Ingredient Sales & Business Development Representative

Nikken Foods USA, Inc.; St. Louis (MO); On-site; USD 65,000 - 95,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health insurance

401(k) retirement plan

Paid time off

Disability insurance

Job summary

Nikken Foods USA, Inc. seeks a curious, entrepreneurial Sales & Business Development Representative to grow an existing portfolio and activate new accounts with no prior revenue history. This on-site role focuses equally on expanding current revenue and developing new business opportunities with target customers.

The ideal candidate has 2–5 years of sales or business development experience, strong communication skills, and a passion for food ingredients. Located at Nikken’s U.S.

Qualifications

• 2–5 years of sales or business development experience in food ingredients or related field.
• Ability to learn quickly, build trust, and create momentum with customers.
• Strong communication, questions-driven selling, and follow-up discipline.

Responsibilities

• Manage and grow an assigned portfolio of existing Nikken Foods customers.
• Develop new business with target accounts and drive revenue growth.
• Identify opportunities, engage decision-makers, and move prospects through the sales cycle.
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams to meet customer needs and expand usage of Nikken ingredients.

Skills

Sales

Account management

Business development

Customer service

Prospecting

Education

B.A./B.S. degree or equivalent

Tools

CRM (Salesforce)

LinkedIn

MS Office

Job description

Seeking a curious, entrepreneurial sales professional to grow existing relationships, uncover new opportunities, and turn prospects into long-term customers!

ABOUT NIKKEN FOODS USA

Nikken Foods USA, Inc. (“Nikken”) is a global specialty food ingredient company focused on helping food manufacturers create better-tasting products through high-quality, natural ingredients and technical expertise.

For more than 60 years, Nikken has developed and manufactured specialty ingredients used by food manufacturers around the world. Our portfolio includes natural ingredients that provide umami, flavor enhancement, clean-label solutions, and authentic food characteristics.

In partnership with food manufacturers, product development, and R&D teams, Nikken’s team consults on ingredient recommendations and formulation assistance, providing samples for test use in snacks, sauces, seasonings, soups, marinades, gravies, and more.

Nikken Foods USA is headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri, where our sales team works alongside other professional and technical teams to help customers solve formulation challenges and develop better products. Nikken’s core product line offers all-natural soy sauce powders, mushroom and vegetable extracts, seafood extracts, fermented ingredients and specialty powders. To learn more, visit www.nikkenfoods.com

THE OPPORTUNITY

Nikken Foods is seeking a motivated, entrepreneurial-minded Sales & Business Development Representative to manage and grow an assigned portfolio of established, revenue-generating customers while also developing prospects and activating accounts with no prior revenue history.

Approximately 50% of the position will focus on growing existing revenue generating accounts, while the remaining 50% will center on developing new business and activating accounts with little to no prior revenue.

Within existing accounts, the representative will identify new projects and applications, expand the use of Nikken products, strengthen relationships across customer organizations, re-engage underdeveloped business, and drive continued revenue growth.

On the new-business side, the representative will research target companies, identify and engage key decision‑makers, initiate conversations, qualify opportunities, and maintain consistent follow‑up to convert promising prospects into revenue‑generating customers.

This is a commercial growth position, not an account‑maintenance role. The successful candidate will be expected to create and develop opportunities rather than wait for them to be assigned. The role requires curiosity, creativity, persistence, initiative, strong follow‑up, and continuous proactive engagement with customers and prospects.

This is a salaried position and is not commission-based.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

Existing Buying Accounts – Approximately 50%

• Manage and grow an assigned portfolio of existing Nikken Foods customers, with accountability for achieving assigned sales growth targets.
• Develop a strong understanding of assigned customers, including their products, markets, manufacturing locations, business units, brands, purchasing patterns, and potential needs.
• Proactively identify and pursue opportunities to grow account revenue by expanding product usage, introducing additional Nikken ingredients, and identifying new applications and projects.
• Research customer organizations to identify and engage additional decision‑makers, R&D personnel, chefs, purchasing personnel, technical contacts, and other key influencers.
• Build relationships beyond established Nikken contacts to broaden Nikken Foods’ presence and influence within customer organizations.
• Review purchasing history and account activity to identify growth trends, gaps, declining business, underdeveloped areas, and opportunities to expand Nikken Foods’ business.
• Re‑engage declining, inactive, or underdeveloped areas of assigned accounts and develop actions to recover and grow business.
• Identify high‑potential accounts and create focused account‑development plans that establish growth priorities, target contacts, opportunities, and actions.

