The posting
Job Title: National Key Account Manager
Department: Sales
Reports to: VP of Sales
Travel Time: Up to 50%
Position Type: Full-Time
About Cornbread Hemp
Cornbread Hemp is a national leader in organic, premium wellness products, recognized on the Inc. 5000 as the #1 fastest-growing hemp company in America. Built on a foundation of organic integrity, third-party transparency, and Kentucky heritage, we have built a trusted multi-channel brand serving over a million customers nationwide.
We are now scaling two beverage-led growth engines at retail:
- Adult Beverage: Our award-winning hemp-derived THC seltzers, moving through an active 15-state Direct Store Delivery (DSD) distributor network and positioned to lead the rapidly evolving adult beverage category.
- Functional Wellness: Our brand-new, non-hemp portfolio of USDA Certified Organic adaptogen beverages (Non-Alcoholic Spritz) and functional mushroom gummies, bringing clean-label innovation to the natural channel through KeHE and UNFI.
Job Summary
We are seeking a National Key Account Manager to build and grow Cornbread Hemp's presence in key retail accounts across our full beverage and functional wellness portfolio. This person will own the end-to-end sales process, from prospecting national and regional chain buyers to winning authorizations and growing each account from first order into a category staple.
The ideal candidate is a true self-starter with a track record selling beverages into chain accounts and existing buyer relationships they can activate quickly. You understand how a natural-channel buyer at Whole Foods or Sprouts thinks, and how a category buyer at Kroger, Meijer, or Circle K thinks, and you know how to tell the right story to each. You thrive under pressure and tight deadlines, build buyer relationships quickly, and bring exceptional discipline, organization, accuracy, and attention to detail. You proactively manage every stage of the sales process and consistently follow each opportunity from initial pitch through placement, sell-through, reorder, and long-term account growth.
Key Responsibilities
Strategic Account Acquisition
- Identify, prioritize, and pursue key accounts across natural, grocery, mass, and convenience channels for THC Seltzer, Non-Alcoholic Spritz, and Mushroom Gummies.
- Develop account-specific strategies for each target banner, matching the right product line and story to the right buyer.
- Target accounts include natural chains (Whole Foods, Sprouts, Natural Grocers), grocery and mass (Target, Walmart, Meijer, Publix, Kroger, Piggly Wiggly), and national and regional convenience chains (Circle K, 7-Eleven, and dominant regional c-store banners).
- Ensure unified brand storytelling at retailers carrying multiple Cornbread Hemp lines, maximizing total category impact while keeping each product line's distribution pipeline clean and separate.
Channel Execution
- Natural Channel: Grow Non-Alcoholic Spritz and Mushroom Gummies distribution through KeHE and UNFI, managing new DC rollouts as retailers come online.
- Grocery & Mass: Win THC Seltzer and functional wellness placements at mass and grocery retailers, navigating category reviews and reset calendars.
- Convenience: Navigate the fast-moving cold-box requirements and unique buying calendars of national and regional c-store chains.
- DSD Pull-Through: Use the chain authorizations you win to activate and accelerate THC Seltzer distribution, partnering with our DSD sales organization and distributors to ensure product flows reliably into every account you open.
Broker Management
- Recruit, negotiate, onboard, and manage broker relationships to extend reach and accelerate buyer access, particularly in the natural channel.
- Set clear expectations, hold brokers accountable to pipeline and placement targets, and keep their efforts coordinated with your direct selling and our broader account strategy.
Full-Cycle Selling
- Own the complete sales cycle: build your own pipeline, secure buyer meetings, present the brand and category story, negotiate terms, and close to first purchase order.
Account Growth and Velocity
- Drive each account past the close. Win reorders, secure incremental placements, expand points of distribution and door counts, and grow rate-of-sale through ongoing buyer engagement and category management.
Forecasting, Analytics, and Pipeline Management
- Build and maintain a detailed, accurate sales pipeline with reliable forecasting.
- Partner with the VP of Sales on KPIs, revenue targets, and account-level reporting.
- Navigate SPINS data with an analytical approach to strengthen the sales story, and use VIP data to audit distributor inventory, identify out-of-stocks, and hold DSD partners accountable to retail commitments.
Marketing & Operations Collaboration
- Partner with marketing on sell-in materials, promotions, shopper programs, in-store marketing, and retail media to drive velocity.
- Work closely with operations to ensure supply-chain readiness for chain orders.
