Brand Ambassador, Trade Show Manager (Foodservice)

**Position: Brand Ambassador, Trade Show Manager** **Reports to: Global Senior Vice President Sales** **Location:** Remote Capable/Waukegan, Illinois, about 40 miles north of Chicago’s Loop **Salary Range:** $60,000-$75,000 (Compensation is based on education, skills, experience and other job-related factors) **Key Responsibilities:** This exciting role involves conducting engaging tastings, delivering captivating presentations, and building customer loyalty through exceptional interactions. Ideal candidates will be passionate about food, possess strong communication and presentation skills, and have a flexible schedule. This entry-level position offers competitive pay and the opportunity to grow within a progressive family-owned company. - **Lead Trade Show & Event Execution:** Represent the company at regional and national foodservice trade shows, managing booth setup, merchandising, marketing materials, logistics, budgets, travel, inventory, and event operations to maximize brand visibility and engagement. - **Drive Customer Engagement & Product Education:** Conduct product demonstrations, tastings, and sampling events, clearly communicating and teaching on our product benefits, menu applications, and value propositions to distributors, operators, chefs, and customers. - **Generate Leads & Support Sales Growth:** Engage trade show visitors and prospects, qualify opportunities, capture lead information, and execute timely follow-up activities to convert leads into pipeline opportunities and sales. - **Build & Strengthen Distributor Relationships:** Develop strong partnerships with distributor representatives and foodservice operators through ongoing engagement, promotional events, product training, and collaborative marketing initiatives. - **Manage CRM & Performance Tracking:** Maintain accurate CRM records for all trade shows and customer interactions, track customer demand, measure event performance, and report on leads, opportunities, ROI, and KPI achievement. - **Gather Market Intelligence & Provide Strategic Insights:** Collect and analyze competitive activity, pricing trends, customer feedback, and market developments, providing actionable recommendations to Sales and Marketing leadership. - **Coordinate Marketing & Promotional Programs:** Partner with Sales, Marketing, and distribution teams to execute promotional campaigns, sponsorships, collateral management, and event marketing programs that enhance brand presence and sales impact. - **Support Annual Foodservice Growth Objectives:** Execute initiatives aligned with annual strategic goals, including new item awareness, distributor training, customer acquisition, relationship development, and continuous improvement of consumer-facing marketing materials. - **Ability to travel:** Travel is required for this role and with a busy trade show schedule can be up to 80% with peak seasons during Spring / Fall. **Personal Characteristics:** - ***Organization*** - Business Acumen - Demonstrates knowledge of the market and competition; Aligns work with strategic goals - Cost Consciousness - Works within approved budget and capabilities - Agility – The employee must be capable of adapting, with minimal or no advanced notice, to changes in how business is conducted, and work is accomplished, with no diminishment in work performance. This may include, but is not limited to, organization structure, finance goals, personnel, work processes, technology, and customer demands. - Safety and Security –All employees are responsible for observing safety and security procedures as applicable and reporting potentially unsafe conditions to management. - ***Results Orientation*** - High energy, results-driven, determined, and flexible, with a strong and disciplined work ethic. - Sets a quick pace and raises the bar and presses the organization toward higher levels of achievement. - Measures and tracks processes and branded content assets against top competitors and the market. - Promotes sup…