Director of Sales - Retail

Director of Sales - Retail

Kettle Cuisine is seeking a results-driven Director of Sales for their Retail Channel. This role is pivotal in formulating and implementing sales growth strategies for key retail accounts, including Whole Foods, HEB, Amazon, Brookshire, and United. The ideal candidate will be based in the South Central U.S. with access to a major airport, ready to be the primary contact for these critical partners.

Role And Responsibilities

This position focuses on managing and growing a dedicated sales territory within the Austin/San Antonio area, with occasional travel required for meetings. Key responsibilities include:

• Directly managing and growing assigned sales territory in coordination with the SVP of Sales.
• Establishing goals, daily management, and overall direction for key accounts.
• Achieving sales and profit objectives through effective sales efforts.
• Managing the new product development process for custom soups, sides, and meals.
• Leveraging data (e.g., Nielsen) to create actionable insights and drive sales performance.
• Maintaining and reporting on a robust sales pipeline.
• Collaborating with Demand Planning and Business Development on forecasts, growth, and spending.
• Leading promotional efforts to maximize results.
• Serving as a category specialist for soup, sauce, and sous vide products.
• Partnering with customers, UNFI, and Supply Chain to enhance service metrics.
• Ensuring on-time and in-spec delivery of R&D samples.
• Managing an Associate Project Manager to ensure accurate and timely customer project setup.

Leadership Expectations

As a leader at Kettle Cuisine, you are expected to:

• Model and support Kettle’s Core Values and safety culture.
• Manage team member performance effectively.
• Build a strong, committed, and collaborative team.
• Develop individual team members and support their career growth.
• Foster a culture of accountability and high performance.
• Drive a focus on quality and continuous improvement.
• Plan work, track results, and resolve variances.

Qualifications And Experience

• Minimum of 8-12 years of Sales experience in consumer-packaged goods (CPG) within the Retail space.
• Prior sales experience with Whole Foods, Amazon, and HEB is essential.
• Demonstrated success in driving consistently strong, profitable sales growth.
• Proven experience in launching new products.
• Strong written and verbal communication and presentation skills.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite.
• Experience with Customer Relationship Management (CRM) tools, such as Salesforce.
• Solid financial and business acumen.
• Private Label experience is a plus, but not required.

Required Attributes

• Self-starter with the ability to conceptualize and drive initiatives independently.
• Positive attitude and motivated by team success.
• Ability to develop strong, deep relationships with internal and external stakeholders.
• Creative problem-solving skills.
• Exceptional attention to detail, organization, and multitasking abilities.
• Comfortable working in a fast-paced and ambiguous environment.
• Passion for food and helping foodservice operators succeed.
• Willingness to address difficult situations with patience and respect.

Key skills/competency

• Sales Strategy
• Retail Sales
• Key Account Management
• New Product Development
• Sales Forecasting
• Promotional Planning
• CPG Sales
• Nielsen Data Analysis
• Salesforce CRM
• Leadership