Freelance Business Development Manager

About the Tea Business

In 2021 Unilever decided to separate the Tea business to ensure it can best achieve its potential.This year Unilever has sold its Tea Division to CVC Capital Partners. As a standalone entity, ekaterra is the number one Tea company in the world with full focus and entrepreneurship driving greater growth and value in the tea category in both in-Home as Out-of-Home channels.

As ekaterra we are united in one purpose: growing a world of wellbeing through the regenerative power of plants. With world class purpose driven brands such as Lipton, PG tips and Pukka, we want to champion a tastier, healthier, more sustainable world of plant-based drinking. We have an entrepreneurial mindset driven by passion for our consumers.

For further expansion of our Foodservice Benelux team we are looking for an Account Manager Foodservice who can help us to grow our beautiful Tea business in the different OOH segments.

Your role:

• The Account Manager will be responsible for our full Tea portfolio in the Social channel consisting of Education,

• Healthcare and Workplace segments.

• We work in a lean organization where sales and marketing work side by side to enable simple and fast decision making.

• We are looking for an Account Manager with an insurgent mindset with knowledge of, and preferably a network in the Dutch Foodservice/Institutional market.

• You will be responsible for our route-to-market partners (direct customers) and for large institutional (indirect) customers like hospitals and universities. Main purpose of your role is to build relationships at Coffee Roasters, Wholesalers, Office Suppliers and Caterers to win new tenders together in the Social Channel. As Account Manager you have negotiationexperience on customer headquarter level and are familiar with working in cross-functional teams. You are part of the Benelux sales office and will be reporting to the Sales Manager Benelux.

Your Key Tasks:

• The Account Manager builds partnerships with trade partners and is responsible for the development and execution of customer plans.

• Negotiation for win-win at our route-to-market partners to increase penetration

• Tender Management together with trade partners

• Analysis of channel and customer data: selling in vs selling out, promotional efficiency, category & product results, forecasting

• Work closely together with Marketing, eCom, Finance, Supply Chain and Customer Service.

Skills and Experience

• You are strongly relational, contact-oriented, emphatic person, bring humor and are able to develop a customer contact into a win-win relationship.

• You are a strong negotiator and capable to restructure and close deals

• External Orientation (look outside; be innovative and creative) and Entrepreneurial drive

• Bilingual Dutch and English for NL AM / Dutch and French for Belux AM.

• You have a Bachelor degree

• You have at least 3-year experience in account management.

• Affinity with Tea is a must