Director of Sales – Retail

Coast Beacon; Tustin (CA); Hybrid; USD 140,000 - 170,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical insurance

Dental insurance

Paid holidays

Paid vacation

401(k) with company match

Job summary

Coast Beacon is seeking a Director of Sales – Retail to own and accelerate the growth of our consumer seafood products across U.S. retail.

This builder role offers ownership of the retail strategy, from opening doors with buyers to expanding distribution and building the commercial infrastructure needed to scale. The candidate will lead national and regional accounts, drive profitable growth, and collaborate with leadership across operations, product development, and finance.

Qualifications

• 7+ years of progressive sales experience in food CPG, including significant experience selling directly to U.S. retail.
• Proven success winning and growing regional and/or national retail accounts.
• Established experience working with retail buyers, category reviews, item setup, and launches.
• Strong retail economics knowledge: pricing, margins, trade spend, promotions, distribution, velocity, deductions, and profitability.

Responsibilities

• Develop and execute the national retail sales strategy across grocery, club, mass, natural/specialty channels.
• Win new regional and national accounts by building relationships with retail buyers and decision-makers.
• Lead the sales process from prospecting through pricing, negotiation, item setup, launch, and expansion.
• Grow existing accounts through increased distribution, new SKUs, promotions, and opportunities.
• Develop account plans, forecasts, pricing and promotional strategies that drive profitable growth.

Skills

Sales leadership

Retail sales experience

Negotiation

Communication

Strategic thinking

Account development

Travel willingness

Tools

CRM software

Excel

PowerPoint

Email

Job description

Location: can be remote or hybrid, Headquarter in Tustin, CA / Flexible work arrangement with travel

Employment: Full-time

Compensation: $140,000 to $170,000 yearly salary + up to 80% bonus for sales goals.

Build the Retail Business. Own the Growth.

Coast Beacon is an established food company with more than 12 years of experience sourcing, developing, and supplying high-quality seafood products across the U.S.

We’re looking for an experienced Director of Sales – Retail to lead the growth of our consumer products across U.S. retail.

This is a builder role. You’ll have meaningful ownership of our retail strategy—from opening doors with buyers and winning new accounts to expanding distribution, growing existing business, and helping build the commercial infrastructure needed to scale.

If you’ve successfully built retail business for a food CPG company and want the autonomy to make a visible impact, we’d like to meet you.

What You’ll Own

• Develop and execute the national retail sales strategy across grocery, club, mass, natural/specialty, and other relevant channels.
• Build and leverage existing relationships with retail buyers and decision-makers and win new regional and national accounts.
• Lead the sales process from prospecting and buyer presentations through pricing, negotiation, item setup, launch, and expansion.
• Grow existing accounts when assigned through increased distribution, additional SKUs, promotional programs, and new opportunities.
• Develop account plans, forecasts, pricing and promotional strategies that drive profitable growth, not simply revenue.
• Use sales performance, retailer feedback, competitive intelligence, and syndicated or retailer data where available to identify opportunities and strengthen the sell-in story.
• Manage and optimize brokers, distributors, rep groups, and other sales partners as appropriate.
• Partner closely with leadership, operations, supply chain, product development, marketing, and finance to successfully execute retail programs.
• Help build the sales processes, tools, account discipline, and commercial capabilities needed to scale the retail business.

What We’re Looking For

Required:

• 7+ years of progressive sales experience in food CPG, including significant experience selling directly to U.S. retail.
• Proven success winning and growing regional and/or national retail accounts.
• Established experience working directly with retail buyers and navigating category reviews, new-item presentations, negotiations, item setup, and launches.
• Strong understanding of retail economics—pricing, retailer margins, trade spend, promotions, distribution, velocity, deductions, and account profitability.
• Experience developing account strategies, sales forecasts, buyer presentations, and retailer-specific selling stories.
• Strong negotiation, analytical, communication, and relationship-building skills.
• Ability to independently develop opportunities and move them from initial contact through commercialization.
• Comfortable operating in an entrepreneurial environment with significant ownership, limited bureaucracy, and direct accountability for results.
• Willingness to travel as needed for customer meetings, trade shows, and key business opportunities.
• Experience and comfortable with use of CRM software, Excel, PowerPoint, and email.

Highly valued:

• Existing buyer relationships with major grocery, club, mass, or natural/specialty retailers.
• Experience with frozen food, seafood, refrigerated food, snacks, prepared foods, or adjacent categories.
• Experience managing brokers, distributors, and external sales partners.
• Experience helping an emerging or mid-sized food brand expand into national retail.

Who Will Thrive Here

We’re looking for someone who creates business rather than simply manages business that already exists.

You know how to open doors, build a compelling case for a retailer, and persist through a long sales cycle. You understand that getting on shelf is only the beginning—the real objective is sustainable distribution, velocity, margin, and account growth.

You’re equally comfortable developing strategy and personally driving execution. You don’t need layers of corporate infrastructure to move an opportunity forward.

Most importantly, you want the accounts you win and the decisions you make to have a visible impact on the company.

Why Coast Beacon?

We’re not starting from zero. Coast Beacon brings more than a decade of industry experience, established sourcing and supply-chain relationships, deep product knowledge, and a track record of serving customers throughout the U.S.

At the same time, our retail business has significant room to grow.

That creates an opportunity to combine the resources and foundation of an established company with the ownership and influence of building something at an earlier stage.

You’ll work directly with company leadership, have significant influence over our retail growth strategy, and help shape how we build the business for the next stage.

Benefits: Medical and dental insurance, paid holidays, accrued paid vacation, and 401(k) with company match beginning after the first work anniversary.

Industry Sectors: Retail