For more than 180 years, Freybe Gourmet Foods has been crafting premium food products rooted in quality, care, and tradition. As we expand our presence, we are looking for an entrepreneurial sales leader who can help build our business, create new opportunities, and accelerate profitable growth.
This role is responsible for identifying, pursuing, and securing new business opportunities that expand Freybe’s market presence, customer reach, and channel penetration. The immediate priority is to accelerate growth in the U.S. market, with the opportunity to support expansion into other strategic markets and channels as the business evolves.
As a growing challenger brand, Freybe is looking for a highly entrepreneurial commercial leader who thrives on building business. This individual will open doors, build momentum, manage relationships with customers, brokers, and distributors, and turn opportunities into long-term partnerships that support sustainable growth.
The ideal candidate brings initiative, resilience, resourcefulness, and strong commercial judgment, along with a genuine passion for building business. They are energized by creating opportunity, growing relationships, and turning momentum into results in an entrepreneurial environment where ownership, creativity, and follow-through are valued.
Key Responsibilities
New Business Development
- Identify, pursue, and secure new customer opportunities across priority markets and channels, including grocery, specialty, convenience, club, and foodservice.
- Develop and maintain a robust pipeline of prospects and growth opportunities.
- Develop annual sales plans and growth strategies for assigned markets, channels, and customers.
- Generate leads through industry networking, customer outreach, broker relationships, trade shows, and market intelligence.
- Conduct customer presentations and negotiate agreements that deliver profitable growth.
- Consistently convert opportunities into new listings, distribution gains, and sales growth.
- Drive sales activity with urgency and a strong focus on results.
Broker & Distributor Management
- Lead and manage broker relationships across key U.S. markets.
- Establish clear expectations, priorities, and performance objectives.
- Conduct regular business reviews and market visits with broker partners.
- Partner with distributors to increase product penetration and customer engagement.
- Conduct joint sales calls with brokers and distributors to accelerate growth.
- Ensure broker and distributor activities align with company objectives.
Customer Development & Account Management
- Build trusted relationships with retail buyers, category managers, and distributor decision-makers.
- Develop customer-specific growth plans and business reviews.
- Negotiate pricing, promotional programs, annual agreements, and new product listings.
- Drive distribution, shelf presence, merchandising opportunities, and promotional execution.
- Deliver exceptional customer service and responsiveness.
Entrepreneurial Market Development
- Act as Freybe’s ambassador in priority growth markets and channels.
- Identify whitespace opportunities across customers, channels, and geographies.
- Bring a builder mindset to market development, creating traction where the brand is still establishing presence.
- Develop resourceful, cost-effective ways to build awareness, generate trial, and accelerate customer adoption.
- Monitor market trends, competitive activity, channel dynamics, and customer needs to identify emerging opportunities and risks.
- Provide regular market intelligence and strategic recommendations to leadership to support growth planning and decision-making.
Cross-Functional Collaboration
- Work closely with Marketing, Supply Chain, Customer Service, and Finance to support growth initiatives.
- Share customer and consumer insights to support innovation and strategic planning.
- Support forecasting and demand planning processes.
Required Qualifications
- Minimum 5 years of successful sales and business development experience in the food, beverage, or consumer packaged goods industry.
- Demonstrated ability to prospect, negotiate, and close new business opportunities.
- Experience managing broker relationships and driving broker accountability.
- Experience selling into retail grocery channels.
- Proven track record of exceeding sales targets and delivering profitable growth.
- Strong negotiation, presentation, and relationship-building skills.
- Excellent communication and organizational skills.
- Proficiency in Microsoft Office applications and CRM systems.
- Ability to travel extensively throughout the United States and to other strategic markets as required.
Preferred Qualifications
- Experience working with U.S. grocery retailers.
- Experience managing distributor relationships.
- Experience opening new markets, channels, or customer segments.
- Experience within deli, meat, refrigerated, snacking, or specialty food categories.
- Experience working within emerging, challenger, or entrepreneurial brands.
- Understanding of retail merchandising, category management, and trade promotion planning.
- Experience in cross-border, export, or multi-market business development is an asset.
What We’re Looking For
- A self-starter who creates momentum and takes ownership of outcomes.
- A commercially strong operator who can both open doors and close business.
- Someone energized by building growth across evolving markets and channels.
- A relationship builder who can influence brokers, distributors, and customers with credibility.
- A resourceful professional who brings urgency, discipline, and follow-through.
What Success Looks Like
Within the first 12 months, the successful candidate will:
- Build a strong pipeline of qualified opportunities across priority markets and channels.
- Secure meaningful new customer wins that expand distribution and revenue.
- Strengthen broker and distributor performance through disciplined alignment, follow-up, and business reviews.
- Increase Freybe’s presence across targeted U.S. markets while helping identify future growth opportunities beyond the initial focus.
- Deliver profitable revenue growth against agreed targets.
- Establish Freybe as a trusted premium brand with key customers and partners.
