Business Development Manager - Strategic Accounts

Find the customers and opportunities Epicurium should already be winning. Epicurium is looking for a commercially astute Business Development Manager who can identify worthwhile opportunities, open the right doors and turn customer insight into profitable, lasting growth. This is not a conventional portfolio account-management role and it is not high-volume cold selling. Your time will be focused on carefully selected new customers, dormant or underperforming accounts with real potential, and major new opportunities within existing strategic relationships. A note on fit: this role is about winning genuine opportunities, not chasing a bigger title. We're looking for someone who wants to build something here over several years, not use it as a stepping stone to the next employer. About Epicurium Epicurium is a specialist wholesaler and distribution partner for innovative snacking brands. We represent a broad portfolio of challenger and emerging products and help customers across retail, convenience, foodservice and other commercial channels stay ahead of changing consumer demand. We are building a more joined-up commercial model in which Business Development, Buying and Brand Development, Marketing and Operations work together to create sustainable growth for customers, brands and Epicurium. The opportunity You will lead the development of high-value customer opportunities from discovery through proposition, negotiation and onboarding. Once an account's commercial model is established, our Customer Account Coordinators will provide dependable day-to-day account management, leaving you free to find and develop the next opportunity. You will remain a trusted senior contact for strategic reviews, major opportunities and important interventions - without spending your week chasing orders or routine administration. What you will own

• Build and manage a focused pipeline of strategically valuable prospective customers.
• Identify dormant, overlooked and seriously under-developed accounts with significant potential.
• Secure access to key buyers and senior decision-makers through intelligence, credibility and commercial value
• Lead negotiation, conversion and commercially sound onboarding.
• Understand customer economics and protect margin, terms and operational viability.
• Work with Buying and Brand Development, Marketing and Operations to build deliverable offers around relevant challenger brands, emerging products and categories.
• Create clear initial development plans and hand routine ownership to Customer Account Coordinators once the relationship is established.
• Maintain senior customer relationships through purposeful reviews and opportunity-led engagement.
• Manage pipeline, activity and forecasts with discipline and follow through consistently. What success will look like
• Profitable new strategic customers opened and developed.
• Material growth from dormant and under-developed existing accounts.
• A credible, qualified pipeline with reliable forecasting and purposeful progress.
• Strong margin quality, brand/category penetration and launch performance.
• Clean onboarding and handoff, with customers receiving excellent ongoing support. About you
• You have a proven record in B2B business development, account development or strategic sales within food, FMCG, wholesale, distribution, foodservice or a challenger-brand environment.
• You value autonomy, direct influence and the chance to grow with a smaller company more than corporate status or polish.
• You'd rather be measured on the accounts and opportunities you actually built than on your job title.
• You can win worthwhile new business and find hidden growth within existing customers.
• You are credible with sophisticated buyers, commercially numerate and comfortable discussing pricing, margin, terms and customer economics.
• You genuinely enjoy challenger brands, emerging products, food innovation and changing consumer trends.
• You are persistent and resilient, but selective about where time and company resource should be invested.
• You are self-directed, organised and comfortable travelling nationally without a fixed territory call cycle.
• You collaborate well, share information and hand over operational ownership without losing strategic accountability. Location and package This is a home-based national role. We are particularly interested in candidates based in the Midlands or Central England—these regions give practical access to London, the South East and other major UK centres. Frequent customer travel and periodic visits to Epicurium's Consett headquarters are essential. Package: £45,000-£50,000 depending on experience, Company car or car allowance (in lieu of company car), bonus of up to 10%, pension, laptop, phone, home-working equipment and annual salary review. You will need to demonstrate the right to work in the UK. How to apply
• Apply via our Indeed job portal https://uk.indeed.com/job/business-development-manager-strategic-accounts-213b8c20d30a534a