Kroger National Accounts Manager

Perdue Foods

Perdue Foods has a goal of becoming the most trusted name in premium proteins by creating products for consumers and for retail and foodservice customers around the globe while changing the way animals are raised for food. It is part of Perdue Farms, a fourth-generation, family-owned food and agricultural business deeply rooted in tradition yet with a forward-thinking mindset. We believe that success starts with our people, and our culture is built on a foundation of teamwork, integrity, and respect, where every voice matters and everyone is encouraged to contribute to our shared goals. We are dedicated to creating a supportive, inclusive environment where associates feel valued and inspired to make an impact, both within the company and in the communities we serve. From promoting growth and development to prioritizing work-life balance, we're committed to helping our team members thrive. That's Perdue.

National Accounts Manager

Join our team as a National Accounts Manager and lead sales and merchandising initiatives across multiple categories with one of the nation's largest traditional supermarket retailers, Kroger. In this role, you will drive profitable growth by developing and executing customer-specific strategies that expand distribution, optimize assortment, and strengthen market share across fresh and frozen ready-to-cook, ready-to-eat, deli, and prepared categories. As the primary point of contact for assigned categories within Kroger, you will build strong, trust-based customer relationships while collaborating cross-functionally to deliver results aligned with our core values of Quality, Integrity, Teamwork, and Stewardship.

Principal Essential Duties & Responsibilities

• Develop and implement a National Account sales plan to include all divisions within the account.
• Attain all budgeted product line volumes, pricing, mix, margin, and share objectives.
• Prepare and present annual joint business plans, line reviews, innovation sell-ins, and category reviews.
• Maintain consistent communications and standing meetings with customer teams to ensure strategic alignment.
• Monitor daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly, and YTD customer performance metrics, identifying risks and opportunities and adjusting plans accordingly.
• Implement and champion procedures to continuously improve the accuracy of the Demand Plan forecast, collaborating closely with Supply Chain, Operations, and Customer Service to minimize service issues.
• Manage all customer trade spend and programs.
• Utilize the TPM system to plan, track, and evaluate promotional effectiveness and ROI.
• Lead customer negotiations related to pricing, trade spend, distribution, promotions, and contract terms while protecting company margin objectives, consulting with Revenue Growth Management.
• Partner with Marketing and Category Management to develop and implement customer-specific assortment strategies, shelf sets, planograms, and merchandising solutions aligned to natural and fresh retail formats.
• Serve as the proactive voice of the customer internally as you work cross-functionally, translating retailer strategies and shopper insights into actionable business plans that utilize your knowledge and understanding of each retailer's goals and objectives.
• Travel as needed to division offices, stores, distribution centers, processing facilities, and corporate offices to stay close to the marketplace, support program selling & execution, item launches, and resolve issues.
• Participate in leadership roles on special projects and cross-functional teams; continuously improve skills through training, classes, and seminars as outlined in the development plan.
• Ensure compliance with customer, regulatory, and company standards related to food safety, labeling, animal welfare, and sustainability.

Minimum Education and Experience

• Bachelor's degree in the areas of Sales, Marketing, or Business Administration.
• 5+ years related work experience (CPG industries and/or Meat/Poultry)
• 2+ years of direct customer experience with national or large-format retailers.
• Must possess strong analytical skills, coupled with mastery of sales communication.
• Proficiency using Microsoft applications.
• Extensive experience with data-driven selling & execution, utilizing syndicated data (i.e. Circana/ Nielsen), and customer specific data insights (i.e. 8451/Retail Link/Scintilla).
• Demonstrated experience managing complex national account relationships and cross-functional internal teams.
• Proven ability to manage trade spend, pricing strategy, and margin performance in highly competitive categories.

Preferred Education and Experience

• MBA or advanced business coursework.
• Experience working with natural, organic, antibiotic-free, or animal welfare–driven product lines.
• Experience with Kroger, or similar large supermarket retailers.
• Management experience in the food or food sales areas.
• Experience selling fresh chicken, meat, or value-added protein products, including short-shelf-life or fresh supply chains, in addition to experience selling packaged meat.
• Strong understanding of protein economics, including yield, cut optimization, commodity pricing, and margin volatility.
• Knowledge of food safety, quality assurance, USDA regulations, and customer-specific protein standards.

Physical Requirements and Environmental Factors

• Position is remotely home-office based, preferably with close proximity to an airport, with anticipated travel 30% of the time and with flexibility.
• Position is mostly sedentary but may require occasional moving to other offices or buildings.
• May need to move light equipment or supplies from one place to another.

Perdue Farms Inc. is an Equal Opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, or protected veteran status.