Customer Development Manager - Grocery Channel

1440 Foods; New York (NY); On-site; USD 120,000 - 160,000; Full time

Job summary

1440 Foods is seeking a Manager, Customer Development to lead strategic regional grocery customers, with P&L ownership and accountability for annual plans, net sales, profitability, and distribution. The role emphasizes cross-functional leadership and delivering measurable growth across the brand portfolio.

The ideal candidate will collaborate with Sales, Category Management, Marketing, Demand Planning, Supply Chain, and Finance to unlock opportunities, win at shelf, and drive in-market

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree required.
• 6+ years in Customer Development, National Accounts, Sales Strategy, or related CPG roles.
• Proven success managing regional grocery accounts, distributors, or large-format retail customers.
• Experience leveraging NielsenIQ/IRI, retailer POS data, syndicated data, and trade promotion management systems.

Responsibilities

• Develop and execute strategic joint business plans with key regional grocery retailers and distributors to drive category leadership and accelerate growth across the 1440 Foods brand portfolio.
• Lead customer-specific growth strategies with a focus on velocity, profitability, innovation launches, promotional effectiveness, and omnichannel execution.
• Partner cross-functionally with Category Management, Marketing, Demand Planning, Supply Chain, Finance, and Customer Service teams to deliver customer-specific business plans and operational excellence.
• Represent the company at customer meetings, industry events, trade shows, and conferences with professionalism and strong brand stewardship.
• Drive operational discipline across trade management processes, deduction management, pricing accuracy, forecasting, and customer payment resolution.

Skills

Customer Development

National Accounts

Sales Strategy

Data Analytics

Negotiation

Communication

Relationship Management

Travel Flexibility

Education

Bachelor's degree

Job description

At 1440 Foods, we're on a mission to energize people to unleash their full potential with a portfolio of great-tasting, high-protein snacks and supplements. Our brands Pure Protein®, Body Fortress®, MET-Rx®, and FITCrunch® make better nutrition accessible, enjoyable, and part of an active lifestyle. As a fast-growing sports and active nutrition company, we are shaping the future of health and wellness in CPG. If you're looking to make a big impact in a high-growth, entrepreneurial environment, we'd love to have you on board!

Position Overview

As the Manager Customer Development, you will lead strategic regional grocery customers, with a primary focus on Ahold Delhaize and other key grocery channel partners. This role is responsible for driving profitable growth, accelerating distribution, and building best-in-class customer partnerships across the 1440 Foods portfolio. The ideal candidate brings a high-performance, growth-oriented mindset with a strong bias for action, accountability, and execution. This leader will own customer strategy end-to-end — partnering cross-functionally across Sales, Category Management, Supply Chain, Marketing, Finance, and broker partners to unlock incremental growth opportunities, win at shelf, and deliver exceptional in-market execution. This position carries full P&L ownership and accountability for delivering the Annual Operating Plan, including Net Sales, Profitability, Distribution (ACV), Market Share, Trade ROI, and customer-specific growth objectives. The role will also lead and influence broker partners to ensure flawless execution and elevated customer engagement. The ideal candidate will reside in the Eastern half of the United States.

Job Responsibilities

Drive Accelerated Grocery Channel Growth

• Develop and execute strategic joint business plans with key regional grocery retailers and distributors to drive category leadership and accelerate growth across the 1440 Foods brand portfolio.
• Identify and capitalize on opportunities to expand distribution, close assortment voids, improve shelf presence, and drive incremental merchandising support.
• Build senior-level customer relationships rooted in strategic partnership, data-driven insights, and collaborative growth planning.
• Lead customer-specific growth strategies with a focus on velocity, profitability, innovation launches, promotional effectiveness, and omnichannel execution.
• Serve as the primary commercial leader for assigned accounts, driving alignment internally and externally to achieve aggressive growth objectives.
• Represent the company at customer meetings, industry events, trade shows, and conferences with professionalism and strong brand stewardship.

Customer & Broker Leadership

• Lead broker partner relationships with clear expectations, accountability, and a performance-driven operating cadence focused on execution excellence.
• Partner cross-functionally with Category Management, Marketing, Demand Planning, Supply Chain, Finance, and Customer Service teams to deliver customer-specific business plans and operational excellence.
• Translate category trends, retailer strategies, and consumer insights into compelling selling stories and actionable growth opportunities.
• Negotiate annual plans, promotional programs, assortment expansions, and merchandising initiatives that deliver profitable growth and maximize ROI.
• Drive operational discipline across trade management processes, deduction management, pricing accuracy, forecasting, and customer payment resolution.

Sales & Commercial Excellence

• Own the full sales planning and execution cycle for assigned accounts, including business reviews, line reviews, innovation sell-in, promotional planning, and annual negotiations.
• Develop impactful customer presentations and data-driven selling materials leveraging NielsenIQ/IRI, syndicated data, shopper insights, and retailer POS analytics.
• Lead best-in-class promotional and display strategies that balance topline growth with strong trade efficiency and measurable ROI.
• Collaborate with broker partners and internal teams to improve forecast accuracy, inventory alignment, and promotional execution.
• Manage trade investment against budget while continuously evaluating promotional effectiveness and optimizing spend efficiency.
• Consistently deliver against sales, distribution, share, and profitability targets in a fast-paced, entrepreneurial environment.

Qualifications & Skills

• Bachelor's degree required.
• 6+ years of experience in Customer Development, National Accounts, Sales Strategy, or related CPG commercial roles.
• Proven success managing regional grocery accounts, distributors, or large-format retail customers within a high-growth CPG environment.
• Strong understanding of retailer economics, category management principles, and trade investment management.
• Experience leveraging NielsenIQ/IRI, retailer POS data, syndicated data, and trade promotion management systems to drive decisions and influence customers.
• Demonstrated ability to build compelling selling stories and influence internal and external stakeholders at multiple levels.
• Highly collaborative leader with strong communication, negotiation, and relationship management skills.
• Analytical, financially disciplined, and results-oriented with a strong ownership mentality.
• Thrives in fast-paced, entrepreneurial environments with a focus on continuous improvement and executional excellence.
• Ability to travel as needed to support customers, brokers, and company initiatives.

Why Join Us?

• Opportunity to lead a critical function in a growing mid-size CPG company.
• Collaborative and entrepreneurial work culture.
• Competitive compensation and benefits package.
• Career development and growth opportunities.

If you are a commercially driven leader with a passion for building customer partnerships and driving growth in the grocery channel, we invite you to apply and join our team!