Business Growth Advisor - Food & Beverage

This role is based in Manhattan, New York.   Who we are: New Zealand Trade and Enterprise (NZTE) is New Zealand's international business development agency. We work with some of New Zealand's most forward-thinking companies, helping them grow bigger, better, and faster around the world. We have five offices and more than 50 team members across the U.S. and Canada driving this purpose. NZTE��s New York office is set in midtown Manhattan, placing it close to major commercial, financial, and innovation hubs.   New Zealand Food & Beverage is renowned for its exceptional taste, high-quality, natural, and sustainable products, and high food safety standards. New Zealand is particularly known for its grass-fed red meat and dairy, advanced ingredients and nutrition solutions, sustainable wine, and aquaculture, Mānuka honey, pet food packed with novel proteins, and a variety of well-sourced and innovative consumer packaged goods. Many New Zealand producers prioritize sustainability, guided by the Māori principle of kaitiakitanga: to protect and safeguard the land, sea, and people for future generations.   What you’ll be doing:  As a Business Growth Advisor, you’ll work one-on-one with a portfolio of New Zealand Food & Beverage (F&B) companies to help them grow and succeed in the U.S. market. These companies range from early-stage entrants seeking market validation to well-established businesses operating across B2B, ingredients, private label manufacturing, and nutrition-focused categories such as red meat, dairy, and supplements.   You’ll serve as a trusted advisor - building deep relationships with founders, commercial leaders, and executives to understand their business models, customer mix, and growth ambitions. Through commercially focused conversations, you’ll help them navigate the complexities of the U.S. market, particularly within B2B, ingredient supply, private label, and contract manufacturing environments, and make informed, strategic decisions.   Your work will include: • Supporting companies in developing and executing their U.S. market strategies, particularly for B2B, ingredients, private label, and nutrition-led offerings. • Advising on key areas such as customer segmentation, value propositions, channel strategy, supply chain, pricing, and go-to-market execution. • Helping companies assess the feasibility of entering or expanding in the U.S., including identifying the most effective pathways to growth with enterprise customers, manufacturers, and distributors. • Leveraging your own commercial expertise and NZTE’s tools and resources to support companies in making sound commercial decisions, and connecting them with relevant customers, partners, service providers, and market insights. • Tailoring your approach to each company’s stage of growth—whether they’re validating product market fit, scaling B2B or private label operations, or defending and expanding existing customer relationships.   You’ll also collaborate closely with a team of F&B colleagues across North America, sharing insights and contributing to the evolution of NZTE’s service offerings.   What you’ll need to be successful:  This is primarily an advisory role - we’re looking for a commercially credible, relationship driven advisor with deep experience in the U.S. Food & Beverage landscape, particularly across B2B, ingredients, private label manufacturing, and nutrition or supplement-adjacent categories. You bring a practical, operator minded perspective and are comfortable engaging with customers, manufacturers, and distributors alike.   You’ll ideally have: • 10+ years of experience in the U.S. F&B industry, ideally across B2B, ingredients, private label, or nutrition-focused categories such as red meat, dairy, or supplements. • A strong generalist background, with hands-on experience across sales, distribution, account management, and business development. • Experience working with or supplying large customers, manufacturers, or private label partners in the U.S. market. • Familiarity with multiple go-to-market models, including B2B sales, private label, ingredients, and foodservice or contract manufacturing channels. • A strong network within the U.S. F&B broker, distributor, ingredient, and manufacturing ecosystem. • A collaborative, commercially pragmatic mindset, with the ability to adapt quickly to different business models and customer types.   Why you’ll love working here: This role offers a valuable opportunity to apply your commercial and strategic expertise in an international environment and make a tangible impact across New Zealand’s Food & Beverage, ingredients, and nutrition sectors.   NZTE currently operates in a hybrid working environment, with at least 3 days per week required in the midtown Manhattan office as well as flexible work-from-home options. Travel is needed to visit industr