Key Account Manager
Sales Talent has been retained by a global food and confectionery company, based in Jakarta, Indonesia. In business for over 25 years, they have an established presence in the Asian, Mexican and U.S. markets. They have satellite offices, including one in Cerritos, California. Their U.S. office manages and develops consumer food and confectionery brands in the U.S. market. They have a strong presence across the Asian retail channels and are increasingly focused on expanding their business in mainstream U.S. retail. They are seeking a Key Account Manager for their Cerritos, California office.
Role Overview
This is a full time role: 4 days remote + 1 day in Cerritos, California. Travel across the U.S. is expected. The role reports to the Head of International Business. The ideal candidate should be commercially driven, entrepreneurial, relationship oriented, analytical, hands-on, and comfortable personally managing important customers and distributor partners.
The role has four primary objectives: 1. Grow existing key retail accounts and strengthen retail execution 2. Develop and open new retail accounts, particularly in the mainstream U.S. market 3. Manage and develop distributor partnerships to strengthen distribution, visibility, promotional execution, and retail growth 4. Progressively take broader commercial and P&L ownership of the retail-channel business Responsibilities 1. Manage & Grow Existing Key Accounts and Drive Retail Execution The Key Account Manager will take ownership of important existing retail accounts and work closely with buyers, distributors, and internal teams to drive sustainable sales growth. • Build and maintain strong relationships with buyers, category managers, and key decision-makers • Develop annual and quarterly customer business plans • Identify opportunities to increase store distribution, product assortment, and SKU penetration • Develop promotional calendars and customer-specific trade programs • Plan and secure displays, merchandising programs, seasonal activities, and promotional events • Improve product visibility and shelf presence • Strengthen promotional execution at account and store level • Increase product velocity and sell-through • Support successful new-product launches • Review account performance and identify opportunities for further growth • Negotiate promotional programs and commercial terms where appropriate • Coordinate with marketing, operations, finance, and management to support account needs • Strengthen their position as a strategic partner to key retail customers 2. Develop & Open New Retail Accounts A major part of the role is to expand into additional mainstream U.S. retail accounts. The candidate should be comfortable prospecting, developing buyer relationships, presenting new products, following up consistently, and converting opportunities into sustainable new business. • Identify high-potential new retail accounts and channels • Build relationships with buyers and category managers • Present their products and brands effectively • Develop compelling new-item presentations and account proposals • Manage the sales cycle from initial introduction through authorization, launch, and post launch development • Develop the appropriate route-to-market and distribution strategy for each account • Create promotional and launch programs to support new listings • Build and manage a sustainable pipeline of new retail opportunities • Develop long-term strategic retail partnerships rather than purely transactional relationships 3. Manage & Develop Distributor Partnerships A critical part of the role is the ability to effectively work with, influence, and manage distributor partners. This includes both our existing distributor network and identifying potential new distributor partners that may support future mainstream U.S. retail expansion. • Build strong relationships with distributor management and sales teams • Develop joint sales and channel-development plans • Align distributors around their brand, customer, and channel priorities • Drive distributor focus and execution against agreed objectives • Expand store-level and channel-level distribution • Increase SKU placement and store coverage • Improve product visibility and merchandising execution • Strengthen promotional execution • Work with distributors to identify and develop new retail opportunities • Track distributor performance against agreed objectives • Identify gaps in coverage, execution, distribution, or customer development • Develop corrective action plans where performance falls below expectations • Evaluate potential new distributor partners where additional coverage is needed • Strengthen strategic partnerships with distributors, and retailers 4. Lead Toward End-to-End Retail Channel Business Ownership The Key Account Manager will be expected to progressively take broader commercial ownership of the retail-channel business, from top-line revenue growth through trade investment, margin, and bottom-line profitability. • Own and drive sales growth by customer, channel, and distributor • Develop annual sales and channel plans • Establish revenue, distribution, margin, and growth objectives • Monitor performance against plan • Manage promotional and trade-spend investments responsibly • Evaluate promotional effectiveness and ROI • Understand customer terms, discounts, allowances, and distributor economics • Understand how commercial decisions affect gross margin and profitability • Identify opportunities to improve customer and channel profitability • Balance volume growth with sustainable margins • Partner with finance and management on pricing, trade investment, and profitability decisions • Support forecasting and demand planning • Identify underperforming customers, programs, SKUs, or channels and recommend corrective actions • Provide management with clear commercial insights and recommendations • Take progressively broader ownership of the overall health, growth, and profitability of the retail-channel business
Core Qualifications
High Priority
- Strong experience in Key Account Management and Retail Sales • Experience in food, snacks, confectionery, beverage, grocery, or broader CPG • Strong buyer and customer relationship-management skills • Ability to develop and execute customer and channel business plans • Experience developing promotions and trade programs • Understanding of merchandising, displays, retail execution, and sell-through • Proven ability to actively grow existing accounts rather than simply maintain them 10/2/2026 2425 Matheson Boulevard East, 8th Floor Mississauga, ON L4W 5K4 | 647-362-2481| 1-833-STG-HIRE www.salestalentgroup.ca • Experience prospecting and developing new retail business • Ability to work effectively with distributors and distributor sales organizations • Strong communication, presentation, negotiation, and follow-up skills • Strong analytical and commercial mindset • Hands-on and entrepreneurial working style • Ability to work independently and take ownership of results • Based in Southern California or willing to relocate
Preferred
- Experience selling into Asian grocery or Asian-food retail channels • Familiarity with retailers such as H Mart, 99 Ranch Market, Seafood City, or similar accounts • Experience working with Asian-food or multicultural-food distributors • Experience selling imported or multicultural food brands • Experience with mainstream specialty, mass, grocery, off-price, or value retailers • Experience opening new U.S. retail accounts • Experience managing distributor relationships and distributor performance • Strong understanding of trade-spend planning and promotional ROI • Strong understanding of pricing, promotions, margins, and profitability
