Director of Business Development

Position Summary

Our client is seeking a highly motivated and commercially driven Director of Business Development to accelerate growth by identifying, developing, and converting new business opportunities across the food, beverage, nutrition, and adjacent markets.

This role will be focused primarily on new business development and strategic account acquisition. The Director of Business Development will identify high-value prospects, establish relationships with key decision-makers, uncover customer needs, and introduce differentiated solutions utilizing the company's proprietary flavor delivery technology and capabilities.

The ideal candidate is a proven business developer with strong relationships within the food, beverage, and flavor industries who enjoys opening doors, creating opportunities, and developing business from the earliest stages. This individual will work closely with Sales, Marketing, Flavor Creation, Product Development & Innovation, Operations, and executive leadership to translate market opportunities and customer challenges into commercially viable programs.

Key Responsibilities

New Business Development

• Identify and pursue high-value new customers, markets, applications, and strategic opportunities that align with the company's capabilities and growth strategy.
• Build and maintain a robust pipeline of qualified new business opportunities.
• Develop relationships with key decision-makers across R&D, Product Development, Procurement, Innovation, Operations, and executive leadership.
• Prospect strategically through industry relationships, market intelligence, trade shows, networking, referrals, and targeted outreach.
• Secure introductory meetings, technical presentations, Lunch & Learns, innovation sessions, and customer development meetings.
• Lead early-stage commercial discussions and move opportunities from initial contact through technical evaluation and commercialization.
• Develop opportunities to a defined transition point and effectively hand established accounts/programs to the appropriate sales representative for ongoing management and growth.
• Maintain involvement in strategic opportunities when necessary to support successful commercialization.

Strategic Market Development

• Identify emerging categories, applications, technologies, and market trends where the company can create differentiated value.
• Develop business opportunities across key areas including ready-to-drink beverages, ready-to-mix products, sports nutrition, functional beverages, food applications, coffee, citrus, and other high-growth categories.
• Develop relationships with strategic partners, ingredient companies, co-manufacturers, product developers, consultants, and other organizations that can create new commercial opportunities.
• Provide market intelligence and customer feedback to help guide commercial priorities, product development, and innovation.

Value-Based Selling

• Clearly articulate the technical and economic advantages of the company's proprietary low-temperature flavor delivery technology.
• Sell based on customer value rather than price alone, including opportunities related to:
  • Lower flavor usage rates and improved cost-in-use
  • Enhanced flavor and aroma delivery
  • Improved flavor durability through challenging processing conditions
  • Reduced flavor overage
  • Improved stability and performance
  • Manufacturing and supply-chain efficiencies
  • Sustainability benefits
  • Powder flavor solutions for applications traditionally utilizing liquid flavors

• Work with customers to identify measurable technical and financial value that can support commercialization decisions.

Cross-Functional Leadership

• Partner closely with Sales to ensure new opportunities align with account strategies and commercial priorities.
• Work with Flavor Creation, Product Development & Innovation, Applications, and R&D to translate customer needs into actionable development projects.
• Collaborate with Operations and Supply Chain when evaluating new manufacturing, tolling, scale-up, or strategic opportunities.
• Coordinate with Marketing on targeted campaigns, market development initiatives, trade shows, and lead-generation programs.
• Provide clear customer briefs and ensure technical teams understand the commercial opportunity, customer expectations, and potential value.
• Serve as the commercial champion for high-priority new business opportunities.

Pipeline & Commercial Management

• Maintain accurate opportunity and activity information within the company's CRM,Hubspot.
• Establish clear commercial values, next steps, timelines, decision-makers, and probability of success for opportunities.
• Provide regular reporting on new business activity, pipeline development, customer engagement, and commercialization progress.
• Maintain disciplined follow-up throughout the development cycle.
• Develop an annual business development plan identifying target accounts, categories, strategic initiatives, and revenue opportunities.

Key Performance Indicators

Success in this role will be measured through a combination of leading and lagging indicators, including:

• Qualified new business pipeline created
• Number and quality of new strategic accounts engaged
• New customer meetings and technical presentations
• New development projects generated
• Progression of opportunities through the development pipeline
• New customers commercialized
• New revenue generated
• Strategic/tolling opportunities developed
• Pipeline-to-commercialization conversion
• Successful transition of developed accounts to the sales organization

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Business, Marketing, Food Science, Chemistry, or related discipline preferred.
• 7–10+ years of business development, sales, or commercial experience within flavors, food ingredients, beverages, nutrition, consumer products, or a related industry.
• Demonstrated success developing new accounts and creating business within complex B2B environments.
• Established industry relationships strongly preferred. Specialized focus on private label and food service is also preferred.
• Strong understanding of the food and beverage product development and commercialization process.
• Experience selling technical or value-added solutions rather than commodity products.
• Ability to communicate effectively with both technical and commercial audiences.
• Strong financial and commercial acumen, including the ability to develop value propositions and cost-in-use comparisons.
• Experience working collaboratively with R&D, Product Development, Operations, Marketing, and executive leadership.
• Strong CRM discipline and pipeline-management skills.
• Ability and willingness to travel regularly to customers, industry events, trade shows, and company meetings.