Sales Director Foodservice EMEA

COMPANY DESCRIPTION

At Beyond Meat, we started with simple questions. Why do you need an animal to create meat? Why can’t you build meat directly from plants? Thus, we make plant-based meats that allow families to eat more, not less, of the traditional dishes they love while feeling great about the health, sustainability, and animal welfare benefits of plant protein. Our goal is to bring exciting change to the plate—and Beyond.

Beyond Meat is seeking a dynamic Foodservice Director to lead the EMEA region and further develop its growing plant-based meat alternative business. This role requires the ability to strategically develop, plan, track and execute the Foodservice regional business objectives and KPI’s, as well as lead and develop a strong sales team, while partnering effectively with key distributors to ensure we are maximizing results and serving our customers with excellence. Key business channels include Restaurant and Pub chains, Business & Industry, Universities, and Travel & Leisure supplied both via Wholesalers and directly via end customer Key Accounts.   Preferred location for this position is based in the Netherlands with proximity to Amsterdam Headquarters. This role will report directly to the General Manager for EMEA and will serve on the EMEA leadership team.

Key Responsibilities

• Design a Foodservice strategy and execution plan to achieve annual sales and profit targets for EMEA.
• Manage and develop a team of Regional Sales Managers distributed across EMEA.
• Explore, advocate, and implement the best set up to increase Beyond Meat’s reach (with external partners or internally).
• Manage top-level customer relationships at both Wholesalers and end customer Key Accounts. This includes developing joint business plans in partnership with Category Management and Marketing teams with key customers.
• Partner with key distributors and their field sales teams to develop and manage against key sales targets and initiatives by region.
• Manage Wholesalers sales execution and track their performance based on sell out results wherever possible.
• Sell with Insights: identify, acquire, and communicate insights, both at category and channel level, and move from being a transactional supplier to a preferred partner on plant-based meat alternatives.
• Actively drive Customer Funnels in key channels (Restaurant and Pub chains, Business & Industry, Universities, Travel & Leisure) to ensure we consistently win new customers.
• Partner with Marketing on lead generation to acquire new customers and hit sales targets.
• Establish and track KPIs (revenue, trade spends, distribution points, new items listings...).
• Plan and monitor all aspects of trade expenses to ensure maximum impact, with Wholesalers and End Customers.
• Define a Trade show strategy and ensure excellence in execution with the team.
• Manage forecasting and partner internally to ensure strong linkage with supply and operations planning.
• Propose key product innovations and renovations to ensure we have a portfolio that is relevant and optimized for Foodservice.

Qualifications

• BA/BS is required
• 10+ years of CPG sales experience in Key Account Sales, Trade Marketing and Distributor Management in Foodservice
• Demonstrated team development and leadership
• Strong strategic skills with experience in annual business planning
• Strong analytical skills: data analysis and budget management
• Experience with CRM tools and core sales funnel management principles
• Very strong team player, ability to work with cross-functional teams to get results
• Passion for Beyond Meat and its missions and goals
• Experience selling to key accounts within the geography
• Language skills: English (native/fluent); any other European language (Dutch, German, French) is an advantage
• Ability to travel 40 –50%