Business Development Manager – Food & Nutritional Ingredients

Location United Kingdom
Discipline: Nutrition
Job type: Sales Manager
Salary: £Up to £65,000 depending on experience
Contact name: Jeremy Clarke

Contact email: jeremy@merrittrecruitment.com
Job ref: 453
Published: about 2 months ago

​Business Development Manager – Food Ingredients & Nutrition

Our client is looking for energetic and enthusiastic candidates for a commercial role driving growth across the Food and Nutrition markets with particular focus on specialist products for the bakery and meat replacement industries. You’ll manage key account development, open new strategic partnerships, and champion innovative ingredients from global supply partners. This is a role for a proactive, relationship led BDM who thrives on building markets, shaping product strategy, and delivering results.

Key Responsibilities

  • Sales & Account Growth

  • Deliver agreed sales and profitability targets across your sector and personal accounts.

  • Identify, win and develop new Key Accounts while expanding relationships across existing customers.

  • Build structured account plans and ensure full market coverage through effective customer segmentation.

  • Provide monthly performance updates, highlight variances, and recommend corrective actions.

  • Ensure timely follow up on quotations, visit reports and sales actions.

  • Drive ongoing profit optimisation in line with market conditions.

Principal & Product Management

  • Identify portfolio gaps and opportunities for product range expansion.

  • Work with existing and new supply partners to assess and introduce new products.

  • Support marketing with sector focused content and campaigns to raise brand and product visibility.

  • Act as the key communication link between principals and internal teams, ensuring smooth product launches and issue resolution.

  • Coordinate new product roll outs with colleagues and ensure regulatory/quality requirements are met.

  • Gather and share market intelligence to support internal reporting and principal expectations.

  • Assist purchasing with stock planning for relevant product lines.

General & Team Contribution

  • Promote strong teamwork and a positive working environment.

  • Support and motivate colleagues through knowledge sharing and training.

  • Deliver professional presentations to customers, principals and internal teams.

  • Represent the company at industry events, exhibitions and seminars.

Personal Requirements

  • Strong communication, selling and negotiation skills.

  • Solid technical and market understanding of food or nutrition ingredients.

  • Effective problem solving, planning and organisational skills.

  • Ability to build cross functional relationships and influence stakeholders.

  • You must have a right to work in the UK, our client cannot support visa sponsorship

  • Full UK driving license