Sales Manager - Eastern U.S.

Vitasoy International; Toronto; Hybrid; CAD 100,000 - 115,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health and dental benefits

RRSP with company matching

Paid vacation and holidays

Job summary

Vitasoy North America Inc. is seeking a Sales Manager for the Eastern U.S. market, based in Toronto with regular travel to the U.S. You will lead distributor and broker relationships, manage trade programs, and drive sales growth across the territory.

The role requires bilingual English and Chinese, FMCG experience, and strong cross-functional collaboration with internal teams. Hybrid work from Toronto with U.S. travel.

Qualifications

• 5+ years of field sales experience in FMCG/food & beverage.
• Experience managing distributors, brokers, and direct customers.
• Bilingual English and Chinese required for commercial discussions.

Responsibilities

• Own and manage distributor, broker, and customer relationships in the territory.
• Plan and manage annual Trade Promotion Calendar and budget.
• Forecasting, reporting, and market execution to grow sales.
• Travel monthly to the U.S. and collaborate with internal teams.

Skills

Field sales

Multi-state territory

Bilingual EN/CN

Trade promotions

Communication skills

Education

Business Administration degree

Tools

Excel

Outlook

PowerPoint

Teams

Job description

This posting represents a current, existing vacancy within our organization.

Job Title: Sales Manager – Eastern U.S. (Food & Beverage/FMCG)

Location: Toronto, ON or New York/New Jersey area

Territory: Eastern United States

Employment Type: Full-Time, Permanent

Reporting to: VP, Sales & Marketing

ABOUT THE COMPANY

Vitasoy International is a leading manufacturer and distributor of plant-based beverages and food listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange (HK0345). Established in 1940 by Dr. Kwee-Seong Lo, we promote sustainable nutrition through our high-quality product portfolio, integrating social responsibility into our business and contributing to the communities that we serve via nutrition-based education programmes.

We currently have more than 7,000 employees across our corporate offices in Hong Kong, Mainland China, Australia, Singapore, the Philippines, and North America. Vitasoy USA was founded in 1978 and was one of the first companies to introduce soymilk to North America. Since then, we have evolved into Vitasoy North America, headquartered in Toronto, Canada, where we manage our brand portfolio across the U.S. and Canadian markets.

Our two major brands are VITASOY, nutritious soy and other plant-based beverages, and VITA, tea and other ready-to-drink beverages.

ROLE OVERVIEW

We are seeking an experienced, results-oriented Sales Manager to lead sales growth across the Eastern U.S., with a focus on the New York/New Jersey market.

Based at our North American headquarters in Toronto, this role requires approximately monthly travel to the U.S. for customer and distributor meetings, market visits, and business development, with additional travel as needed.

The Sales Manager will manage distributor, broker, and key customer relationships while driving sales growth, expanding distribution, executing trade programs, and strengthening market presence. Key responsibilities include strategic account management, distributor development, business planning, forecasting, and market execution.

Bilingual English and Chinese (Mandarin or Cantonese) proficiency is required to support commercial discussions, negotiations, and relationship management with Chinese-speaking partners and customers.

The ideal candidate has Food & Beverage or FMCG experience, strong distributor and broker management skills, and a proven ability to drive sales through relationship building, trade promotion, inventory management, and in-market execution. Success in this role requires ownership, commercial acumen, and strong cross-functional collaboration with internal teams.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

Territory & Relationship Management

• Own and manage all aspects of relationships with distributors, brokers, and direct customers across the assigned territory, serving as a trusted commercial partner while proactively leading the resolution of disputes and alignment with internal stakeholders to ensure strong customer outcomes.
• Own and achieve the annual distributor and direct customer sales budget for the territory.
• Plan, manage, and execute the annual Trade Promotion Calendar and Trade Spend Budget.
• Ensure effective inventory management, minimizing out-of-stocks and avoiding overstocking at the distributor and customer level.
• Manage compliance with Distributor Agreements, including pricing, terms, and execution standards.
• Coordinate and support execution of all Marketing programs, promotions, and new product launches.
• Conduct regular market visits to evaluate retail execution, expand distribution, improve merchandising, and strengthen brand visibility.
• Maintain effective communication with Chinese-speaking distributors, brokers, and customers to support commercial relationships, negotiations, issue resolution, and execution.

Reporting, Forecasting & Planning

• Develop monthly sales forecasts, business performance reviews, and inventory reports.
• Prepare and deliver weekly sales updates summarizing market visits, customer activity, and key issues.
• Contribute to annual budget development and long-term strategic planning.
• Prepare ad-hoc reports, project updates, and presentations, as required.

