National Sales Manager Distribution, Foodservice

Description

Ready for more than just a job? Build a career with purpose. 

At Lactalis in the USA, we’re committed to providing meaningful opportunities for our people to learn, grow, and thrive—whether you’re just starting your journey with us or looking to take the next step in your career. From day one, we offer the tools and support to help you succeed.

As the world leader in dairy, Lactalis is a family-owned company with over 85,000 pragmatic and ambitious professionals across the globe. Each day, we’re proud to produce award-winning dairy products that bring people together.

In the US, we proudly offer an unrivaled house of beloved brands, including Galbani® Italian cheeses and ricotta, Président® specialty cheeses and butters, Kraft® natural and grated cheeses, Breakstone’s® cottage cheese, Cracker Barrel®, Black Diamond® cheddar, and Parmalat® milk. Our yogurt portfolio includes siggi’s®, Stonyfield Organic®, Brown Cow™, Oui®, Yoplait®, Go-Gurt®, :ratio®, Green Mountain Creamery®, and Mountain High®, along with a growing family of ethnic favorites like Karoun®, Gopi®, and Arz®.

At Lactalis, we live by our core values—Ambition, Engagement, and Simplicity. We foster a workplace where innovation thrives, diverse perspectives are celebrated, and everyone’s unique background and ideas are valued.

Even if you don’t meet every qualification, we encourage you to apply. We want to hear about your PASSION, your STORY, and how your EXPERTISE can help us shape the future of dairy.

Requirements

From your PASSION to ours

Midwest Yogurt, part of the Lactalis family of companies, is currently hiring a National Sales Manager Distribution, Foodservice based remotely.

The National Sales Manager is a high-impact role responsible for driving profitable sales growth within key, specialized channels: Regional Dairy Distributors, the WIC (Women, Infants, and Children) program, and a portfolio of elite "Power Regional" Foodservice Distributors (e.g., Ben E. Keith, Labatt, Shamrock, Cheney Bros., UniPro members) for the Lactalis Midwest Yogurt, Inc. business (Yoplait, GoGURT, Oui, Mountain High). This position requires a mastery of both traditional foodservice distribution dynamics and the complex regulatory, bid-driven nature of dairy and government food programs. The successful candidate will strategically manage the UniPro buying group relationship to secure critical distributor alignment while executing high-volume business with key regional partners.

From your EXPERTISE to ours

Key responsibilities for this position include: 

Strategic Account Management:  

• Serve as the primary account leader for a portfolio of top Power Regional Foodservice Distributors. Negotiate annual programs, align on pricing strategies, and conduct high-level Joint Business Planning (JBP) to maximize local market share and distributor margin.  
• Own the strategy and execution for the highly regulated WIC channel. Monitor bid cycles, prepare and submit state-level proposals, ensure regulatory compliance, manage product formulations, and serve as the liaison with state agencies, manufacturers, and approved dairy distributors. 
• Develop and manage relationships with key Regional Dairy Distributors (e.g., Dean, Driftwood) to secure slotting space, optimize product freshness, and manage complex, frequent delivery logistics essential for the dairy category. 
• Lead the company's relationship with the UniPro buying group, translating national-level agreements into executable programs for its independent members and maximizing our brand's position within their preferred supplier listings. 

Sales Enablement: Facilitate collaborative selling and communication between our internal organization and the distributor's corporate and regional sales teams as well as our Broker sales force. Develop training and sales enablement programs to educate distributor sales consultants and Brokers to ensure our Yoplait products are prioritized for both independent and national account operators. Work with the Broker on Trade programs to land new business and drive commercial chain penetration nationally. 

Issues Resolution / Supply Chain Excellence: Act as the senior point of escalation for complex issues, including supply chain challenges, contractual disputes, and high-level pricing, fines, fees, etc.  Work to provide a