking for

We’re looking for a passionate team player to bring joy to our customers every day. As a UK Category Manager you’ll own the sales, profit and promotional plans for a portfolio of products on our UK menu. Reporting to the UK Head of Calendar Planning within our Commercial and Marketing team, you’ll turn the national marketing calendar into clear category and product plans that bring customers back more often, grow transactions and strengthen commercial performance. You’ll work hand in hand with Commercial Finance, Customer Insights, Culinary Innovation, Marketing Communications, Supply Chain and Operations - shaping new products, getting the menu mix right and making sure every launch lands well across all the places our customers see and buy from us, in shops and on digital menu boards. It’s a fast-paced role where your decisions show up on the menu and in the numbers.

Key responsibilities

• Own the growth plan for your product categories, keeping it aligned with the wider menu strategy and commercial objectives, and regularly reviewing category and menu performance to improve sales, profitability and product mix.

• Optimise product placement, pricing tiers and bundling across physical and digital menu boards, balancing customer appeal, commercial performance and operational simplicity.

• Partner with Commercial Finance to assess product profitability, identify underperforming items and manage product rationalisation and exit plans.

• Translate the national marketing calendar into clear category plans and promotions, write concise commercial briefs for Creative, Media and Digital teams, and work with Marketing Communications to deliver campaigns that grow guest frequency and transactions - then review results to make future promotions even more effective.

• Collaborate with Culinary Innovation to turn food trends and customer insight into commercially viable, scalable new products, managing development milestones so launches land on time against agreed calendar windows.

• Design, run and evaluate local product trials - assessing sales, customer response, operational feasibility and profitability - before recommending national rollout.

• Benchmark competitors across the UK quick-service restaurant market (menus, pricing, promotional mechanics and innovation) and work with Customer Insights to understand changing customer behaviour and food trends.

• Analyse weekly sales, guest counts, average transaction value and other key measures to monitor category health, turning data and market intelligence into clear, actionable recommendations.

• Coordinate multiple product launches, campaigns and calendar activities at once, keeping stakeholders aligned on objectives, timelines and deliverables, and proactively spotting risks and resolving issues to keep projects moving.

Experience and Skills required

• Experience in Category Management, Brand Management, Commercial Buying or a similar commercial role within the UK quick-service restaurant, casual dining, retail or food-to-go sector.

• A strong understanding of menu management, product performance, promotional planning and the food retail environment.

• Strong commercial acumen and confidence working with retail maths, including gross margins and cost of goods sold (COGS).

• Confidence analysing sales data and market insight, and turning it into clear, actionable recommendations.

• Strong stakeholder management and organisational skills, with the ability to manage several launches and campaigns at the same time.

Life at Pret

In the office

Our offices are where teams come together to collaborate, connect and bring great ideas to life. Wherever you're based, you'll find:

- Individual ways to grow: fully funded professional qualifications, leadership development and informal and formal mentoring

- Diversity & belonging: Everyone’s welcome at Pret - you’ll be valued for who you are and supported to feel confident in yourself and your skills

- Pace & variety: Build a diverse skillset, meet some new people and learn (a LOT)

- Community & purpose: We work together to creative positive change through the Pret Foundation

Our values

- Be kind, honest and generous: bring genuine warmth and your authentic self to work every day

- Bring your passion: share our passion for food and exceptional customer service

- Spread joy every day: small acts of kindness are a big part of what makes the Pret experience special

The perks

- A Gold Card! That means when you’re in the office, your food and drinks are on us. And when you’re not, you get 5 free drinks a day and 50% off everything else

- 33-38 days of annual leave (increasing with service)

- Free private medical aid cover - with the option to add a loved one

- 4-5% pension contribution (increasing with service)

- Life assurance at 3x your annual salary

- Loyalty awards to celebrate every 5 years you’re with us

- And more - think: a flexible benefits platform, season ticket loans, a healthcare cash plan, mortgage services, financial wellbeing provisions, option to take a sabbatical after 3 years and opportunities to support our incredible charity, the Pret Foundation.

The Pret interview journey

Step one: apply! Please don’t overly rely on the use of AI, we want to get to know you, not a robot.

Then, if we move forward with your application, we’ll start the process with a 30-minute chat, so we can better understand your experience and skills. The next stage is to pop into our Head Office, where you’ll have a one-hour interview with the hiring team.

Those are the basics, but depending on the role, we might ask you to complete a task, spend time in our shops or meet someone else in the team.

Throughout it all, you are entitled to reasonable adjustments if you have a disability. If this is the case, please let us know how we can help make the process more accessible for you.