We are looking for a dynamic andresults-oriented Sales & Marketing Manager – Flavours to drivebusiness growth, develop strategic customer relationships, expand marketpresence, and strengthen the company's position in the flavours and foodingredients industry.
The candidate will be responsible fordeveloping new business, managing key accounts, identifying marketopportunities, understanding customer product briefs, coordinating flavoursampling and trials, and converting opportunities into commercial business.
The role requires strong B2B sales,technical-commercial understanding, customer relationship management,negotiation, market intelligence, and cross-functional coordination withR&D, Application, Production, Quality, Regulatory and Supply Chain teams.
Department: Sales & Marketing
Industry: Flavours / Food Ingredients / Food & Beverage
Function: B2B Sales, Business Development & Marketing
Experience: 10 years
Location: Mumbai, Pune, Kolkata, Chennai &Bangalore.
Reporting To: GM – Sales & Marketing / MD
Requirements
Key Responsibilities
1. Sales & Business Development
- Develop and execute sales strategies to achieve monthly,quarterly and annual revenue targets.
- Identify and acquire new customers across food and beveragesegments.
- Develop business in categories such as:
- Beverages
- Dairy & dairy alternatives
- Bakery & confectionery
- Snacks & savoury
- Sauces and culinary products
- Nutrition and functional foods
- Ready-to-eat / ready-to-cook products
- Build a strong sales pipeline and convert qualified leads intocommercial business.
- Identify upselling, cross-selling and new applicationopportunities within existing accounts.
- Develop regional and national market expansion plans.
2. Key Account Management
- Build and maintain long-term relationships with procurement,R&D, product development, quality and business teams at customerorganizations.
- Understand customer requirements, product briefs, technicalneeds and commercial expectations.
- Manage the complete customer conversion cycle:
- Conduct regular customer visits and business reviews.
- Resolve customer issues and ensure high levels of customersatisfaction.
- Develop strategic plans for key accounts and improve customerretention.
3. Technical & Solution-BasedSelling
- Understand flavour applications, product matrices, sensoryrequirements and cost considerations.
- Work closely with flavourists and application/R&D teams torecommend suitable flavour solutions.
- Coordinate customer samples, trials and product modifications.
- Support customers with flavour selection, reformulation andcost-optimization requirements.
- Present technical and commercial solutions to customers.
4. Marketing & Market Development
- Develop and implement market-development initiatives for thecompany's flavour portfolio.
- Track food, beverage, FMCG and flavour trends.
- Monitor competitor products, pricing, customer movements andnew launches.
- Identify emerging flavour trends and potential newapplications.
- Prepare market intelligence reports and identify new businessopportunities.
- Support product launches, customer presentations, exhibitions, tradeshows and industry events.
- Work with marketing teams to develop sales presentations,product communication and promotional material.
- Prepare monthly and quarterly sales forecasts.
- Maintain accurate sales pipeline and opportunity reports.
- Monitor sales achievement against budgets and targets.
- Prepare quotations and commercial proposals.
- Negotiate pricing and commercial terms while protecting companymargins.
- Monitor customer profitability and identify opportunities formargin improvement.
- Coordinate with finance, production and supply chain to ensuresmooth order execution.
- Maintain an updated database of customers, prospects andopportunities.
- Track competitor activity, product launches and pricing.
- Monitor changing customer preferences and market requirements.
- Provide actionable market feedback to management and R&D.
- Identify gaps in the current product portfolio and recommendnew product development opportunities.
Experience:
- 10 years of relevant B2B sales/business-development experience.
- Experience in flavours, food ingredients, FMCG, foodmanufacturing or related industries preferred.
- Experience handling food-industry customers and key accounts ishighly desirable.
Required Skills
- Strong B2B sales and business-development skills
- Excellent customer relationship management
- Strong negotiation and commercial skills
- Technical understanding of flavours and food applications
- Market and competitor analysis
- Sales forecasting and pipeline management
- Strong presentation and communication skills
- Strategic thinking and problem-solving ability
- Ability to work effectively with R&D and application teams
- Proficiency in MS Excel, PowerPoint and CRM/ERP systems
- Willingness to travel extensively for customer meetings andbusiness development