Business Development Manager

FARMERS UNION INDUSTRIES LLC•Mitchell, SD

54d•$80,000 - $120,000•Remote

About The Position

Farmers Union Industries, LLC, also known as FUI, is a leading agricultural-based manufacturing company headquartered in Redwood Falls, MN. Our current operations include Central Bi-Products, Northland Choice, Midwest Grease, Artex Manufacturing, Redwood Farms Meat Processors, and Performance Pet Products. Performance Pet, located in Mitchell, SD, works with brands both large and small to create an assortment of canned dog and cat foods. Performance Pet Products is seeking a results-driven Business Development Manager to drive profitable growth within our pet food co-manufacturing business. This role is responsible for developing new customer relationships, expanding strategic accounts, and identifying growth opportunities across wet pet food manufacturing, new product development, and customer commercialization. The Business Development Manager will maintain a strong external focus, developing relationships with pet food brands, retailers, and strategic industry partners. This position will work closely with sales leadership, customer service, R&D, procurement, operations, production planning, and logistics to align customer growth opportunities with Performance Pet Products' manufacturing capabilities and long-term capacity strategy. This position will provide a base salary + opportunity for commission and remote work option.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree in Business, Agriculture, Animal Science, Meat Science, or related field preferred
5+ years of experience in pet food, food manufacturing, co-manufacturing, ingredients, or business development preferred
Strong understanding of pet food manufacturing and commercialization processes preferred
Proven ability to develop new customer relationships and grow existing accounts
Strong negotiation, communication, and relationship-building skills
Ability to travel as needed
Growth-oriented business development mindset
Strong commercial and margin-management instincts
Customer-focused relationship builder
Comfortable prospecting and developing new business
Strong understanding of the pet food industry and co-manufacturing environment
Ability to manage complex customer commercialization projects
Self-motivated with a high level of accountability
Collaborative and comfortable working across departments
Perform desk work (sitting or standing) for up to 100% of workday
Repetitively use wrist, hand, and/or fingers

Responsibilities

Develop and execute sales strategies focused on growing the pet food co-manufacturing business
Identify, prospect, and secure new branded, private label, and strategic co-manufacturing customers
Develop and maintain a qualified pipeline of new business opportunities
Expand existing customer relationships through new products, SKUs, formats, and volume
Lead commercial discussions involving pricing, volume, capacity, and customer programs
Negotiate customer programs and commercial agreements within established company guidelines
Achieve assigned volume, revenue, margin, and capacity utilization objectives
Develop long-term relationships with key customer decision-makers
Maintain regular customer contact through onsite visits, business reviews, and industry events
Understand customer brand strategies, innovation pipelines, product needs, and long-term growth objectives
Identify customer risks, competitive threats, and opportunities for account growth
Serve as the commercial owner of assigned customer relationships
Partner with Customer Service and Sales Support on daily account execution and customer communication
Maintain a strong understanding of Performance Pet Products' manufacturing capabilities
Monitor pet food trends, competitive activity, packaging innovation, and customer demand
Identify opportunities across wet pet food, functional formulas, premium products, toppers, and emerging formats
Provide customer and market feedback to sales leadership, R&D, and operations
Identify strategic product and manufacturing capability opportunities
Support customer commercialization and new product development initiatives
Work with R&D and customers to advance new product concepts and commercialization projects
Coordinate with operations and production planning to align customer demand with available capacity
Communicate customer forecasts, volume changes, launches, and new opportunities to internal teams
Partner with Customer Service and Sales Support on order execution, product releases, and shipment coordination
Work with procurement on ingredient and packaging requirements for customer programs
Participate in sales forecasting, capacity planning, and profitability reviews
Develop and maintain account growth plans for assigned customers and prospects
Track volume, revenue, margin, capacity utilization, and account performance
Maintain accurate customer and sales opportunity information
Provide regular pipeline and business development updates
Manage commercial opportunity pipelines from initial customer engagement through production launch
Proactively identify opportunities to improve customer and program profitability
Maintain regular and predictable on-site attendance
Travel up to 50%, annually
Situations may arise that require employees to temporarily or permanently assume responsibility for tasks not specifically outlined in this job description.
Employees may be requested to work additional hours and/or accommodate a heavier than normal workload.