Director of Sales - Grocery

Our Company

Congo Brands is at the epicenter of where consumer demand meets product development. Through brand partnerships with lead influencers, we are afforded an inside look at what consumers truly desire. E-commerce becomes the laboratory for consumer feedback and serves as a data pool for future retail endeavours.

Congo Brands is a health and wellness brand that sells supplements, fitness snacks, hydration drinks, energy drinks, and more through ecommerce and retail partnerships. Congo Brands houses some of the World’s most noted brands including Alani Nu, Prime Hydration, Prime Energy, 3D Energy, and Lunchly; only to include more in the coming years. Congo Brands is on pace to become one of the World’s most noted consumer product brand companies, with revenue growth increasing exponentially year over year. Congo Brand’s goal is to be the go-to ‘Better for You Brand’ for everything from nutritional supplements, energy drinks, snacks and much more.

The Role

The Director of Sales, Grocery, leads the selling, development and execution of our Grocery National Accounts (Kroger & Safeway/Albertsons) strategy and has accountability for top and bottom-line performance. Given the importance of each of these partners to our growth plans, the Director, Grocery National Accounts occupies an important cross functional position within Congo Brands shaping our customer partnerships to be known as the #1 F&B growth organization. In addition, the Director, Grocery National Accounts will have people leadership accountability.

This candidate should have direct experience with Kroger and/or Safeway/Albertsons. The role reports directly to the VP Sales, Large Format and has a team of direct reports.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead our total Congo portfolio sales channel and partner with the Buyers at each retailer on joint business planning, innovation launches, general management, execution, and more.
• Achieve quarterly and annual sales goals for Kroger & Safeway/Albertsons.
• Develop, implement, and achieve yearly BP KPIs.
• Work within budget guidelines to build sales and meet profitability goals.
• Track sales performance against objectives and informs management of results.
• Develop account specific promotional plans and programs; track performance, spending and adjust as necessary to maximize ROI.
• Establish and maintain deep business partnerships with customers.
• Assess retail requirements and partner with Marketing, Finance, Supply Chain, and R&D of unique product requirements, certifications to effectively compete.
• Effectively communicate, collaborate, and build relationships within Commercial and cross-functional internal teams.
• Develop, manage, and communicate sales forecasts with internal team to inform production.
• Prepare monthly, quarterly, and annual sales reports showing historical sales volume against budget, areas of opportunity, risk, expansion, and consumer insights.
• Monitor and communicate changes in the competitive landscape.
• Lead cross-functional development of a multi-year growth vision for the Grocery channel inclusive of distribution, promotion strategy, product and packaging innovation, pricing, and cost savings levers.

Key Skills and Experience Required

• Minimum of 5-10 years of experience in field sales, sales strategy, planning, or category management.
• Direct experience in a Grocery channel of at least 3-5 years in a field sales capacity, including a top-to-top buyer partnership.
• A proven track record of growing top and bottom-line growth in the Grocery channel.
• Must be willing to work in an entrepreneurial environment.
• Action oriented with a can-do, positive attitude inspiring other around to adopt a winning attitude.
• Self-motivated, goal driven and willing to start at the ground floor and scale.
• Excellent communication skills (verbal and written); strong analytical and tactical skills.
• Exceptional organizational skills.
• Proficiency with MS Office Suite, with demonstrated mastery of using PowerPoint to create effective sales presentations as well as for data analysis.
• Deep understanding of pricing model and cross-channel interaction/risk mitigation.
• Strong and demonstrated negotiation skills and training.

Education Requirements

• Bachelor’s Degree or equivalent experience

Compensation and Benefits Details

• Competitive Salary
• Health/Vision/Dental Benefits
• 15 days of PTO + 8 paid holidays
• 6 weeks paid parental leave
• 401K plan with employer match
• Monthly cell phone stipend
• AND SO MUCH MORE!

Congo Brands, LLC. is an Equal Opportunity Employer, and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability, veteran status, age, or any other classification protected by Federal, state, or local law.

#PRIME