Location: Remote with significant travel required (on-site in San Francisco preferred)Reports to: CEO
About the CompanyAonic is redefining the functional wellness space with a platform spanning a range of category-defining products: Aonic Revive - a Magnesium powered Hydration drink made with real fruit juice, Aonic Fuel - a premium protein drink with 50 grams of whey-based protein in a beautiful, aluminum bottle, and lastly Aonic Complete - a revolutionary, all-in-one, grab & go supplement solution. With a strong media and influencer presence, we are building a modern omnichannel brand that blends grocery, DTC, specialty retail, and DSD distribution to accelerate growth and accessibility.We are seeking a Vice President of Retail Sales to lead our commercial strategy, drive rapid distribution growth, and work cross-functionally with our tech-driven internal team to align sales execution with our broader brand vision. This is a high-impact role that will shape our trajectory as we scale across grocery, specialty retail, fitness, food service, and e-commerce.
Key Responsibilities:

Multi-Channel Sales Strategy & Execution

Develop and execute the go-to-market plan across grocery, DTC, specialty retail, and DSD.

Lead key account acquisition, ensuring early traction in high-value retailers.

Optimize the balance between direct sales efforts and broker-led retail expansion.

Broker & Distributor Management

Oversee and align multiple brokers to ensure streamlined execution and sales velocity.

Develop and manage distributor relationships (UNFI, KeHE, regional DSD partners) to ensure effective inventory flow and account management.

Build and refine the process for piloting a DSD launch in a major city and scale based on learnings.

Retail Sales Leadership & Key Account Management

Drive direct relationships with top national and regional grocery, fitness, and specialty chains.

Own pricing, promotion, and trade spend strategy to ensure sustainable velocity.

Support in Joint Business Planning (JBP) negotiations and category review submissions.

Internal Team Education & Cross-Functional Collaboration

Bridge the gap between a tech-oriented internal team and CPG best practices, ensuring alignment between sales execution, marketing, and operations.

Build internal sales processes, CRM usage, and forecasting models to ensure data-driven decision-making.

Velocity & Promotional Performance Optimization

Oversee field execution, sampling, and retail activation strategies to ensure rapid sell-through.

Analyze sales data to refine promotional calendar and optimize trade spend efficiency.

Key Qualifications:

10+ years of CPG sales experience, with a track record of successfully scaling emerging brands across multiple channels.
Experience managing brokers, distributors, and direct key account relationships.
Strong understanding of DSD, national distribution, grocery, and alternative retail channels (fitness, specialty, food service).
Ability to build sales infrastructure within a fast-growing company, from CRM implementation to team hiring.
High growth, entrepreneurial mindset - must be comfortable working in a fast-paced, high-impact environment.
Experience working in functional beverages, protein, supplements, or wellness categories preferred.

Your Benefits

Impact: Be a core part of Aonic's mission to empower millions of Americans to enjoy healthy living.
Growth: Join a rapidly growing company with significant opportunities for career advancement.
Onsite collaboration: Work in a room with a highly driven, entrepreneurial team that values creativity, passion, and collaboration.
Competitive cash & equity compensation: Compelling cash combination to reward the hard work you put into Aonic, complemented by an attractive stock option plan so that you can benefit from Aonic's success. Total compensation for this role is $200-250k.
Comprehensive health plan: Competitive medical, and vision packages, together with 401k matching.
Work hard and rest well: Unlimited paid-time-off (PTO) every year plus federal holidays off.
Vibrant and world-class team: Our focus is on building a top-notch team to best service our customers; join this early team that is just getting started in building towards a massive vision.

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