Market Intelligence & Business Development

• Monitor and analyze market, competitive, pricing, promotional, and new product activity within the Food & Beverage/FMCG sector.
• Stay current on industry, channel, retailer, and consumer trends.
• Translate market and competitive insights into actionable recommendations and proactively share them with Sales and Marketing to inform strategy and execution.
• Identify new business, channel, customer, and distribution opportunities to expand sales networks.

Additional Responsibilities

• Please note this job description is not designed to cover or contain a comprehensive listing of activities, duties or responsibilities that are required of the employee for this job. Duties, responsibilities, and activities may change at any time with or without notice.

WORK ENVIRONMENT

This is a hybrid position based at Vitasoy North America's headquarters in Toronto, Ontario.

The successful candidate will generally work four days per week from the Toronto headquarters, with flexibility in scheduling consistent with company policy and business requirements.

The position requires regular collaboration with internal teams and travel throughout the assigned Eastern U.S. territory.

EXPECTED HOURS OF WORK

This role allows for some flexibility in scheduling; however, employees are generally expected to be available during core business hours of 9:00 am to 5:30pm (EST) to support distributors, customers, and internal teams. Occasional evening or weekend work may be required based on business needs, customer demands, or travel schedules.

TRAVEL REQUIREMENTS

This position requires regular travel to support distributor relationships, customer meetings, market visits, retail execution, trade events, and business development activities.

The Toronto-based Sales Manager should expect to travel to the United States approximately once per month, with additional travel as business needs require. Travel frequency may vary depending on business priorities and customer needs.

A valid driver's license and reliable transportation are required for business travel where applicable.

Travel and business expenses will be reimbursed in accordance with company policy, including eligible airfare, mileage, parking, tolls, accommodations, and meals.

QUALIFICATIONS & ELIGIBILITY

Required Qualifications

• 5+ years of field sales experience in the FMCG, grocery, and/or Food & Beverage industry.
• Demonstrated experience managing multi-state territories and working directly with customers, distributors, and/or brokers.
• Diploma or bachelor’s degree in Business Administration, or equivalent relevant professional experience.
• Bilingual proficiency in English and Chinese (Mandarin or Cantonese), with the ability to conduct business discussions, negotiations, and relationship management in both languages.
• Experience supporting trade promotions, retail execution, and new product launches.
• Strong business acumen with a demonstrated ability to drive results and meet sales objectives.
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills with the ability to effectively manage internal and external stakeholders to build and maintain strong business relationships.
• Strong problem-solving and analytical skills, paired with sound professional judgment.
• High attention to detail with effective time and priority management skills.
• Advanced proficiency in Microsoft Office, particularly Excel, Outlook, PowerPoint, and Teams.
• Ability to work independently while managing a large geographic territory and collaborating with cross-functional teams.
• Must have reliable transportation to travel in assigned territory and transport others as required.

Preferred Qualifications

• Distributor and/or broker management experience within FMCG or Food & Beverage.
• Prior experience working with grocery, mass retail, specialty, or food service channels.
• Experience working with Chinese-speaking distributors, brokers, retailers, or customers.
• Must be legally authorized to work in Canada.
• Must be eligible to travel to the United States for business purposes.
• Must meet company travel and driving requirements, including maintaining a satisfactory driving record, where permitted by law.

COMPENSATION & BENEFITS

• Base Salary: CAD $100,000–$115,000 plus discretionary annual bonus (Final compensation will be determined based on experience, qualifications, geographic location, and internal equity).
• Comprehensive health and dental benefits.
• Group RRSP with company matching.
• Paid vacation and company holidays.
• Travel and business expense reimbursement in accordance with company policy, including eligible airfare, mileage, parking, tolls, accommodations, and meals.

EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY

Vitasoy North America Inc. and Vitasoy USA Inc. are equal opportunity employers and consider all qualified applicants without regard to race, colour, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, disability, or veteran status. Equal employment opportunity and non-discriminatory commitments include, but are not limited to, the areas of hiring, promotion, demotion or transfer, recruitment, discipline, layoff or termination, rate of compensation and company sponsored training.

If you require an accommodation with the application process, please call us at [phone] or email us at [e-mail].

This application system uses artificial intelligence (AI) tools to assist in screening and evaluating candidate information. AI is used to ensure consistency, fairness, and efficiency in the recruitment process. All decisions are guided by human oversight and in compliance with Ontario’s Employment Standards Act (ESA). By submitting your application, you consent to the use of AI for these purposes.