Episode 95: The future of convenience and category management with Bala Gurumoorthy

In this episode, Rachel Dalton and Barry Thomas sit down with Bala Gurumoorthy, VP of Category Management at Ferrero USA, to discuss the evolving landscape of convenience retail and the future of category management. Together, they uncover fantastic insights from the recent NACS event, Ferrero's approach to omnichannel strategy, and how category management is transforming from a back-office function to a true growth driver. A few of our favorite insights from Bala: "Category management is evolving from back office to growth architect." "Don't just report the news—create the news." "Be bold. Stay current. Stay externally focused." Have a topic you'd like us to cover? Contact us at Kantar's Retail Sound Bites Podcast. Contact Barry: Email | LinkedIn Contact Rachel: Email | LinkedIn https://www.retaildive.com/news/retail-ai-chatbot-consumers/803573/ Dollar Tree enhances multi-price strategy with AI Playbook: 5 Shopper Missions Every Category Manager Should Be Watching | Path to Purchase Institute https://www.retaildive.com/news/retail-ai-chatbot-consumers/803573/ https://www.cnbc.com/2025/10/21/wawa-stealing-customers-from-wendys-burger-king-starbucks.html https://www.nytimes.com/2025/10/26/style/nordstrom-catalog.html