Brand Ambassador, Trade Show Manager (Foodservice)

Nielsen Massey Vanillas I•Waukegan, IL

4d•$60,000 - $75,000•Hybrid

About The Position

This exciting role involves conducting engaging tastings, delivering captivating presentations, and building customer loyalty through exceptional interactions. Ideal candidates will be passionate about food, possess strong communication and presentation skills, and have a flexible schedule. This entry-level position offers competitive pay and the opportunity to grow within a progressive family-owned company. The role involves leading trade show and event execution, driving customer engagement and product education, generating leads and supporting sales growth, building and strengthening distributor relationships, managing CRM and performance tracking, gathering market intelligence and providing strategic insights, coordinating marketing and promotional programs, and supporting annual foodservice growth objectives. Ability to travel up to 80% is required, with peak seasons during Spring/Fall.

Requirements

Strong knowledge and experience working for or with one or more Big 6 Broad Line and specialty distributors in North America
1-3 years of field sales/culinary experience
Ability to work irregular hours and travel frequently
Knowledge of Food Service / Away-From-Home Channel
Strong writing, communication, and presentation skills
Proven ability to meet deadlines
Excellent multi-tasking and prioritization skills
Strong interpersonal and communication skills and superior organizational skills
Ability to interact with all levels of the organization

Nice To Haves

Experience in a family or privately held business
Culinary or Pastry experience
Hubspot training and/or experience managing CRM software

Responsibilities

Lead Trade Show & Event Execution: Represent the company at regional and national foodservice trade shows, managing booth setup, merchandising, marketing materials, logistics, budgets, travel, inventory, and event operations to maximize brand visibility and engagement.
Drive Customer Engagement & Product Education: Conduct product demonstrations, tastings, and sampling events, clearly communicating and teaching on our product benefits, menu applications, and value propositions to distributors, operators, chefs, and customers.
Generate Leads & Support Sales Growth: Engage trade show visitors and prospects, qualify opportunities, capture lead information, and execute timely follow-up activities to convert leads into pipeline opportunities and sales.
Build & Strengthen Distributor Relationships: Develop strong partnerships with distributor representatives and foodservice operators through ongoing engagement, promotional events, product training, and collaborative marketing initiatives.
Manage CRM & Performance Tracking: Maintain accurate CRM records for all trade shows and customer interactions, track customer demand, measure event performance, and report on leads, opportunities, ROI, and KPI achievement.
Gather Market Intelligence & Provide Strategic Insights: Collect and analyze competitive activity, pricing trends, customer feedback, and market developments, providing actionable recommendations to Sales and Marketing leadership.
Coordinate Marketing & Promotional Programs: Partner with Sales, Marketing, and distribution teams to execute promotional campaigns, sponsorships, collateral management, and event marketing programs that enhance brand presence and sales impact.
Support Annual Foodservice Growth Objectives: Execute initiatives aligned with annual strategic goals, including new item awareness, distributor training, customer acquisition, relationship development, and continuous improvement of consumer-facing marketing materials.
Ability to travel: Travel is required for this role and with a busy trade show schedule can be up to 80% with peak seasons during Spring / Fall.