Current jobs related to Regional Culinary Sales Director - New York, New York - The Spare Food Co.

About The Spare Food Co.

The Spare Food Co. is a culinary innovation company on a mission to fix the broken food system by finding more ways to use more of what's already available. We transform overlooked and surplus ingredients into delicious, healthier and more sustainable versions of people's favorite foods and drinks.

Our hero protein portfolio focuses on
Spare Beef and Spare Burger

– chef-crafted, blended beef and surplus vegetable solutions that deliver on flavor and improved nutrition while significantly reducing environmental impact. Our partners are leading foodservice, hospitality, and restaurant operators committed to culinary excellence and measurable climate impact through better-for-people-and-planet food options. It is not an alternative to beef. It is simply, Better Beef.

The Role

The Regional Culinary Sales Director
is a mission-driven, hands-on sales leader responsible for driving the adoption and market penetration of The Spare Food Co.'s B2B protein portfolio within the Northeast region.

This role requires a unique blend of
high-level sales strategy, deep culinary expertise, and a passion for helping create a more sustainable food system.
You will forge relationships with key culinary, procurement, and sustainability stakeholders in major foodservice organizations (e.g., contract feeders, corporate dining, universities, large restaurant groups and the distribution partners that service them) to integrate Spare Beef and Spare Burger into their menus and supply chains. As a key member of our core growth team, you'll have ample opportunity to apply your insights and experiences in-market to help shape and direct future growth strategies.

You will have a unique opportunity to help build the business and establish the systems that will, in the future, allow you to grow and manage a team of direct reports and sales broker partners.

Key Responsibilities for the Regional Culinary Sales Director Role

Sales Strategy & Execution

• Drive Growth:
  Size and evaluate strategic opportunities to develop and execute a comprehensive regional sales plan that leverages our early successes to achieve ambitious revenue and volume targets, working closely with key distribution partners.
• New Business Development:
  Identify, prospect, and close new business opportunities with major foodservice accounts, focusing on organizations with significant culinary operations and sustainability goals.
• Full Sales Cycle Management:
  Manage the entire sales cycle, from initial culinary presentation to contract negotiation, distributor set-up, and post-launch support.

Culinary & Product Expertise

• Center-of-Plate Leadership:
  Act as the primary culinary expert, leading product demonstrations, chef training, and menu ideation sessions with client culinary teams.
• Menu Integration:
  Deeply understand client menu needs and recommend innovative, profitable applications for Spare Beef (bulk applications like meatballs, sauces, tacos) and Spare Burger (grill stations, grab-and-go).
• Feedback Loop:
  Gather and relay critical field intelligence and culinary feedback to the R&D and Marketing teams to ensure we are constantly improving.

Client Relationship Management

• Strategic Partnerships:
  Build and maintain strong, high-trust relationships with key decision-makers across culinary, purchasing, and sustainability functions along with category managers and account reps.
• Value Proposition:
  Clearly articulate The Spare Food Co. value proposition: flavor/quality, health/nutrition, labor/cost savings, and measurable climate impact.
• Impact Tracking:
  Partner with clients to develop and track joint key performance indicators (KPIs) related to food waste and GHG emissions reduction.

Market Development

• Brand Representation:
  Represent The Spare Food Co. at regional industry events, trade shows, and culinary forums.
• Reporting:
  Provide accurate sales forecasts and regularly report on sales performance, market trends, and competitive activity.

Success Profile

The ideal candidate for this role is a
Culinary-Driven Business Developer who is equally comfortable in a commercial kitchen and a conference room.
They are a persuasive communicator, an innovative problem-solver, and a passionate advocate for a better food system.

Core Competencies

Culinary Fluency & Credibility: Must speak the language of a chef.
You possess a strong professional culinary background (e.g. Sous Chef or Chef) with proven ability to lead effective product demonstrations and menu development. Client culinary teams immediately respect and trust your expertise and recommendations.

