Retail Sales & Partnerships Manager

Welcome to Apothékary™, where Nature is Medicine™. We harness the intelligence of nature by creating clean, effective herbal remedies that target the root cause of health imbalances like helping to ease stress, support the gut, strengthen immunity, boost energy, and sharpen mental focus. Our herbal formulas feature traditional herbs from several medicinal modalities including Ayurveda, traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), Japanese Kampo, and Western herbalism. We believe in getting to the root cause of health issues and herbs can be a great place to start your journey and promote wellness for the long-term. 

We were founded in early 2019 by Shizu Okusa, a serial entrepreneur in the wellness industry and named E&Y’s Entrepreneur of the Year in 2021 and most recently awarded the prestigious Inc. 500 Female Founder Honoree award.  After leaving an intense finance career, she became inspired to live a more balanced lifestyle and revisit her Japanese roots and passion for herbal medicine. Shizu set out to help others regain their holistic health using traditions she grew up with and ones she learned along the way.

Why work with us?

1. You will get the chance to be an early team member at a fast-growth health & wellness startup disrupting the intersection of food and medicine – preventative healthcare rooted in herbal medicine
2. We are growing fast (100x growth in two years, over $16M in capital raised, and quadrupled the size of the team)
3. We’re a tight-knit, passionate team, where you'll learn a ton and have ownership over your responsibilities.
4. Work with a seasoned second-time founder and executive team
   

The Role:

The primary function of the role is to grow and manage Apothékary’s retail strategy (i.e. exc-DTC) by growing key partners, identifying new business opportunities, acquiring new customers and partnering with, and educating existing customers via marketing and sales strategy.  Being energetic, well-spoken and eager to close sales and increase revenue is an essential part of this position.  The role will report directly into Apothékary’s VP of Marketing, and have a direct line of communication with our Founder & CEO.  The role will work closely with our Head of Finance, Head of Operations, Director of Digital, and Director of Growth.

Responsibilities:

• Develop and execute a commercial strategy that drives profitable top-line revenue and market share growth in the wellness and natural grocer categories  
• Lead strategic sales leadership across all channels, including Natural Grocery, Mass, and Beauty/Wellness ensuring cohesive growth and market expansion
• Provide strategic direction to the sales team, brokers, and distributors to ensure consistent execution of Apothékary’s brand plans across all trade channels
• Identify and evaluate new market opportunities, including emerging channels and potential international expansion, to diversify revenue streams and drive strategic growth
• Strengthen relationships with key retail partners, brokers, and distributors to expand distribution and improve shelf positioning
• Work with Creative and Brand team to execute on eye catching marketing campaigns in-store and various OOH / trade marketing to drive velocities in-store 
• Leverage syndicated data (IRI, Nielsen, SPINS) to track performance and optimize pricing, and report data on a weekly basis to executive team 
• Manage trade spend efficiency and ROI to optimize promotional investments and improve profitability
• Partner with Finance to develop budgets, forecast revenue, and ensure cost-effective commercial initiatives
• Work closely with Operations & Supply Chain to align demand planning and inventory strategies with sales growth
• Collaborate with the CEO & Board on commercial growth plans, ensuring transparency and alignment on strategic priorities
• Secure new key accounts and expand into new channels: practitioner, independent, hospitality (hotels), and create high branded marketing partnerships in conjunction with Brand team  
• Prospect and build a pipeline of potential accounts and leads inclusive of retail and ecommerce partners
• Train store staff in person or zoom, demos and visit stores with Apothékary on shelf
• Analyze and upsell existing accounts based on customer buying history; suggest related and new products; explain technical features based on customer-identified needs
• Analyze and summarize competitor information and trends to identify new sales opportunities
• Travel as needed to meet with clients, attend and host at industry events (Expo West), and nurture relationships.

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in Business, Marketing, or a related field; MBA preferred.
• 3-5 years of progressively responsible sales experience in the consumer goods, beauty or wellness industry.
• Proven track record of driving sales growth, especially within natural and beauty 
• Strong leadership skills with a history of managing high-performing sales teams.
• Excellent communication, negotiation, and presentation abilities.
• Strategic thinker with the ability to translate insights into actionable plans.
• Entrepreneurial spirit and a passion for contributing to a (very) fast-paced environment.
• Willingness to adapt, learn, and thrive in a rapidly changing industry.
• Availability for travel as required..

Benefits

• Starting salary: $100K + commission
• Comprehensive health, dental, and vision plans.
• Monthly paid Mental Health Days in addition to PTO.
• Opportunity to earn equity options.
• Monthly Apothékary product stipend.