Job Overview
This role involves building profitable sales in institutional and distribution-driven foodservice, focusing on penetrating indirect channels such as managed services, group purchasing organizations, education, healthcare, airline catering, hotels, and broadline distributors. The position requires strategic partnership development through brokers, distributor programs, and contract management, while collaborating cross-functionally with internal teams to deliver scalable solutions and ensure compliance with business processes.
Responsibilities
- Build institutional and distribution channel strategy from the ground up.
- Identify and secure new business across K-12, higher education, healthcare, airlines, hotels, and managed-service accounts.
- Drive commercialization and sales of off-the-shelf and custom solutions through co-packer and distributor networks.
- Establish and manage brokerage partnerships to expand coverage within major distributors.
- Develop long-term partnerships with decision makers in procurement, culinary, and supply chain functions.
- Negotiate contracts and pricing aligned with profitability goals.
- Manage broker performance and joint business plans.
- Maintain accurate pipeline, forecasts, and progress reporting in Salesforce.
- Work closely with internal stakeholders to create and manage effective strategy and business plans.
- Represent the company at trade shows, customer meetings, and industry events to increase visibility.
- Deliver growth through new account wins and channel expansion.
- Surface product or process gaps and drive fixes with leadership.
- Provide market and customer insights to inform long-term channel strategy.
- Collaborate cross-functionally to move items from concept to commercialization.
- Ensure adherence to business processes, contract management policies, and quality standards.
- Meet KPIs agreed upon with leadership.
Qualifications
- Bachelor’s degree in business or related field.
- Strategic hunter mindset to identify, establish, and grow partnerships.
- Experience in foodservice sales, particularly in institutional and distribution channels.
- Strong cross-functional collaboration skills with teams in R&D, customer success, marketing, supply chain, finance, operations, and quality.
- Ability to negotiate contracts, manage brokers, and drive commercialization.
- Proficiency in Salesforce for pipeline and reporting.
- Self-motivated with focus on education, training, and ongoing product knowledge.
- Ideal candidate lives in or has easy access to served markets.
- Compliance with food safety, quality management systems, and business processes.
