Area Sales Manager – GT & Modern Trade

Company Overview

Praakritik, operated by Shashi Natural & Organics Pvt. Ltd., is a trusted Indian organic and natural food brand dedicated to authenticity, quality, and better-for-you everyday foods. The company focuses on building a premium, health-conscious product portfolio and expanding its presence in the organic and natural food market.

Job Summary

The Area Sales Manager – GT & Modern Trade is responsible for developing and expanding Praakritik’s offline business across Mumbai and surrounding regions. This role involves building a strong distribution network, establishing relationships with premium retail outlets, and driving market expansion through new store and account acquisitions. The candidate will play a pivotal role in creating a scalable, disciplined sales engine that enhances brand visibility, availability, and profitability in the premium FMCG, organic, and health & wellness segments.

Responsibilities

• Distributor Development: Identify, appoint, and manage distributors; foster strong relationships, ensure healthy distributor economics, and drive consistent primary and secondary sales.
• GT & Modern Trade Expansion: Build distribution channels across General Trade and premium retail outlets, including supermarkets, gourmet stores, and specialty food stores. Identify new markets and open new stores and accounts.
• New Store & Account Acquisition: Personally drive the onboarding of new outlets, secure listings, and establish relationships with premium retailers and modern trade accounts.
• Sales & Market Execution: Drive primary and secondary sales, improve outlet productivity, visibility, and product availability through regular market visits and effective execution at store level.
• Commercial Management: Manage margins, schemes, trade spends, collections, and negotiations with distributors and retailers, ensuring brand positioning and profitability.
• Relationship Management: Build and maintain long-term relationships with distributors, retailers, store owners, and buyers. Represent Praakritik at trade events and industry forums.
• Market Intelligence: Monitor competition, pricing, assortment, and retailer feedback; leverage insights to develop actionable strategies.
• Build the Function: Contribute to establishing processes, reporting systems, distributor networks, and sales discipline to support business growth.

Qualifications

• 4–7 years of hands-on offline FMCG sales experience.
• Proven experience managing distributors and direct retail relationships.
• Background in premium FMCG, food, organic, natural, health & wellness, gourmet, or other differentiated consumer categories.
• Demonstrated success in opening new stores/accounts and building markets.
• Strong understanding of both GT and Modern Trade / premium retail channels.
• Excellent relationship-building and negotiation skills.
• Comfortable spending significant time in the market and traveling.
• Strong grasp of distributor economics, margins, schemes, secondary sales, and outlet productivity.
• Entrepreneurial, data-oriented, and capable of building systems within a growing organization.
• Educational qualifications: Bachelor’s degree in relevant fields.

Preferred Skills

• Experience in organic or natural food sectors.
• Ability to analyze market data and convert insights into strategic actions.
• Strong organizational and planning skills.
• Proficiency in sales management tools and CRM systems.
• Leadership qualities to help build and scale the sales function.

Experience

• 4 to 7 years of relevant offline FMCG sales experience, with a focus on building distribution networks and retail relationships.
• Proven track record of market expansion and new account acquisition.

Environment

• Location: Field-based role primarily in Mumbai, with travel across regions as required.
• Work Setting: In-office and in-market activities, including regular store visits, distributor meetings, and industry events.
• Conditions: Dynamic, fast-paced environment requiring adaptability, strong interpersonal skills, and a proactive approach.

Salary

• Not specified; competitive salary commensurate with experience and performance.

GrowthOpportunities

• Opportunity to grow into larger regional or national sales roles.
• Potential to advance into a National Sales Manager position as the company scales.
• Involvement in strategic planning and organizational growth initiatives.

Benefits

• Not specified; likely includes performance-based incentives, career development opportunities, and exposure to a fast-growing organic food brand.