Key Account Manager - Conventional Grocery, East / Central

Role Overview

The National Key Account Manager (KAM) is a full-time remote role responsible for developing and executing customer growth strategies across a portfolio of conventional grocery retail customers (e.g., HEB, Meijer, Big Y). You will own key customer relationships, lead annual business planning, and work closely with broker teams to deliver strong in-store execution.

Key Responsibilities

Customer Leadership

• Own a portfolio of national and regional grocery customers
• Develop and execute annual Joint Business Plans
• Build trusted relationships with buyers and key customer stakeholders
• Identify growth opportunities across distribution, assortment, merchandising, and sales

Business Development

• Lead customer line reviews and new item presentations
• Create customer-specific growth strategies
• Drive profitable distribution gains and promotional execution
• Remove barriers to growth and proactively solve customer challenges

Broker Management

• Partner with broker teams to execute customer strategies
• Set clear priorities and expectations
• Hold brokers accountable using regular communication, scorecards, and business reviews
• Ensure strong execution across assigned customers

Commercial Planning & Analytics

• Maintain accurate customer forecasts and opportunity pipelines
• Monitor customer performance and identify growth opportunities
• Use category insights and analytics to support recommendations
• Partner with Category, Marketing, Supply Chain, and Finance to deliver customer plans

Cross-Functional Collaboration

• Operate as one commercial team across Laird Superfood and future portfolio brands
• Share customer insights and market intelligence internally
• Support innovation launches and commercialization efforts

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree required
• 5–10 years of CPG sales experience
• Experience managing national or regional grocery accounts
• Strong commercial and financial acumen
• Proficiency with syndicated data (SPINS, Nielsen/IRI)
• Proven success growing distribution and customer sales
• Excellent communication and relationship-building skills
• Experience working with brokers/distributor partners preferred
• Ability to travel ~50% for customer meetings and trade shows

Nice to Haves

• Prior experience working with brokers and distributor partners