Key Account Manager

Joining King's Hawaiian makes you part of our `ohana (family). We are a family-owned business for over seventy years, respecting our roots while thinking about our future as we continue to grow and care for our customers and the communities we serve. Our `ohana members build an environment of inclusivity as they freely collaborate, pursue learning through curiosity, and explore innovation as critical thinkers. Beyond that, we are also passionate about supporting the long-term health and well-being of our employees and their families. If you're excited to rise with our team, come and join our `ohana!
Working under direct supervision, the Key Account Manager will work to achieve sales and product mix goals by gaining distribution and merchandising support for the IFG (Irresistible Foofs Group) consumer brands (King's Hawaiian, Grillo's Pickles, and Killer Brownie), primarily in the Wholesale Distributor and Natural Channels. Employees in this position may interact with their leader several times a week to receive guidance and feedback. Some non-routine activities may require their leader's advance approval, but routine decisions within the general scope of the role may be made independently.
Who Are We?
A few years ago, we realized that the growth of King's Hawaiian, our family owned, and values-driven company founded in Hilo, Hawaii in 1950, had grown so fast (from $50M to more than $300M) that we would soon have to move to a focus solely on optimizing capital. We realized then that in a few years we would have to move to focusing both on optimizing capital and reallocating capital. Or, in other words, a business that would make acquisitions in addition to continuing to grow the King's Hawaiian brand. But we wondered: "Life is about more than just growth and revenue even though those two things are critically important. Is there a new, better, and special way in which we could achieve that growth? A way where the legacy we could create and leave behind might be as great or even greater than the growth we would achieve?"
These questions led to the birth of a whole new company. King's Hawaiian had been baking irresistible Hawaii-inspired foods since 1950. What would happen if the new company was populated by people who had in common high-performance heads, high performance hearts, and who shared common irresistible values? We fell in love with that concept. So, we decided " That kind of place would be irresistible. It's a big dream, but let's create that dream and build that future!" And so, on September 1, 2021, the Irresistible Foods Group (IFG) was born, and we started to build that dream.
And, when it was born, we articulated that big dream in this Mission and Purpose Statement:
We create Irresistibly. Then we share it.
Irresistibility can exist in everything but rarely does, except here.
Further, we believe the core to our irresistibility is in our four values:

• Treat others with dignity - respect is unconditional. We have high-performance heads + high-performance hearts and never lose sight that we are all part of the same 'Ohana.
• Be curious and never stop learning. We approach conversations, situations, and problems with open minds and passionately seek to be better tomorrow than we are today.
• Dream big and get stuff done. Irresistibility is not an accident - we don't wait for the future to come to us; we actively create it.
• Bring your own flavor. We care about where you come from and how you see the world; our shared values are our bond, but our uniqueness is what makes us Irresistible.

These values are not only what drive us but also what we seek in all members at all levels in IFG as well as our operating companies (OPCOS). We look for diversity in many areas, but not in these values.
IFG kind of looks like a private equity or venture capital firm but it is much more than that. We are an owner-friendly acquirer focused on creating long-term value with no intent to ever sell our companies. And, importantly, we only invest and acquire companies that we think model these values and will create irresistibility in more than just profit measures. We support our OPCOS with capital allocation (cash & capabilities), strategic guidance, and operational governance but in a very decentralized environment. We strive to be the most trusted, influential, and value-creating family of authentic food & beverage brands. We build brands that are beloved by their consumers for their irresistible products, uniquely connected through their shared values, and sold in the perimeter (of grocery stores). And together, we are creating a connected eco-system of companies populated with smart people who are having a lot of fun creating irresistibility together. This is what we do. And today we are not one but are seven companies: (1) IFG; (2) King's Hawaiian; (3) King's Hawaiian Restaurants; (4) Grillo's Pickles; (5) Killer Brownie; (6) Innovation Bakers; and (7) Hello Hilo - our restaurant in Gainesville, GA that spreads Aloha through Hawaii-inspired cuisine and hospitality.
ESSENTIAL JOB DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

• Develops and executes Business Plans and Sales Strategies for Regional Accounts with guidance and support from VP Sales / Region Lead.
• Develops and maintains strategic long-term, value-creating relationships with high-volume customers to accomplish organic growth and long-term company objectives.
• Leads planning and implementation of trade promotions within approved limits.
• Develops Value Creating Relationships at all levels, including, but not limited to: Category Manager, Director, VP, and Operations.
• Analyzes market potential, problems, and opportunities for attention and outlines action plans to achieve desired business outcomes.
• Forecasts sales on existing and new products and promotions on a monthly basis.
• Analyzes the effectiveness of Trade and Omni-Channel programs.
• Coordinates with the Customer Service Department and other functions, as appropriate, to communicate important information and maintain a cohesive relationship.
• Coordinates with the Marketing Department on plans and issues.
• Manages Market Development Funds so as not to exceed allocated funds, while achieving or exceeding sales goals.
• Perform other duties as required or assigned which are reasonably within the scope of this role.

BASIC AND PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS (EDUCATION and/or EXPERIENCE)

• Bachelor's degree from an accredited 4-year college or equivalent relevant experience required.
• At least 5 years of related experience required.
• E xperience managing Wholesale Distributor and Natural Channel accounts preferred. ( i.e. Whole Foods Market, Sprouts, KEHE, UNFI, etc.)

ADDITIONAL QUALIFICATIONS (JOB SKILLS, ABILITIES, KNOWLEDGE)

• Proficient understanding of Nielsen/IRI Data and ability to mine the data for consumer and customer insights.
• Proficient in data exploration, ETL processes, and visualization.
• Proficient in Microsoft 365, Excel, Power BI, and Tableau.
• Ability to build and leverage data tools to help the broader team become more proficient and data literate.
• Working understanding of sales and customer interactions to better support the sales team with relevant data insights and actionable recommendations.
• Ability to support mentorship and training of the broader organization to improve the team's base level knowledge and confidence in data literacy and support capabilities among diverse learning levels.
• Ability to deliver key insights based on data analysis to provide recommended solutions and drive smart business decisions.
• Ability to define proper KPI's and ways to measure results based on specific OpCos.
  
  • Focus: increasing revenue, profits, units/volume, velocity, door count, placement density/depth, etc.

• Ability to identify data systems that new OpCo's utilize and how to leverage and extract insights for the Sales Team.
• Ability to support business integration efforts (systems and applications).
• Ability to travel up to 60% of the time.
• Ability to consistently demonstrate the values of excellence, dignity, saying it like it is in a way it can be heard; and curiosity, collaboration, critical thinking and emotional intelligence.

King's Hawaiian is an equal opportunity employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for our ohana.