Position: Area Sales Manager – General Trade

Location:
Mumbai, Pune, Bangalore Function: Sales – General Trade Reporting To: Regional Sales Manager – General Trade

Experience:
3–6 years in FMCG General Trade sales Industry: FMCG – Food / Bakery / Snacking; Fresh category preferred

Education:
Graduate mandatory; MBA preferred About The Health FactoryAt The Health Factory, we are rethinking everyday food to make real health effortless. Born in Mumbai, we created India’s first Protein & Zero Maida Bread and are now present in 100+ cities across general trade, modern trade, quick commerce and e-commerce. Bread is just the beginning. We have expanded into FMCG with a growing range of digestive biscuits, rusks, mini cakes, snacks and peanut butter – all backed by our Clean Label Promise: no maida, no colours, no emulsifiers and no chemical preservatives.

About the Role
The Area Sales Manager – General Trade will own sales and distribution growth for the assigned territory. The role covers distributor management, outlet expansion, primary and secondary sales, collections, market execution, visibility and field team productivity. The ideal candidate knows the local General Trade landscape well, has working relationships with distributors and retailers, and preferably has experience in fresh, short shelf-life categories such as bread, dairy or bakery.

Key Responsibilities
1. Sales & Target Management
• Own primary and secondary sales targets for the assigned General Trade territory.
• Prepare monthly sales plans, forecasts and beat/outlet-wise plans in line with the Annual Operating Plan (AOP).
• Track performance against monthly and quarterly targets and take corrective action on gaps.
• Analyse SKU, beat and outlet-level sales trends to find growth opportunities.
• Track competitor activity, pricing, schemes and new launches, and propose counter-strategies. 2. Distributor Management
• Identify, appoint and onboard new distributors and sub-stockists to expand coverage.
• Manage existing distributors on infrastructure, manpower, delivery vehicles and service levels.
• Monitor distributor stock levels, stock rotation, FIFO and liquidation, given the short shelf life of fresh products.
• Drive distributor ROI and ensure adequate investment in the business.
• Ensure timely claims settlement and resolve operational issues quickly. 3. Distribution & Outlet Expansion




• Expand numeric and weighted distribution across grocery, kirana, bakery, chemist and other relevant General Trade outlets.
• Add new outlets and increase productive calls per beat.
• Drive range selling and improve lines per call across existing outlets.
• Ensure daily product availability across key outlets, especially for fresh SKUs. 4. Collections & Credit Control
• Ensure timely payment collection from distributors and direct outlets.
• Monitor distributor outstanding and adherence to approved credit limits.
• Conduct periodic ledger reconciliation with distributors and direct stores.
• Minimise overdues and improve working capital efficiency. 5. Expiry & Returns Management
• Manage expiry, damages and Return to Vendor (RTV) within approved norms.
• Plan stock and order quantities to keep returns low without hurting availability.
• Ensure returns are processed and reconciled on time with distributors. 6. Market Execution, Visibility & Schemes
• Plan and execute regular market visits with the sales team.
• Ensure merchandising, shelf visibility and display standards at key outlets.
• Communicate and implement trade schemes, and track their effectiveness and ROI.
• Execute visibility and in-store activation programmes for the territory. 7. New Product Launches
• Execute new product launches across the territory on time.
• Ensure stock deployment, outlet coverage and visibility at launch.
• Train distributor salesmen and the field team on new products.
• Track launch performance and take corrective action where needed. 8. Team Management
• Lead and guide Sales Officers / TSIs, distributor salesmen and merchandisers in the territory.
• Set and monitor beat plans, PJP adherence, attendance and productivity.
• Conduct regular reviews, field coaching and performance feedback.
• Train the team on product knowledge, selling skills and outlet servicing. 9. Reporting & Business Reviews
• Submit regular sales, collection, distribution and market reports.
• Analyse distributor, beat,



outlet and SKU-level data and prepare action plans.
• Share business updates and market insights with the Regional Sales Manager. Key Performance IndicatorsThe role will be measured on:
• Primary & secondary sales achievement vs target / AOP
• Outlet addition and market coverage
• Numeric and weighted distribution
• Product availability at key outlets
• Lines per call and productive calls
• Distributor ROI, stock rotation and service levels
• New distributor appointments
• Payment collection efficiency
• Overdue control and credit discipline
• RTV, expiry and damage control
• Merchandising, visibility and scheme execution
• New product launch execution
• Team productivity and PJP compliance Ideal Candidate ProfileExperience
• 3–6 years of FMCG sales experience, with strong General Trade experience mandatory.
• Prior experience as an ASM, Sales Officer or equivalent, managing distributors and a field team.
• Solid knowledge of the assigned territory’s General Trade market and distributor network. Category Experience Candidates with experience in fresh, short shelf-life categories (bread, bakery, dairy) will be preferred; experience in food, snacking or other long shelf-life FMCG is also relevant. Skills & Competencies
• Strong distributor management and network development skills.
• Good understanding of collections, credit management and ledger reconciliation.
• Strong market execution and ownership mindset.
• Excellent negotiation and relationship management abilities.
• Data-driven approach, with good working knowledge of MS Excel and sales reporting.
• Team handling and field-force management skills.
• Strong communication and interpersonal skills. Education
• Graduate in any discipline – mandatory.
• MBA preferred Other Requirements
• Must be based in the assigned territory.
• Comfortable with extensive daily market travel across the territory.
• Immediate joiners will be preferred. What We Are Looking ForWe are looking for a hands-on, commercially driven General Trade professional who can own the territory end-to-end — from distributor appointment and outlet expansion to collections, availability, returns control, scheme execution and team productivity. The candidate should be equally comfortable reviewing numbers with distributors and walking the market with the field team.

📌 Area Sales Manager- General Trade (Mumbai)
🏢 The Health Factory
📍 Mumbai