Director of Sales - Berkeley Culinary

Whitsons Culinary Group•Berkeley, IL

2d•$130,000 - $150,000

About The Position

The Director of Sales – Retail & Co-Manufacturing serves as the primary commercial leader driving growth across Whitsons’ retail and co-manufacturing business. This role is responsible for developing and executing long-range sales strategies, managing key national and regional retail accounts, and identifying new private label and co-manufacturing opportunities. Operating with strong commercial acumen and cross-functional leadership, the Director ensures customer expectations are met while aligning with Whitsons’ operational, financial, and brand standards, directly contributing to revenue growth and market expansion. This role is entrepreneurial in nature and requires a highly motivated, self-starting sales leader with a strong growth-oriented mindset. The ideal candidate is comfortable building from the ground up—developing new relationships, opening doors, and expanding both internal and external partnerships as the Prepared Meals division continues to grow. Success in this role requires initiative, resilience, curiosity, and the ability to operate with autonomy while influencing cross-functional stakeholders.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Business, Sales, Marketing, or related field required.
Minimum 7 years of progressive sales experience within CPG, retail, private label, or co-manufacturing.
Demonstrated success managing national or regional retail accounts.
Proven ability to meet or exceed revenue targets consistently.
Experience presenting to senior leadership and customer decision makers.
Strong background in interpreting syndicated data and retail analytics.
Experience leading complex negotiations and multi-stakeholder commercial processes.
Retail & Co-Manufacturing Growth Leadership – Drives revenue through long-range sales strategy, private label development, and co-manufacturing partnerships aligned with operational and financial capabilities.
Entrepreneurial Sales Execution – Operates with a builder mindset, proactively opening doors, developing new relationships, and expanding accounts in evolving and competitive markets.
Customer & Account Management – Builds influential relationships with retail buyers, private label teams, brokers, and partners to drive retention, profitability, and long-term value.
Data-Driven Category Strategy – Leverages syndicated data and market insights to inform fact-based selling, category growth strategies, and innovation opportunities.
Cross-Functional Commercial Alignment – Partners closely with Operations, Culinary/R&D, Supply Chain, Marketing, Finance, and Legal to ensure feasible, scalable, and high-quality execution.
Executive Communication & Negotiation – Leads complex negotiations and communicates with clarity and confidence across senior internal and external stakeholders.
Proficiency with Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook.
Familiarity with CRM platforms for pipeline management and reporting.

Nice To Haves

MBA preferred.

Responsibilities

Lead the retail and co-manufacturing sales strategy, including customer acquisition, account expansion, and annual revenue planning.
Translate market insights, category trends, and customer intelligence into actionable growth strategies.
Identify new market segments, strategic partnerships, and co-manufacturing opportunities to drive long-term revenue.
Build financial projections, annual targets, and pipeline forecasts that align with corporate goals.
Develop and maintain strong, influential relationships with retail buyers, private label teams, supply chain partners, and co-manufacturing customers.
Manage key account portfolios with a focus on retention, profitability, and strategic partnership.
Serve as a trusted advisor to customers, providing insights, solutions, and recommendations that support their category objectives.
Lead customer meetings, quarterly business reviews, and executive-level presentations.
Direct broker networks to ensure alignment on priorities, promotions, and growth expectations.
Evaluate broker performance and adjust coverage or strategy as needed.
Ensure partners clearly understand product capabilities, timelines, and commercial goals.
Oversee the full sales lifecycle, including strategic planning, prospecting, pricing preparation, contract negotiation, and close.
Develop compelling, customer-centric proposals, product stories, and presentations.
Collaborate with Operations, Culinary/R&D, Supply Chain, Marketing, and Finance to ensure program readiness, feasibility, and successful execution.
Maintain disciplined documentation of sales activities, pipelines, and forecast accuracy.
Leverage syndicated data (IRI, Nielsen, or equivalent) to interpret category trends and build fact-based selling stories.
Develop data-driven insights that enhance customer discussions and drive product innovation.
Monitor industry trends, competitor activity, and shifts in consumer demand to inform strategic decision-making.
Work closely with Marketing to support product positioning, branding, and go-to-market strategies.
Partner with Operations and Quality to ensure co-manufacturing customers receive consistent, high-quality execution.
Collaborate with Legal and Finance on pricing, contract structures, bid responses, and customer agreements.
Support internal teams by providing market intelligence and customer feedback to help drive innovation.
Identify commercial, operational, or process enhancements that can improve efficiency, customer satisfaction, or competitiveness.
Participate in professional development and industry engagement to ensure best-in-class sales leadership.