Nonbuying Accounts & New Business Development — Approximately 50%

• Develop and nurture Nikken Foods' existing leads, prospective customers, and zero‑revenue accounts.
• Generate new business opportunities through cold calling, targeted email outreach, online research, LinkedIn, networking, and other outbound prospecting activities.
• Research target companies to understand what they make, the markets they serve, potential needs, and where Nikken Foods' ingredients may provide value.
• Initiate conversations with prospective customers, qualify opportunities, and move promising prospects through the commercial development process.
• Maintain consistent, creative, and persistent follow‑up with prospects through longer development cycles.
• Develop a sufficient pipeline of active opportunities to support new‑account and revenue‑growth objectives.
• Evaluate prospective accounts based on potential business value, strategic fit, and likelihood of commercial development, and prioritize time and resources accordingly.
• Identify and pursue appropriate opportunities in new and adjacent markets, including beverage, pet food, and other applications where Nikken Foods' capabilities may provide value.

IS THIS A MATCH FOR YOU?

Your Drive, Aptitude, & Sales Foundation

– You bring persistence, curiosity, creativity, and personal accountability, along with 2–5 years of sales, account management, customer service, business development, or other customer‑facing experience. You ask thoughtful questions, listen closely, learn independently, and enjoy developing your own sales portfolio. While food‑sales experience is preferred, what matters most is your ability to learn quickly, build trust, and create momentum without waiting to be directed.

Your Account Prioritization & Follow-Through

– You can manage and organize varied account portfolios, balance competing demands, and recognize where your time and attention can create the greatest value. You stay responsive and organized, maintain consistent follow‑through amid longer sales cycles, and work independently while remaining connected to a collaborative team.

Your Communication & Interest in Food

– You are comfortable initiating conversations by phone, email, Microsoft Teams, and Zoom and skilled at asking questions that uncover customer needs. You bring a genuine interest in food science, ingredients, flavor, &/or nutrition and are excited to develop technical knowledge. Related experience/internships in food ingredients, food manufacturing or related field is strongly preferred.

Your Collaboration & Team Engagement

– You are energized by partnering closely with cross‑functional and peer‑led teams, including sales, marketing, regulatory, customer service, and management, to advance opportunities and support shared goals. You enjoy openly sharing your sales activity, successful approaches, challenges, and new business wins in a group environment, and you value team discussions as a way to learn from peers, solve problems, and identify additional growth opportunities.

Your Education & Technology Skills

– You have a 4‑year degree or an equivalent combination of education and relevant professional experience. You are comfortable using Microsoft Outlook, Excel, Word, and PowerPoint. Experience with CRM platforms, LinkedIn, mail merge, digital research, and AI‑enabled productivity tools is a plus.

WHY JOIN US?

• WORK WITH PRODUCTS THAT SHAPE HOW FOOD TASTES – Work at the intersection of food, flavor, science and customer innovation. Through product tastings, customer projects, and hands‑on learning, you will develop expertise in specialty ingredients and discover how they help customers create and improve food products enjoyed across the country. If you’re a foodie at heart, you’ll find plenty to explore, taste, and learn.
• SEE YOUR IDEAS MOVE FROM SAMPLE TO SALE – Uncover and follow opportunities from initial research and conversation through product evaluation, project development, and recurring business. Your curiosity and persistence will have a direct impact on customer success and Nikken’s overall growth.
• APPROACHABLE LEADERSHIP & COLLABORATIVE CULTURE – Become part of a close‑knit team where leadership is accessible, questions are welcomed, and employees are encouraged to think outside the box. You will have the independence to develop your accounts while receiving support from an experienced team.
• COMPETITIVE SALARY & COMPREHENSIVE BENEFITS – Compensation includes an annual base salary commensurate with experience. Nikken also offers paid employee health insurance including medical, dental, and vision; generous PTO; company contribution to your 401(k)-retirement plan and disability insurance.

WORK LOCATION

Nikken’s US Headquarters is located at 4984 Manchester Ave, St. Louis, MO 63110. This position requires an on‑site presence at Nikken’s office five (5) days a week. Occasional travel may be required for customer meetings, industry events, training, or other business needs, but it is not expected to exceed 15%. This role involves frequent exposure to food ingredients and common allergens, including eggs, fish, crustacean shellfish, wheat, and soybeans. Candidates should be able to work safely in an environment where these allergens are present.

Nikken Foods USA is an Equal Opportunity Employer, andwe welcome differences in form of race, color, ethnicity, religion, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, disability, veteran status, or other legally protected characteristics. All applicants who share this goal are encouraged to apply. We look forward to hearing from you!