National Key Account Manager

ForceBrands; United States; On-site; USD 90,000 - 130,000; Full time

Job summary

ForceBrands is seeking a strategic Key Account Manager, Natural Channel to lead growth across the natural products segment for our premium beverage portfolio. You will leverage established relationships with buyers at Whole Foods, Sprouts, and natural retailers, while driving distributor programs and broker networks.

You will own the full sales cycle, forecast rigor, and cross-functional collaboration with marketing and operations to ensure inventory readiness and strong sell-through.

Qualifications

• 5+ years selling into the natural products channel with buyer relationships at chains like Whole Foods, Sprouts, and Natural Grocers, plus KeHE/UNFI.
• Beverage sales in the natural channel with KeHE/UNFI; understands distributor programs and DC rollouts.
• Self-motivated, autonomous, and confident, with the social skills to build and maintain buyer relationships, and to push deals through to close.

Responsibilities

• Identify, prioritize, and pursue key natural-channel accounts with tailored strategies.
• Grow distribution through KeHE and UNFI with new rollouts as retailers come online.
• Recruit, onboard, and manage natural-channel brokers; align efforts with direct selling and account strategy.
• Own the full sales cycle from pipeline to buyer meetings, negotiations, and first purchase order.
• Drive account velocity by securing reorders, expanding placements, and improving sell-through.
• Maintain a detailed, accurate sales pipeline and reliable forecasts with VP of Sales.
• Collaborate with marketing on sell-in materials and with operations for supply-chain readiness.

Skills

Natural channel

Beverage sales

Self-motivated

Category knowledge

CRM & pipeline

Travel ready

Account ownership

Tools

CRM system

Job description

Location: Remote (up to 50% Travel Required)

Reports To: VP of Sales

Our client is one of the fastest-growing brands in the wellness space, producing premium CBD, THC, and functional beverage products. The portfolio has built its reputation on transparency, quality, and innovation through USDA Organic products, vertically integrated manufacturing, and a commitment to creating better-for-you alternatives for today's consumer.

The Opportunity

We are seeking a Key Account Manager, Natural Channel to build and grow our portfolio's presence across the natural products channel across THC, functional, adaptogenic, wellness, nootropic, N/A, and mushroom beverages & consumables.

The ideal candidate is a true self-starter who already knows the natural channel and has the relationships to turn buyer conversations into placements and velocity. This role is for a highly motivated sales leader who thrives under pressure and tight deadlines, builds buyer relationships quickly, and has the discipline to follow each deal through to reorder and sell-through.

What You'll Do

• Strategic Account Acquisition: Identify, prioritize, and pursue key accounts. Develop account-specific strategies across natural chains for multiple functional product lines.
• Distributor Program Execution: Grow distribution through KeHE and UNFI with new rollouts as retailers come online.
• Broker Management: Recruit, negotiate, onboard, and manage natural-channel broker relationships to extend reach and accelerate buyer access. Set clear expectations, hold brokers accountable to pipeline and placement targets, and ensure their efforts stay coordinated with your direct selling and our broader account strategy.
• Full-Cycle Selling: Own the complete sales cycle - build your own pipeline, secure buyer meetings, present the brand and category story, negotiate terms, and close to first purchase order.
• Account Growth and Velocity: Drive each account past the close. Win reorders, expand placements and door counts, and partner with marketing on the support that drives sell-through.
• Forecasting and Pipeline Management: Build and maintain a detailed, accurate sales pipeline with reliable forecasting. Partner with the VP of Sales on KPIs, revenue targets, and account-level reporting.
• Marketing & Operations Collaboration: Partner with marketing on sell-in materials, promotions, POS displays, and account support, and with operations to ensure supply-chain readiness for distributor and direct orders.

Must-Have Qualifications

• Natural Channel Relationships: Minimum of 5+ years selling into the natural products channel, with existing relationships among category buyers at chains like Whole Foods, Sprouts, and Natural Grocers as well as KeHE and/or UNFI. This is the single most important qualification.
• Beverage Success: Demonstrated success selling functional or better-for-you beverages into the natural channel through KeHE and UNFI, with a deep understanding of distributor programs and DC rollouts. VMS sales experience is preferred, but not required.
• Self Motivated: Highly self-motivated, autonomous, and confident, with the social skills to build buyer relationships and maintain them. You move fast and thrive under pressure. You follow through; deals don't fall off after the handshake.
• Category Knowledge: You are familiar with the categories - both functional beverages and functional mushroom gummies - with a proven ability to introduce a new or unfamiliar product into a buyer's set and make the category make sense.
• CRM & Pipeline Rigor: Disciplined with sales systems and data. Comfortable owning a CRM, maintaining clean and current pipeline records, and producing reliable forecasts and account-level reporting without being asked. Strong closers who are a black box on reporting will not succeed in this role; we need both.
• Flexibility and Travel: Ability to work remotely with frequent travel for buyer meetings, trade shows, and key markets - up to 50% of the time.
• Account Ownership & Scope: This role owns the natural products channel for the Non-Alcoholic Spritz and Mushroom Gummies lines. Certain national retail accounts (including Target, Walmart, Whole Foods, and Sprouts) may be managed in coordination with existing fractional key-account and broker resources, and our THC seltzer business runs through a separate DSD sales organization. The VP of Sales will define specific account ownership and any shared-account protocols at the outset to ensure clear lines and no channel conflict. The ability to collaborate cleanly across these motions is essential.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience within functional beverages, non-alcoholic beverages, better-for-you beverages, cannabis beverages, or adult alternative beverage categories.
• Proven track record securing and growing national & regional retail partnerships with additional retailers across Mass, Grocery, Natural, Convenience, and Club
• DSD/beer wholesaler familiarity and ability to coordinate with our DSD sales team when opportunities arise.
• Direct-to-retailer experience in the VMS/supplements category - a strong plus.
• Experience launching emerging functional or better-for-you brands and participating in natural-channel trade shows such as Expo West.

Why Join Our Team?

The natural channel is hungry for the kind of clean, organic, functional products we make - and our N/A and functional beverage lines are built for it. This is a chance to own that channel for a high-growth, nationally recognized brand, arriving with your relationships and turning them into real placements and velocity. You will own your accounts, work with real autonomy, and capture uncapped upside tied directly to what you close.

What We Offer:

• The opportunity to build the natural channel for a high-growth, nationally recognized brand with two fast-growing product lines.
• A direct line to senior leadership with significant strategic autonomy to own and grow your channel.
• A collaborative, supportive work environment rooted in organic integrity. Professional development and career advancement as our sales organization scales.
• Flexible and remote working capabilities.

This is a high-impact sales role with compensation structured to reward the accounts you open and grow.