Director Foodservice Business Development

This is a new business development and hunting role for an individual with extensive food service industry experience who understands the complexities of the channel and can navigate the many paths to market. The ideal candidate will bring an established understanding of commercial food service, distributor networks, value-added protein manufacturers, prepared foods manufacturers, grocery retailers and other food service customers, along with the ability to identify opportunities, open doors and convert prospects into profitable, long-term customers.

This role reports to the Senior
Vice
President
of Sales .

• Execute and build upon the current Food service strategy, expanding our existing customer base and identifying new avenues for growth across key Food service channels.
• Develop and own a 3-year Food service business development plan outlining target channels, customers, revenue opportunities, pipeline requirements and strategic priorities needed to significantly increase Food service as a percentage of our overall business.
• Consistently cold call and conduct proactive outbound prospecting to create new customer conversations, building a strong, qualified sales pipeline.
• Utilize Salesforce as the central business development tool, maintaining accurate records of prospects, contacts, conversations, opportunity stages, next steps, RFQs, expected timing, probability and potential revenue.
• Conduct Food service capability presentations for prospective customers, communicating our manufacturing capabilities, product portfolio, flexibility, innovation capabilities and ability to partner with customers, includes a compelling Food service value proposition that clearly differentiates Schlotterbeck & Foss from other food service manufacturers and competitors.
• Work closely with all cross-functional teams including S&F R&D to develop customer‑specific concepts, samples, formulations and applications that demonstrate how our products can solve customer needs and create value.
• Host customer innovation events, demonstrations and ideation sessions, either at the customer's location or in our custom kitchen, to showcase our capabilities and generate new opportunities.
• Work closely with Supply Chain and Operations to understand capacity, lead times, manufacturing capabilities, packaging capabilities and operational constraints so that opportunities pursued are commercially and operationally viable.
• Engage Finance and the SVP of Sales in evaluating opportunities, establishing pricing strategies, determining appropriate margin objectives and ensuring new business meets company profitability requirements.
• Continuously identify opportunities to expand existing Food service relationships through new products, new applications, additional SKUs, new facilities, new customers within the organization and additional channels.
• Conduct regular market and competitive intelligence, identifying emerging food service trends, customer needs, competitive activity, new concepts and categories where S&F can compete.
• Track and report key business development KPIs, including new prospects, new contacts, meetings, qualified opportunities, RFQs, pipeline value, win rate, new customers and revenue won.
• Evaluate and manage potential broker (s).
• Develop a reputation in the marketplace as a knowledgeable, credible and solution‑oriented S&F Food service partner, strengthen the S&F brand and create an expanding network of relationships that can generate future opportunities.

This role will be measured not only by the management of existing Food service business, but by the ability to create new opportunities, open new customer relationships and convert those opportunities into profitable, sustainable growth. Success requires a high level of personal accountability, urgency, persistence and consistent prospecting activity.

• Experience selling into food service segments, including distribution, national or regional accounts, and key customer channels.
• Experience working with food service distributors such as Sysco, US Foods, DOT Foods, or regional distributors preferred.
• Experience managing brokers across complex selling environments preferred.
• Existing relationships across key food service, distributor, operator, and broker networks strongly preferred.
• Ability to influence internal and external cross‑functional stakeholders to drive alignment and execution.
• Entrepreneurial mindset with a bias for action, ownership, and disciplined…