Sales Director East Coast

Urban Farmer•Manteno, IL

21h

About The Position

The Sales Director, East Coast Conventional owns Urban Farmer’s growth with major conventional grocery retailers and wholesalers across the East Coast. The role sells both the branded CAULIPOWER portfolio and Urban Farmer’s private label gluten-free pizza and crust programs, across assigned accounts that include some of the largest conventional retailers and wholesalers in the region. The ideal candidate lives on the East Coast, has deep conventional grocery relationships, and has a proven record selling branded portfolios and private label programs. The role requires personally owning buyer relationships through regular engagement in buyer offices and stores. The Sales Director develops account strategies, grows existing business, wins new private label opportunities, and balances branded and private label programs within each account. They lead customer planning and negotiations, manage brokers, forecasting, pipeline and account profitability, and coordinate with internal teams to support customer needs, production, promotions and launches. The position also contributes customer and market insights to product development and company strategy.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree.
10+ years of progressive sales experience in food manufacturing, CPG or co-packing, focused on conventional grocery.
Must live on the East Coast.
Willingness to travel up to 40%, including regular visits to buyer offices.
Deep, hands-on knowledge of East Coast conventional grocery, the frozen space, and the major regional and national retailers and wholesalers operating there.
Proven experience selling both branded products and private label programs to retailer private brands teams, including managing their distinct pricing, margin and negotiation dynamics.
Strong financial and analytical skills, including experience with pricing, trade-spend management and margin analysis.
Excellent negotiation, communication and presentation skills.
Genuine passion for the business and products; a self-starter who sells with energy, conviction and urgency and thrives on time with customers.

Responsibilities

Own and grow assigned East Coast conventional accounts, selling CAULIPOWER branded products and Urban Farmer private label gluten-free pizza and crust programs.
Build and execute account plans covering item recommendations, shelf placement, promotional calendars and pricing.
Win new private label business by pitching Urban Farmer’s gluten-free pizza manufacturing capabilities to retailer private brands teams.
Balance branded and private label opportunities so the programs complement rather than compete with one another.
Direct and hold accountable broker partners supporting assigned accounts.
Partner with the Chief Revenue Officer to set annual sales targets, profitability goals and growth objectives for the East Coast conventional book.
Serve as the primary hands-on contact for buyers and category managers, meeting regularly in buyer offices and on Zoom.
Lead category reviews, line reviews, new item presentations and joint business planning sessions with retail and wholesale partners.
Negotiate pricing, trade programs and private label supply agreements to support profitability and long-term growth.
Maintain communication between customers and internal teams so orders, promotions and new item launches execute on time; proactively inform customers about supply and service.
Resolve customer issues personally and coordinate internal responses to maintain satisfaction and service standards.
Own sales forecasting, pipeline management and performance tracking across assigned branded and private label accounts.
Develop sales projections aligned with operational capacity and demand planning.
Partner with Supply Chain, Finance and Operations to support customer timelines and promotional activity through production and logistics.
Monitor account profitability and identify pricing improvement and trade-spend efficiency opportunities.
Track and report KPIs including sales growth, distribution gains, velocity, service levels and trade-spend ROI.
Collaborate with Product Development and R&D on product opportunities for conventional grocery customers and private label partners.
Partner with Marketing and Category Management on data-driven insights, category reviews and innovation recommendations.
Work with Finance on pricing structures, margin analysis and customer contract renewals.
Align with Quality Assurance and Regulatory teams on customer and private label specifications, gluten-free certification, food safety audits and labeling requirements.
Participate in cross-functional business reviews and strategic planning to represent customer needs and priorities.
Stay informed about consumer trends, regulatory changes and competitive developments in conventional grocery and gluten-free and frozen pizza categories.
Evaluate relevant product concepts, ingredients and packaging innovations.
Provide leadership and product teams with feedback on category opportunities and customer requests.
Identify East Coast retailers, wholesalers and private label opportunities that can expand Urban Farmer’s reach.