Have you ever wanted to help build a brand that could truly change consumer behavior in a major category? This is an opportunity to join an innovative, high-growth CPG company, bringing a differentiated beverage platform into retail in a big way.
My client is seeking a Senior Brand Manager -Retail, to help lead this next phase of growth and retail expansion. The business is backed by a stable, privately held parent company and is investing heavily in growth, awareness, and retail expansion. This is a “builder” role for a hands-on brand leader who thrives in fast-paced environments and is energized by the challenge of launching, scaling, and winning at shelf.
Responsibilities Include:
- Lead retail brand strategy and go-to-market execution across food, drug, mass, and club channels
- Develop and execute retailer-specific shopper marketing programs that drive trial and velocity
- Partner closely with Sales to support retail sell-in and activation initiatives
- Leverage consumer, category, and retail insights to guide strategy and optimize performance
- Drive cross-functional collaboration across internal teams and agency partners
- Own retail marketing budgets, KPIs, and performance tracking tied to growth goals
Ideal Candidate will have:
- Bachelor’s degree in Marketing, Business or related field and 6+ years of CPG brand management or retail marketing experience (food & beverage preferred)
- Strong track record of delivering measurable retail results
- Experience building retail programs and activations that convert shoppers in-store
- Analytical mindset with comfort using retail data and insights to drive decisions
- Entrepreneurial, roll-up-your-sleeves style with strong follow-through
Do you thrive on launching new products into established retail environments?
Are you energized by opening new accounts, expanding distribution, and leveraging deep relationships across grocery, mass, and club?
A fast-growing coffee company is hiring a Head of Retail Sales to lead national expansion and redefine how the category shows up on shelf.
Role Overview
The Head of Retail Sales will own and lead the strategic growth of the company’s retail coffee business across all major channels, including food, drug, mass, club, and liquor. This role is responsible for building and executing winning go-to-market strategies, expanding the retail footprint, accelerating revenue growth, and developing a high-performing sales organization.
This is a true player-coach role—combining strategic leadership with hands-on customer engagement. The ideal candidate brings strong top-to-top relationships with major retailers and is comfortable leading high-stakes customer presentations while building and mentoring a sales team that reflects the company’s culture and values.
Key Responsibilities
Develop and execute comprehensive retail sales strategies to drive national growth across all key channels
Lead day-to-day sales operations and business development efforts, including expansion into new customers and markets
Own channel performance through defined scorecards, KPIs, and key results areas (KRAs)
Build and execute customer growth pipelines, sales plans, and category management strategies
Monitor market trends, competitive activity, and category dynamics to inform strategic decisions
Manage channel budgeting, forecasting, and overall profitability
Lead, coach, and motivate the sales team to exceed revenue goals and win new accounts
Partner cross-functionally with Marketing, R&D, and Operations to ensure brand alignment, innovation, and execution excellence
Negotiate and close distribution, display, promotion, and multi-location retail programs
Ensure adherence to CRM best practices, company policies, and customer service standards
Qualifications
Bachelor’s degree required (Business, Marketing, or related field preferred)
10+ years of progressive sales and sales leadership experience in CPG food & beverage
Proven track record of exceeding revenue targets and growing market share
Established top-to-top relationships with major national retailers
Demonstrated ability to build, coach, and scale high-performing sales teams
Strong analytical and data-driven decision-making capabilities
Willingness to travel extensively for customer engagement (50%+ initially)
Knowledge & Skills
Exceptional negotiation, presentation, and relationship-building skills
Experience with CRM systems, lead generation tools, and sales analytics platforms
Strong strategic thinking with the ability to translate data into action
Fluency in retail data tools such as Nielsen, Circana, or Numerator
Ability to thrive in a fast-paced, growth-oriented environment while managing multiple priorities
Curiosity and insight into competitive marketing activations and category trends
Strong written and verbal communication skills
Highly collaborative, solution-oriented mindset with a bias toward execution
Industry 1: Food & Beverages
Industry 2: Market Research
Industry 3: Marketing and Advertising
Job ID: 54320491141
Category: Consumer Products
Location: Indianapolis, IN