Monogram Foods · 5 hours ago
Director, Culinary Innovation and Strategic Sales
Memphis, TN
Full-time
Hybrid
Director/Executive
8+ years expMonogram Foods is a leading food manufacturer specializing in delivering high-quality foods and snacks. The Director, Culinary Innovation & Strategic Sales role focuses on bridging culinary creativity with business growth, leading culinary innovation, strengthening customer relationships, and aligning product development with business objectives.
Food and BeverageFood ProcessingManufacturing
Responsibilities
Define and execute a culinary innovation and sales strategy aligned with SVP priorities and company goals
Lead the creation of trend-driven food concepts and ensure culinary excellence across customer touchpoints
Provide strategic culinary insight to guide product development and business growth initiatives
Act as the culinary and technical lead in customer meetings, translating menu needs into project briefs
Conduct culinary demonstrations, tastings, and ideation sessions with key accounts to foster engagement and loyalty
Build and maintain long-term relationships with culinary decision-makers and industry influencers
Develop and manage a centralized culinary innovation pipeline across divisions
Collaborate with Sales and R&D leaders to prioritize projects based on strategic fit, value potential, and production capacity
Track project status, remove roadblocks, and ensure seamless handoffs to divisional teams
Partner with R&D, Business Development, and Operations to align culinary innovation with technical feasibility and manufacturing capabilities
Coordinate ingredient sourcing and production capabilities for complex customer solutions
Promote collaboration and knowledge-sharing across divisional culinary teams
Provide culinary guidance during scale-up, plant trials, and production optimization
Ensure compliance with food safety regulations, nutritional requirements, and quality standards
Collaborate with Operations to enhance scalability and efficiency of customer-driven innovations
Foster a culture of innovation, collaboration, and customer-centricity
Manage resources effectively to deliver high-quality outcomes across multiple concurrent projects
Qualification
Required
Bachelor's degree in Culinary Arts, Food Science, or related field (Master's preferred)
Culinary degree or equivalent executive-level experience in culinary leadership
8-12 years of experience in culinary sales, food R&D, or corporate chef leadership
Proven success in building customer relationships and translating culinary trends into profitable opportunities
Strong business acumen with ability to connect culinary innovation to commercial growth
Exceptional presentation, communication, and negotiation skills
Deep knowledge of food safety, nutritional labeling, and commercial food production processes
Ability to travel up to 50% for customer meetings and industry events
Benefits
Competitive compensation
Comprehensive benefits
Ample opportunities for growth and advancement
Company
Monogram Foods
Monogram Foods is a manufacturer and marketer of value-added meat products, snacks, and appetizers.
1001-5000 employees
Funding
Current Stage
Late StageTotal Funding
$24.48MKey Investors
Pritzker Private Capital
2021-08-31Private Equity
2015-09-01Series Unknown· $8M
2015-01-06Series Unknown· $5.83M
Leadership Team
Karl Schledwitz
Chairman & CEO
Jessica Reese
Sr. Vice President Sales, Retail
Recent News
Business Wire
2025-03-19
Memphis Business Journal
2024-12-17
Company data provided by crunchbase