Strategic B2B Sales Acumen: Proven closer.
You have a demonstrated ability to close large, complex B2B foodservice deals. You understand long sales cycles, procurement processes, and navigating organizational hierarchies. You consistently meet or exceed annual sales quotas.

Mission Alignment & Storytelling:Passion for impact.
You have a deep passion for helping create a more sustainable food system. You can compellingly link the client's business goals (P&L, labor) to our mission and climate impact data. You use impact data to turn a product sale into a long-term sustainability partnership.

Relationship & Influence Building: Network builder.
You have a proven ability to build trusted relationships with diverse stakeholders (VP of Purchasing, Executive Chefs, Sustainability Officers).
Success:
Has an established network within the regional foodservice industry and can support customer teams with diverse needs.

P&L and Value-Chain Insight: Operational mindset.
You understand how product integration impacts a client's food cost, labor model, and operational efficiency. You're able to successfully calculate and articulate the total economic and environmental value of a transition to Spare, not simply the per-case price.

Qualifications

Experience:
7+ years of contract foodservice sales experience, with at least 3 years directly selling value-added ingredients, proteins, or innovative food products into major foodservice (C&U, B&I, healthcare, and hospitality) accounts and working with national and regional distributors and GPOs.

Culinary Background:
Prior experience as a professional sous chef or chef, or in a highly technical culinary sales role is required.

Education:
Degree in Business, Culinary Arts, or a related field preferred.

Travel:
Ability to travel extensively (up to 50-75%) within the assigned region for in-person meetings, demos, and trade shows.

Technical Skills:
Proficient with CRM software, MS Office/Google Suite, and financial modeling for business proposals.

Location:
Given the regional focus of the role, applicants must reside close to a major metropolitan area in the Northeastern US (NY, NJ, PA, MA preferred)

Compensation

The salary range for this sales position is $156,000 - $208,000 inclusive of annual bonus incentives.

Our salary ranges are based on verified market data and our philosophy of paying competitively for our company size and stage, and industry. Individual pay rate decisions are based on a number of factors, including qualifications for the role, experience level, skillset, and balancing equity as a component of total compensation. We expect the majority of the candidates who are offered roles at our company to fall within the range based on these factors. The salary band for this role is $120,000-$160,000. The stated range is for the expectations as laid out in the job description; however, we are open to a variety of profiles and locations within the defined geographic region. Any updates to the salary range or considerations based on your experience and location will be communicated to you as a candidate.

Additional Perks and Benefits

Annual Bonus

Equity in The Spare Food Co. through our Equity Incentive Plan

Unlimited time off policy

Medical, Dental, and Vision Insurance starting Day One

Spare Food contribution to monthly
Medical, Dental, and Vision Insurance
premiums for employee

Option to enroll in Short-Term and Long-Term Disability and Life Insurance policies

Flexible Spending Account (FSA)

Extended Leave: Short-Term Disability, Parental Leave, and other Paid Family Leave.

Benefit support provided by our end-to-end leave management partner, TriNet.

Our Commitment

The Spare Food Co. is committed to a diverse and inclusive workforce. To achieve our mission of inspiring people to eat more sustainably and waste less food, we benefit from a range of perspectives, which comes from diversity of all types, at all levels of the organization. Facilitating diversity and inclusion is the smart thing for our business. We strongly encourage women, veterans, people with all abilities, people of color, and gender nonconforming candidates to apply.

Spare Food is an Equal Opportunity Employer and does not discriminate on the basis of an individual's sex, age, race, color, creed, national origin, alienage, religion, marital status, pregnancy, sexual orientation or affectional preference, gender identity and expression, disability, genetic trait or predisposition, veteran or military status and other personal characteristics protected by law. All applications will receive consideration for employment without regard to legally protected characteristics.

Spare Food participates in E-Verify to confirm the identity and employment eligibility of all persons hired to work in the United States. As a participating employer, we provide the federal government with Form I-9 information to verify work authorization.