Whitsons Culinary Group · 1 day ago
Director of Sales
Berkeley, IL
Full-time
Onsite
Director/Executive
$130K/yr - $150K/yr
7+ years expWhitsons Culinary Group is seeking a Director of Sales – Retail & Co-Manufacturing to lead growth in their retail and co-manufacturing business. This role involves developing and executing sales strategies, managing key accounts, and identifying new business opportunities while ensuring alignment with operational and financial standards.
Food and BeverageFood DeliveryFood ProcessingRestaurantsWholesale
Hiring Manager
Courtney Scholl
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
Qualification
Required
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
Preferred
MBA preferred
Benefits
Comprehensive benefits package including health, dental, vision, 401(k) with company match, generous PTO, and paid holidays
Company
Whitsons Culinary Group
Founded in 1979, Whitsons Culinary Group® provides dining services to consumers in both public and private organizations throughout the United States, and our Whitsons Family of Companies continues to grow as we expand across the country.
1001-5000 employees
Funding
Current Stage
Late StageTotal Funding
unknown2021-09-08Acquired
Leadership Team
Paul Whitcomb
President & Chief Executive Officer
Kelly Friend, FMP, CDM, CFPP
COO, Contract Management
Recent News
2025-08-18
Whitsons Culinary Group
2025-07-30
2025-07-10
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