Sales & Marketing Manager – Flavours

We are looking for a dynamic and results-oriented Sales & Marketing Manager – Flavours to drive business growth, develop strategic customer relationships, expand market presence, and strengthen the company's position in the flavours and food ingredients industry.

The candidate will be responsible for developing new business, managing key accounts, identifying market opportunities, understanding customer product briefs, coordinating flavour sampling and trials, and converting opportunities into commercial business.

The role requires strong B2B sales, technical-commercial understanding, customer relationship management, negotiation, market intelligence, and cross-functional coordination with R&D, Application, Production, Quality, Regulatory and Supply Chain teams.

Department: Sales & Marketing
Industry: Flavours / Food Ingredients / Food & Beverage
Function: B2B Sales, Business Development & Marketing
Experience: 10 years
Location: Mumbai, Pune, Kolkata, Chennai & Bangalore.
Reporting To: GM – Sales & Marketing / MD

Requirements

Key Responsibilities

1. Sales & Business Development

• Develop and execute sales strategies to achieve monthly, quarterly and annual revenue targets.
  
• Identify and acquire new customers across food and beverage segments.
  
• Develop business in categories such as:
  
  • Beverages
    
  • Dairy & dairy alternatives
    
  • Bakery & confectionery
    
  • Ice cream & frozen desserts
    
  • Snacks & savoury
    
  • Sauces and culinary products
    
  • Nutrition and functional foods
    
  • Ready-to-eat / ready-to-cook products
    
• Build a strong sales pipeline and convert qualified leads into commercial business.
  
• Identify upselling, cross-selling and new application opportunities within existing accounts.
  
• Develop regional and national market expansion plans.
  

2. Key Account Management

• Build and maintain long-term relationships with procurement, R&D, product development, quality and business teams at customer organizations.
  
• Understand customer requirements, product briefs, technical needs and commercial expectations.
  
• Manage the complete customer conversion cycle:
  

Customer Brief → Flavour Recommendation → Sampling → Application Trial → Approval → Commercialization → Repeat Business

• Conduct regular customer visits and business reviews.
  
• Resolve customer issues and ensure high levels of customer satisfaction.
  
• Develop strategic plans for key accounts and improve customer retention.
  

3. Technical & Solution-Based Selling

• Understand flavour applications, product matrices, sensory requirements and cost considerations.
  
• Work closely with flavourists and application/R&D teams to recommend suitable flavour solutions.
  
• Coordinate customer samples, trials and product modifications.
  
• Support customers with flavour selection, reformulation and cost-optimization requirements.
  
• Present technical and commercial solutions to customers.
  

4. Marketing & Market Development

• Develop and implement market-development initiatives for the company's flavour portfolio.
  
• Track food, beverage, FMCG and flavour trends.
  
• Monitor competitor products, pricing, customer movements and new launches.
  
• Identify emerging flavour trends and potential new applications.
  
• Prepare market intelligence reports and identify new business opportunities.
  
• Support product launches, customer presentations, exhibitions, trade shows and industry events.
  
• Work with marketing teams to develop sales presentations, product communication and promotional material.
  

5. Sales Forecasting & Commercial Management

• Prepare monthly and quarterly sales forecasts.
  
• Maintain accurate sales pipeline and opportunity reports.
  
• Monitor sales achievement against budgets and targets.
  
• Prepare quotations and commercial proposals.
  
• Negotiate pricing and commercial terms while protecting company margins.
  
• Monitor customer profitability and identify opportunities for margin improvement.
  
• Coordinate with finance, production and supply chain to ensure smooth order execution.
  

6. Customer & Competitor Intelligence

• Maintain an updated database of customers, prospects and opportunities.
  
• Track competitor activity, product launches and pricing.
  
• Monitor changing customer preferences and market requirements.
  
• Provide actionable market feedback to management and R&D.
  
• Identify gaps in the current product portfolio and recommend new product development opportunities.
  

Experience:

• 10 years of relevant B2B sales/business-development experience.
  
• Experience in flavours, food ingredients, FMCG, food manufacturing or related industries preferred.
  
• Experience handling food-industry customers and key accounts is highly desirable.
  

Required Skills

• Strong B2B sales and business-development skills
  
• Excellent customer relationship management
  
• Strong negotiation and commercial skills
  
• Technical understanding of flavours and food applications
  
• Market and competitor analysis
  
• Sales forecasting and pipeline management
  
• Strong presentation and communication skills
  
• Strategic thinking and problem-solving ability
  
• Ability to work effectively with R&D and application teams
  
• Proficiency in MS Excel, PowerPoint and CRM/ERP systems
  
• Willingness to travel extensively for customer meetings and business development