Sales Specialist (Italian Speaking)

Company Description

Job Description

Italian Cuisine Sales Specialist - London and South East

£Competitive - company car or car allowance & home-based contract

This is a specialist sales role focused on delivering incremental growth, new customer acquisition, and share-of-wallet uplift across the authentic Italian cuisine category. Covering London and South East the specialist will act as the go-to expert for authentic Italian cuisine, supporting frontline sales colleagues in identifying and winning relevant opportunities within existing accounts, while also proactively targeting and securing brand new customers where we previously lacked the range to compete.

By combining deep product knowledge with a strong commercial focus, the role will drive penetration of Italian cuisine across existing and new business, helping shape the future of the range and accelerating our credibility and success in this fast-growing category.

What you'll be doing:

• Proactively research and prospect new business opportunities, maintaining a healthy and dynamic pipeline of potential customers with authentic Italian cuisine needs.
• Support frontline sales colleagues (ASMs, BDMs, YWCs) to identify and win Italian cuisine share-of-wallet opportunities within their customer base.
• Build strong commercial relationships with both new and existing customers to understand their business, menu strategy, and Italian cuisine requirements.
• Develop profitable and relevant propositions tailored to customer needs, leading to customer wins and long-term partnerships.
• Build ledger and own customer relationship directly for outlets within an assigned area.
• Onboard new customers effectively and successfully
• Grow total value of the neighbourhood by increasing share of wallet with existing customers and acquiring new customers through targeted Italian cuisine-led solutions.
• Deliver exceptional customer experiences through tastings, demonstrations, and menu consultation to showcase our Italian range and unlock new opportunities.
• Monitor competitor activity and work proactively to retain business and develop long-term, profitable partnerships with customers.
• Use Salesforce CRM to manage pipeline, track activity, and provide clear visibility of progress across opportunities.
• Collaborate with procurement and category teams to influence future range development based on customer feedback and market trends.
• Represent the Italian cuisine proposition at food shows, team meetings, and engagement events to build internal awareness and momentum.

What we are looking for:

• Fluent Italian speaker
• Strong passion for authentic Italian cuisine, with sound knowledge of key product types and regional trends.
• Demonstrated success in sales, business development, or account management within foodservice, hospitality, or a relevant category.
• Experience using customer insight, menu analysis, and market data to identify and convert opportunities.
• Excellent communication, relationship-building, and influencing skills.
• Self-motivated and proactive, with strong organisational skills and the ability to manage a field-based role across Central London.
• Comfortable working independently as well as collaboratively across cross-functional teams.
• Commercially astute, with the ability to balance short-term wins and long-term customer value.

Qualifications

Additional Information

At Brakes everyone is welcome. We don't want you to 'fit our culture' we want you to help define it and we actively celebrate the unique talents of each and every colleague. We don't just look at your CV, we're more focused on who you are and your potential. As part of our values, we are committed to fostering a diverse and inclusive culture where everyone has a voice, is appreciated and has the same opportunities. We work hard to ensure that everyone feels part of our business, as we care for one another and connect the world through food and trusted partnerships. Our ultimate goal is to ensure that everyone belongs and thrives at Brakes and we recognise that Brakes can only thrive when everyone feels they belong. We'll do everything we can to support you during your application. If you need us to make any adjustments to our recruitment process, speak to our resourcing team who will be happy to support you.

Brakes

Built on a passion for food and feeding the nation, we are the UK's largest foodservice supplier. Every day Brakes deliver the highest quality fresh and frozen food and ingredients from our nationwide network of distribution centres to some of the nation's most famous pubs and restaurants, as well as schools, caterers, care homes and hospitals. Our customers depend on us, and our 8,000-strong workforce is dedicated and proud to be part of this vital provision. And we're growing!