National Account Manager (Food Service)

What is this role? 

The National Account Manager (Foodservice & Away-From-Home) at Cirkul is responsible for driving growth across key national and regional foodservice, hospitality, workplace, and small-format accounts. This includes large national operators and service organizations such as Aramark, Cintas, and similar businesses, as well as hotels, bars, restaurants, entertainment venues, and other high-volume away-from-home channels.

This role owns both new business development and the expansion of existing partnerships, with a focus on increasing account penetration, distribution, placements, and revenue. You will identify opportunities to bring Cirkul into new locations, programs, and customer environments while developing strategic relationships with operators, procurement teams, distributors, and other key decision-makers.

You will act as the primary point of contact for assigned accounts and prospects, developing account strategies, negotiating programs, and collaborating cross-functionally to bring Cirkul’s innovative hydration platform to more consumers outside of the traditional retail environment.

What does an average day look like? 

Driving Results: 

• Owns revenue, distribution, placement, and account growth targets across assigned foodservice and away-from-home accounts
• Develops and executes strategic account plans to drive new locations, increased distribution, and expanded product adoption
• Leads customer presentations, business reviews, sales meetings, and negotiations with national and regional accounts
• Identifies new business opportunities within large operators, foodservice organizations, distributors, hotels, bars, restaurants, and other small-format channels
• Develops programs and solutions tailored to the unique needs of foodservice and hospitality customers
• Works with customers and distribution partners to identify opportunities for incremental volume and account expansion
• Tracks account performance, identifies gaps, and develops action plans to accelerate growth
• Builds compelling business cases using customer, market, and internal data to secure new programs and placements
• Negotiates pricing, programs, promotions, and commercial agreements while balancing customer needs with Cirkul's profitability

Taking Ownership: 

• Operates as the end-to-end owner of assigned accounts and prospects, from initial outreach and strategy through implementation and ongoing growth
• Builds and manages sales pipelines, consistently prospecting for new business and expanding Cirkul's presence within existing accounts
• Proactively identifies barriers to growth, including pricing, distribution, inventory, operational requirements, and customer adoption
• Coordinates with Sales Operations, Supply Chain, Finance, Marketing, and other internal teams to ensure customer commitments are delivered
• Manages implementation timelines, customer requirements, product launches, and follow-up activities
• Ensures programs are executed consistently across locations and partners
• Travels regularly to customer locations, meetings, industry events, and field locations to build relationships and identify opportunities

Making Decisions: 

• Uses customer insights, financial impact, market trends, and account performance to make informed commercial decisions
• Prioritizes opportunities based on revenue potential, strategic importance, and likelihood of success
• Determines the best approach to expanding Cirkul within complex organizations with multiple decision-makers and locations
• Balances short-term revenue opportunities with long-term account development and penetration
• Navigates complex customer organizations, procurement processes, distributor relationships, and operational requirements
• Quickly adjusts strategies based on customer feedback, competitive activity, and changing business needs

Cultivating Relationships: 

• Builds strong relationships with national and regional account decision-makers, including procurement, purchasing, operations, culinary, facilities, HR/workplace, and other relevant stakeholders
• Develops relationships at multiple levels within large organizations to create opportunities for broader account penetration
• Establishes Cirkul as a strategic partner by bringing innovative ideas, solutions, and insights to customers
• Develops strong relationships with foodservice distributors, brokers, and other channel partners when applicable
• Represents Cirkul at customer meetings, industry events, trade shows, and other business development opportunities
• Identifies customer champions and leverages relationships to expand Cirkul into additional locations, business units, and programs

Instilling Trust: 

• Consistently delivers on commitments to customers and internal stakeholders
• Communicates clearly and proactively regarding performance, timelines, challenges, and opportunities
• Provides accurate sales forecasts and maintains visibility into pipeline and account risks
• Builds credibility through strong preparation, responsiveness, commercial knowledge, and follow-through
• Acts as a trusted advisor who understands the customer's business and proactively brings solutions

Customer Focus: 

• Develops a deep understanding of each customer's business model, operating environment, customer base, and strategic priorities
• Understands the unique needs of foodservice, hospitality, workplace, and small-format customers and adapts Cirkul's approach accordingly
• Creates customer-specific presentations, proposals, and programs that demonstrate clear business value
• Identifies ways Cirkul can improve hydration experiences for employees, guests, customers, and consumers
• Visits customer locations and accounts to understand the customer experience, identify opportunities, and ensure successful execution
• Uses customer feedback and field insights to improve programs and identify additional growth opportunities
• Continuously looks for ways to make it easier for customers to adopt, scale, and succeed with Cirkul

What background should you have? 

• 7+ years of experience in CPG, beverage, foodservice, hospitality, or related sales
• Proven track record of managing and growing national or regional accounts
• Experience selling into foodservice, hospitality, workplace, facilities, or other away-from-home channels
• Experience working with organizations such as Aramark, Cintas, Sysco, US Foods, Compass Group, Sodexo, hotels, restaurants, bars, entertainment venues, or similar accounts is highly preferred
• Strong new business development and prospecting experience with a demonstrated ability to open doors and build a pipeline
• Experience navigating complex national accounts with multiple locations and decision-makers
• Understanding of foodservice distribution, broker networks, and/or route-to-market strategies
• Strong negotiation, presentation, and relationship-building skills
• Strong business and financial acumen with the ability to build compelling customer proposals and business cases
• Highly organized with the ability to manage multiple accounts, opportunities, and priorities simultaneously
• Self-motivated, entrepreneurial, and comfortable operating in a fast-paced, high-growth environment
• Willingness to travel frequently to customers, prospects, industry events, field locations, and Tampa HQ