Key Account Manager - Grocery, East

Key Account Manager, Grocery — East ABOUT ANTELOPE: Antelope is revolutionizing pet care with its omnichannel platform, launched in August 2021. Our mission? To elevate the lives of pets by offering the very best in pet products through a bold buy-and-build strategy. The name “Antelope” says it all — “Ante” means raising the stakes, and “Lope” signifies bounding forward together. Backed by Alpine Investors, Antelope has already made impressive strides, acquiring five standout brands: Bocce’s Bakery, Diggin’ Your Dog / Super Snouts, My Perfect Pet, and Ark Naturals. Antelope has plans to acquire additional all-natural, high-quality brands to become the one-stop shop for pet parents. OVERVIEW: Antelope is hiring a Key Account Manager, Grocery – East to drive new account acquisition and channel expansion across our full product portfolio in grocery, with a primary emphasis on our pet treat brand, across all states east of the Mississippi River — from national banners like Publix, Ahold Delhaize (Food Lion, Giant, Stop & Shop, Hannaford), Wakefern/ShopRite and Wegmans to the regional independents and co-ops across the Southeast, Mid-Atlantic and Northeast, plus any other accounts or channels assigned. This is a build role: our treat business has already established a foothold in grocery, and the mandate is to convert that proof of concept into full regional coverage, with Florida and the Southeast as the biggest near-term prize. The ideal candidate is a hunter who thrives on a long prospect list, builds category cases from syndicated data, and holds broker partners accountable to a plan. RESPONSIBILITIES: New account development Build and work a prioritized target list of grocery banners in your region, identifying the highest-value white space by geography, banner format and category role. Own the full sales cycle from prospecting and first contact through category review, item setup and first ship. Secure new authorizations and net-new points of distribution against annual store-count and revenue targets for your territory. Navigate the mechanics of grocery entry — category review calendars, distributor routes to market, new item paperwork, slotting and deduction structures — without needing them explained. Pitching and category selling Build customer-specific, insight-led selling stories using Circana/IRI, Nielsen and retailer POS data — shopper trends, category gaps, incrementality and space productivity. Deliver the presentations personally to buyers and category managers, and defend the assortment recommendation with data. Translate the brand's consumer marketing plan into a retailer-facing case for support, including promotional and in-store activation. Surface innovation and assortment recommendations to internal teams based on product white space and competitive trends observed in your markets. Broker network management Manage the broker agencies covering your east markets, setting clear objectives, priorities and scorecards by agency and territory. Onboard, train and continuously equip broker teams and distributor reps so they can sell the brand story with the same fluency you do. Run a consistent cadence of business reviews, market walks and pipeline calls; hold agencies accountable to distribution and revenue commitments. Assess coverage gaps and performance in your region, and recommend changes to agency scope, footprint or partnership as the business scales. Planning, forecasting and accountability Build, communicate and execute annual account plans for your territory, including promotional calendars and trade spend. Forecast sales volume and spending needs at the customer and SKU level, partnering with Operations and Finance so new distribution is supported by inventory. Plan, execute and analyze promotions, reporting ROI and adjusting the approach based on what the results show. Operate within an assigned trade and travel budget and report on it. Conduct customer business reviews and maintain accurate opportunity tracking in Salesforce. Prioritize, plan and organize your own travel and market coverage, and coordinate with your counterpart Key Account Manager and the VP of Sales on any account with national or cross-regional buying authority. QUALIFICATIONS: Must-haves: Three to seven years of progressive CPG sales results, including recent grocery experience. A demonstrated hunter track record — specific new accounts you opened, not accounts you inherited and maintained. Existing relationships with grocery buyers in the East that can be leveraged into new business. Broker management experience, ideally across multiple agencies or territories. Fluency with syndicated data (Circana/IRI, Nielsen) and the ability to build a category story from it independently. Strong analytical skills and financial acumen; comfort with trade math, margin structures and promotional ROI. Exceptional verbal and written communication and a genuine ability to build relationships; an outgoing, charismatic presence in a buyer room. Excellent Microsoft Office skills, especially PowerPoint and Excel, plus Salesforce CRM, Slack and Google Workspace. Bachelor's degree. Residence within the territory with access to a top 25 airport — ideally the Northeast corridor, Atlanta, Charlotte or Central Florida. Familiarity with a remote sales environment and a desire to travel, including overnight and air travel. Estimated 25–30% travel. Nice-to-haves: Pet category experience. Comfort operating in ambiguity with limited oversight; prior experience at a fast-growing consumer company is a plus. Must love dogs or cats (& treats!) WHY YOU'LL LOVE IT HERE Connected remote-first culture with a highly engaged distributed workforce Flexible PTO Competitive compensation Medical, dental, and vision insurance 401K employer match Home Office Stipend Parental leave including “pawternity” Discounted Antelope products and pet insurance