Business Development Manager

AeroFarms is an innovative indoor vertical farming company focused on sustainable agriculture. The Business Development Manager for Retail Channel Sales will lead efforts to drive growth and operational excellence within the Grocery Channel by identifying new business opportunities and optimizing resources.

Responsibilities:

• Lead the development and execution of customer-specific initiatives that drive new customer acquisition and category growth while maintaining alignment with internal AeroFarms strategic priorities
• Develop and lead the comprehensive Grocery Channel strategies, including annual business planning, P&L management, and trade investment to deliver exceptional top and bottom-line growth
• Lead strategic discussions on category growth and assortment with senior Grocery executives
• Serve as the organization's subject matter expert on Grocery Channel trends and dynamics, translating market insights into actionable growth strategies
• Provide strategic oversight for trade fund management, forecasting expected sales volume, revenue and profit for both existing and new products and customers, ensuring accuracy and alignment with business objectives
• Utilize syndicated data analytics (IRI, Nielsen), shopper insights, and category expertise to identify growth opportunities and create innovative, customer-centric solutions
• Track industry trends, monitor competitors, and implement AeroFarms’ strategies to capitalize on the opportunities

Requirements:

• 3 - 7 years of progressive sales experience managing the Northeast, Southeast and Midwest U.S. Grocery Channel accounts, driving customer acquisition within the CPG branded food or beverage categories (preferably in fresh supply chain categories)
• Strong background in new customer acquisition, account management, expanding retail distribution, retailer account planning, forecasting and understanding of Grocery channel ROI and financial dynamics
• Lead cross-functional collaboration between customer stakeholders and internal teams (Marketing, Operations, Supply Chain, and Finance) to drive mutual growth objectives
• Strong strategic skills with the ability to work closely with the Marketing and R&D teams to identify consumer trends, insights, and innovation opportunities that align with customer needs and market trends
• Exceptional analytical skills that can utilize and leverage data analytics, shopper insights, and category expertise to identify growth opportunities and create innovative, customer-centric solutions that demonstrate AeroFarms value proposition
• Excellent written and verbal skills; with the ability to present data in an effective manner in order to present a compelling story
• Bachelor's degree in Business administration, Marketing, Economics, or related field
• Travel up to 40% of the time to meet with customers, attend industry events