Head of Retail Sales

About Ramen Bae
Ramen Bae is an innovative ramen company that is on a mission to level up the ramen category.
We started three years ago as a passion project because we wanted more ramen toppings but couldn't find anything like it. Since then, we've gone viral, built a loyal fan base, grown to over 400,000 customers, and recently launched Protein Ramen. We've done all of it bootstrapped and profitably, without outside capital.
We play at the intersection of three of the fastest-growing areas in food: better-for-you, Asian cuisine, and affordable meals. With a strong product in these areas, we’ve gone from 0 -> 2,500 retail doors in 9 months with many more opportunities on the horizon.
We’re a small, fast-moving team of builders who take ownership, move quickly, and figure things out as we go. We’re looking for another like-minded person who is excited to help us build the next great ramen brand by rapidly growing in retail.
Job Summary
We're looking for an experienced retail sales leader to own and build our presence in Conventional & Natural Grocery, Foodservice, and Convenience channels. This is our first dedicated retail hire, reporting to the Founder/CEO.
We started selling into retail this March with 50 local doors. By the end of the year we'll be in 2,500+ across 5+ major grocery and retail chains, anchored by a nationwide Target launch. We're beating the sell-through goals our retail partners set for us, and we've gotten here without a dedicated retail hire.
We believe Ramen Bae has the potential to become a nationally recognized brand and the defining better-for-you ramen brand in America. We’re looking for someone who wants to help lead that next chapter and turn that opportunity into reality. 🚀
The right person combines proven experience growing CPG brands in Retail channels with a builder mentality. We are a lean, scrappy company where everyone wears multiple hats and leaders deal with both strategy and execution. You’ll be responsible for the success of existing partners, opening new relationships/doors, and building out infrastructure to support the channel.
We think this is a fantastic time to join: we have a clear business model and product-channel fit, and just need someone to scale this to it's full potential.
Responsibilities
Own revenue and profit targets across retail
Own the sales targets, forecast, and P&L for all retail accounts
Cultivate and manage buyer and broker relationships
Negotiate and optimize assortment, pricing, promotions, and terms
Own tradespend, deductions, and promotional investment, and protect margin
Monitor out-of-stocks, fill rates, and pricing compliance, and work closely with Operations to ensure best-in-class execution
Hit aggressive distribution and revenue targets while maintaining discipline around pricing, tradespend, margins, assortment strategy and the quality of the accounts we pursue
Expand distribution
Develop and own the retail expansion strategy across grocery, club, natural, mass, convenience, dollar, specialty, and other high-potential channels
Identify, prioritize, and build a pipeline of target retailers based on revenue potential, strategic fit, brand positioning, and likelihood of success
Develop relationships with buyers and key decision-makers at priority accounts, creating a steady pipeline of new business opportunities
Own the full sales process from prospecting and initial outreach through buyer meetings, presentations, negotiation, authorization, launch, and reorder
Establish a repeatable process for retailer outreach and new-account development that can scale as the business grows
Identify, lead execution for, and attend trade shows and other retail marketing events that contribute to acquiring new customers and deepening existing relationships
Build the infrastructure to scale
Build the systems, processes, and tools needed to support a rapidly growing retail business
Establish scalable processes for account onboarding, retailer launches, order management, forecasting, promotions, deductions, and ongoing account management
Build the reporting and data infrastructure needed to understand performance across retailers, distributors, SKUs, and markets
Develop clear processes for managing brokers, distributors, and internal cross-functional teams as the channel grows
Identify operational bottlenecks and build solutions before they become constraints to growth
Partner with Finance, Operations, Supply Chain, and Marketing to ensure the retail organization can scale efficiently and profitably
Help determine the people, technology, and external partners we need to support the next stage of growth—and build them over time
Performance tracking and gap-closing
Track and report KPIs including dollars, units, doors, SKUs, velocity, and market share
In time, stand up our syndicated and POS reporting and turn it into an actionable weekly report
Build and execute gap-closing plans when we're behind target
Work with Marketing on retail marketing, shopper programs, demos, and in-store activation to drive velocity at key retailers
Work with Operations on forecasting, inventory management, and Sales Ops execution
Requirements
7+ years in CPG retail sales, including experience leading the retail channel for a high-growth CPG brand
Experience taking a brand from few hundred doors to national distribution
Experience selling into and managing national mass, grocery, or club accounts, particularly: Target, Walmart, & Costco
Track record of building distribution on top of limited existing infrastructure
Strong command of retail math, tradespend, and syndicated data
Broker management experience
Food and beverage experience preferred; dry goods / better-for-you or snacking a plus
Self-directed and comfortable in a fast-paced, roll up your sleeves environment
Day-to-day remote, but willing to travel for buyer meetings and trade shows
Compensation & Benefits
Competitive base salary plus commission structure
Meaningful equity options in a profitable, rapidly growing company
Flexible PTO and paid holidays
Health, dental, and vision benefits

Work arrangement
Yes