- Manage trade budgets, model and execute promotions, and optimize spend against revenue targets.
Requirements
- Beverage Chain Sales Experience: Minimum of 7+ years selling beverages (functional or better-for-you beverages, beer, hard seltzer, RTD cocktails, or comparable) into large chain accounts, with existing relationships among category buyers.
- Multi-Channel Relationships: Established relationships in the natural channel (Whole Foods, Sprouts, Natural Grocers, and KeHE and/or UNFI) and/or grocery, mass, and convenience banners. Experience across more than one of these channels is strongly preferred.
- Distributor Fluency: Deep understanding of distributor programs, including KeHE/UNFI programs and DC rollouts, and/or DSD distributor networks.
- Chain Account Track Record: Demonstrated success landing and growing key chain accounts: owning the buyer relationship, navigating category reviews, negotiating, and driving velocity after the close.
- Regulated and Emerging Category Fluency: Comfort selling in fast-evolving categories, with a proven ability to introduce a new or unfamiliar product into a buyer's set and make the category make sense. You can navigate the patchwork of state-level THC rules, buyer hesitancy, and shifting compliance requirements, and you understand the functional beverage and functional mushroom gummy categories.
- Hunter's Mentality: Highly self-motivated, autonomous, and confident, with the social skills to build buyer relationships quickly and maintain them. You move fast and thrive under pressure. You follow through; deals don't fall off after the handshake.
- CRM & Pipeline Rigor: Disciplined with sales systems and data. Comfortable owning a CRM, maintaining clean and current pipeline records, and producing reliable forecasts and account-level reporting without being asked. Strong closers who are a black box on reporting will not succeed in this role; we need both.
- Flexibility and Travel: Ability to work remotely with frequent travel for buyer meetings, trade shows, and key markets, up to 50% of the time.
Account Ownership & Scope
This role owns key chain accounts across natural, grocery, mass, and convenience channels for the THC Seltzer, Non-Alcoholic Spritz, and Mushroom Gummies lines. Our THC Seltzer business also moves through a separate DSD sales organization, and certain national retail accounts (including but not limited to Target, Walmart, Whole Foods, and Sprouts) may be managed in coordination with existing fractional key-account and broker resources. The VP of Sales will define specific account ownership and any shared-account protocols at the outset to ensure clear lines and no channel conflict. The ability to navigate complex retailer org charts, engage multiple buyer groups within the same chain, and collaborate cleanly across these motions is essential.
Preferred Qualifications
- Experience selling into both the natural channel and conventional grocery, mass, or convenience.
- Familiarity with VIP data and DSD beverage sales, and the ability to coordinate with a DSD sales team.
- Direct-to-retailer experience in the VMS / supplements category (a strong plus for our Mushroom Gummies).
- Familiarity with the THC beverage and functional beverage categories.
- Experience launching new or emerging functional, better-for-you, or beverage brands.
- Experience with natural-channel and beverage trade shows, such as Expo West, and convenience/grocery industry shows.
Why Join Cornbread Hemp?
THC seltzer is one of the fastest-growing segments in beverage, and the natural channel is hungry for clean, organic, functional products like our Spritz and Mushroom Gummies. Cornbread Hemp is positioned to win both with a Kentucky-grown, family-owned brand people trust and a distribution engine expanding every month. What we need is the chain firepower to turn that momentum into shelf space at scale. You will own your accounts, work with real autonomy, and capture uncapped upside tied directly to what you close.
Compensation
This is a high-impact sales role with compensation structured to reward the accounts you open and grow.
- Base Salary: $120K to $150K, plus cash incentives. Actual salary based on experience and book of business.
- Performance Bonuses: Milestone-based cash bonuses paid out immediately upon securing new retail chain authorizations.
- Equity Participation: Equity grant from the company's existing option pool, vesting over four years with a one-year cliff, offering meaningful ownership upside in a high-growth company.
- Benefits: Full benefits package including health, dental, and vision insurance. Travel and expense budget for account visits, trade shows, and industry events.
What We Offer
- The opportunity to build a multi-channel chain account book for a high-growth, nationally recognized brand across three fast-growing product lines.
- A direct line to senior leadership with significant strategic autonomy to own and grow your channels.
- A collaborative, supportive work environment rooted in Kentucky heritage and organic integrity.
- Professional development and career advancement as our sales organization scales.
- Flexible and remote working capabilities.
Cornbread Hemp is an equal opportunity employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees.
