Amylu Foods is seeking a Vice President of Sales, Small Format to join our team.

Who Are We?

Amylu Foods is a high-growth, woman-founded, natural and health CPG company, known for its fresh ingredients and hand-crafted recipes.

As pioneers in the chicken sausage category, we combine innovation with tradition, delivering bold and fresh flavors.

Rooted in Chicago and celebrating 100+ years of craftsmanship, we continue to expand our product offerings and distribution nationwide, redefining the protein category.

We are seeking passionate and talented leaders to join our rapidly growing company for our next phase of growth.

Role Description

The VP, Small Format is the senior commercial leader responsible for defining—and executing—the strategic roadmap for Small Format channels, including Convenience, Drug, Dollar, Vending, Travel, Specialty Retail, and emerging Alternative Channels.

This leader will develop the strategy for both front‑of‑house and back‑of‑house execution across these channels, build and operationalize the sales process, establish the organizational structure, and steward the resources required to win.

This leader currently oversees a two‑person team (Back‑of‑House Foodservice + Vending/Front‑of‑House) and will be responsible for designing the long‑term organizational blueprint as the business scales.

The ideal candidate brings strategic depth, commercial rigor, operational excellence, and a people‑first leadership philosophy that prioritizes coaching, clarity, and development.

This role will require travel up to 60% of the time.

Areas of Responsibilities

Strategic Leadership

• Define the long‑term Small Format channel strategy across Foodservice, Travel, Hospitality, Convenience, C&U, B&I, Non‑Traditional Retail, and emerging Alternative channels.
• Identify and size strategic opportunities, prioritize revenue pools, and develop the roadmap for both FOH and BOH execution.
• Build annual and long‑range commercial plans including distribution goals, customer segmentation, assortment strategy, price pack architecture, promotional approach, and channel activation.
• Establish the commercial operating system for the channel (e.g., targeting, pipeline management, distributor strategy, sell‑in, execution, performance evaluation).

Channel Development & Growth

• Lead expansion into high‑potential Small Format customers by identifying, prospecting, opening, and developing new accounts and partnerships.
• Shape the distribution, operator, and route‑to‑market strategy (direct, distributor, broker, convenience services, vending operators).
• Build Small Format‑specific selling stories and value propositions tailored to customer needs, operator requirements, and consumer behavior in these channels.
• Oversee RFP responses, contract negotiations, menu development, and testing/pilots for BOH applications.

Team Leadership & Organizational Design

• Lead, coach, and develop the Small Format team (currently two direct reports), enabling them to prioritize effectively, grow capability, and deliver against objectives.
• Establish the organizational roadmap for the Small Format function—identifying future roles, talent needs, and capabilities required as the channel scales.
• Build a culture rooted in clarity, accountability, curiosity, and continuous learning.
• Set expectations, provide coaching, deliver timely feedback, and create career development pathways for team members.

Sell‑In, Customer Development & Industry Engagement

• Serve as the executive sponsor for key Small Format customers, elevating Amylu’s position as a strategic partner.
• Strengthen relationships across buyers, category managers, operators, distributor leadership, brokers, and trade partners.
• Lead or support customer meetings, joint business planning, top‑to‑tops, distributor reviews, and account‑specific strategy sessions.
• Represent Amylu at trade shows, customer summits, industry events, and conferences.

Operational & Cross‑Functional Excellence

• Partner with Finance, RGM, and Leadership to build commercial models, forecasting tools, pricing strategies, and margin guardrails that ensure sustainable growth.
• Work with Supply Chain on service levels, inventory needs, distributor management, fill rates, and product transition planning.
• Collaborate with Marketing and Shopper to develop channel‑specific activation, merchandising, packaging, and promotional strategies.
• Partner with R&D to develop and validate BOH‑ready solutions, FOH innovation, and channel‑specific product requirements.

Performance Management & Insights

• Build and lead the Small Format performance management system (forecasting, pipeline, revenue reporting, distributor scorecards, operator penetration metrics).
• Diagnose performance drivers, risks, opportunities, and competitive dynamics across channels.
• Establish a culture of continuous improvement and data‑driven decision making—ensuring the team operates with discipline, rigor, and clarity.

Qualifications

• 10+ years of CPG commercial experience; deep expertise in Small Format (Foodservice, Travel, Hospitality, Convenience, C&U, B&I, Specialty, or related channels).
• Proven success driving strategy, developing new channels, and building commercial systems and teams.
• Strong understanding of front‑of‑house and back‑of‑house dynamics, category management, operator needs, and distribution economics.
• Exceptional leadership skills with demonstrated ability to coach, develop, and elevate a team.
• Strong financial acumen (forecasting, pricing strategy, trade promotion, P&L literacy).
• Excellent relationship‑builder with credibility across operators, distributors, brokers, and cross‑functional partners.
• Outstanding communication and presentation skills; capable of influencing at all levels internally and externally.
• Strong organization, strategic thinking, prioritization, and follow‑through.
• Bachelor’s degree required; MBA preferred.
• Must live within the continental U.S., near a major airport.

Leadership & Culture Expectations

• Leads with humility, integrity, and accountability.
• Operates with urgency, clarity, and disciplined execution.
• Demonstrates curiosity, empathy, and a solutions‑oriented mindset.
• Prioritizes people development, coaching, and building a high‑trust, high‑performance culture.
• Embodies Amylu’s values and elevates how we show up with customers, partners, and teammates.

Salary Range

$190,000 - $225,000

Amylu Foods is proud to be an Equal Opportunity and Affirmative Action employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity, veteran, or disability status.