Business Development Manager

• Drive New Business Growth
• Develop and execute strategies to achieve annual revenue, gross margin, and pipeline objectives.
• Identify and secure new B2B contract manufacturing and confectionery coatings opportunities.
• Build relationships with confectionery manufacturers, private label organizations, retailers, brokers, and strategic partners.
• Prospect through networking, referrals, industry events, trade shows, and market research.
• Lead customer discovery meetings to understand manufacturing, product, and commercial requirements.
• Evaluate customer opportunities against manufacturing capabilities to ensure profitable, long-term partnerships.
• Present company capabilities, conduct facility tours, and lead commercial discussions.
• Prepare proposals, pricing recommendations, business cases, and commercial agreements.
• Support contract negotiations and strategic customer discussions.
• Analyze industry trends, competitive activity, and emerging opportunities.
• Lead Customer Onboarding & Commercialization
• Serve as the primary commercial contact throughout implementation.
• Coordinate customer onboarding with Operations, Quality, R&D, Planning, Purchasing, Finance, Scheduling, and Customer Service.
• Manage project timelines, documentation, system setup, product transfers, and milestone tracking.
• Ensure successful launches through proactive communication and issue resolution.
• Develop Long-Term Customer Partnerships
• Support customers throughout startup and stabilization.
• Conduct business reviews focused on production performance, service levels, forecasting, inventory, and customer satisfaction.
• Identify opportunities for program expansion and additional manufacturing partnerships.
• Successfully transition established accounts to the Account Management team.
• Collaborate Across the Business
• Maintain CRM and ERP data including forecasts, pricing, opportunities, and customer records.
• Generate pipeline, forecasting, and sales performance reports.
• Partner with internal teams to align customer expectations with operational capabilities.
• Present business development updates and growth opportunities to executive leadership.
• Support continuous improvement initiatives across customer acquisition and onboarding processes.

• Direct experience within the confectionery industry is required.
• Minimum of 5 years of experience in Business Development, Strategic Sales, Contract Manufacturing, Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG), or related commercial roles.
• Proven success identifying, developing, and closing new B2B business opportunities.
• Experience selling contract manufacturing (co-manufacturing) and/or private label manufacturing solutions.
• Strong understanding of confectionery manufacturing, seasonal business cycles, retailer expectations, packaging requirements, and commercialization.
• Exceptional relationship-building, negotiation, presentation, and networking skills.
• Ability to manage complex sales cycles involving multiple stakeholders.
• Strong financial, analytical, organizational, and project management skills.
• Willingness to travel up to 50% for customer meetings, trade shows, and industry events.
• Bachelor's degree in Business, Marketing, Supply Chain, Operations, Sales, or a related field (or equivalent experience).

Demonstrates expertise in Business Development and Strategic Sales within the confectionery industry, with a strong focus on identifying and securing B2B contract manufacturing opportunities. Proven ability to build long-term customer partnerships and manage complex sales cycles while ensuring successful project implementation and customer satisfaction.

• Business Development
• Contract Manufacturing
• Confectionery Industry Experience
• Relationship-Building
• Project Management

• B2B Sales
• Proposal Preparation
• Financial Analysis
• Market Research
• Sales Performance Reporting

• Negotiation Skills
• Presentation Skills
• Networking Skills
• Organizational Skills
• Communication Skills

• Consumer Packaged Goods
• Private Label Manufacturing
• Commercialization
• Seasonal Business Cycles
• Retailer Expectations

• CRM Software
• ERP Systems