Key Account Manager at Thrive Foods – Oak Creek, Wisconsin

Job Title: Key Account Manager

Location: Remote

Department: Sales

Reports To: Sr. VP commercial Ingredients & Confectionary

Job Summary:

Thrive Freeze Dry is seeking a highly driven, relationship-oriented Key Account Manager to manage and grow strategic ingredient and confectionery accounts within the freeze-dried category. This role is ideal for a seasoned sales professional with experience supporting large, complex CPG or food manufacturing customers and navigating multi-functional partnerships across R&D, Operations, Quality, and Supply Chain.

You will serve as the commercial lead for several of Thrive’s most visible customers — ensuring flawless execution, proactive communication, and long-term partnership growth.

Essential Functions Include:

• Account Management & Growth
  1. Own the commercial relationship for assigned key accounts across ingredient and confectionery categories.
  2. Lead annual business planning, pricing reviews, and customer scorecard presentations.
  3. Develop and execute growth plans aligned to customer strategy and Thrive capacity.
  4. Partner with internal cross-functional teams (Operations, QA, R&D, Supply Chain) to ensure alignment and execution excellence.
• Customer Engagement
  1. Serve as the primary point of contact for procurement, R&D, and category leads.
  2. Anticipate customer needs and proactively identify opportunities for value creation.
  3. Manage commercialization timelines for new product launches and extensions.
  4. Conduct on-site business reviews and production visits to deepen customer partnership.
• Operational Excellence
  1. Maintain up-to-date forecasting and demand planning in coordination with Sales Ops.
  2. Collaborate on troubleshooting service or quality issues; ensure transparent communication and timely resolution.
  3. Track profitability by customer and SKU; identify levers for margin improvement.
  4. Support sustainability, innovation, and supply continuity initiatives.
• Strategic Growth
  1. Identify white-space opportunities within major food, confectionery, and beverage manufacturers using market and Nielsen data insights.
  2. Contribute to cross-departmental initiatives to expand Thrive’s freeze-dried presence in new product categories.
• Other duties as assigned

Qualifications Include:

• Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration, Marketing, or a related field.
• Minimum 5–7 years of experience managing national or strategic accounts in food manufacturing, contract manufacturing, or ingredient sales.
• Demonstrated success working with large enterprise customers (major CPG, confectionery, or beverage companies).
• Strong understanding of contract manufacturing, pricing models, and customer P&L management.
• Excellent communication, negotiation, and presentation skills with executive-level comfort.
• Proven ability to work cross-functionally in fast-paced, dynamic environments.
• Data-driven mindset; proficiency in Excel and familiarity with ERP/CRM systems.
• Relationship builder with a high sense of accountability and follow-through.
• Hands-on and detail-oriented, yet strategic in managing long-term growth.
• Comfortable managing ambiguity, solving problems collaboratively, and influencing across levels.
• Passionate about innovation, food manufacturing, and delivering results.

Physical Requirements - Must be able to perform the following functions with or without accommodation:

• Consistent and reliable attendance.
• Prolonged periods sitting at a desk and working on a computer.
• Ability to travel up to 25% of the time.