Scaling Retail and Co-Manufacturing Growth Through Strategic Leadership
Alpha Executive Search partnered with a global supplier of custom value-added food products serving many of the world’s leading foodservice and retail brands to place a Senior Vice President of Retail & Co-Manufacturing.
Through a targeted retail food manufacturing executive search, Alpha identified a senior executive capable of leading a newly established business unit focused on retail expansion, private label development, and co-manufacturing partnerships.
The position plays a key role in strengthening retail partnerships, supporting private label programs, and working closely with major retailers and CPG companies to expand the company’s retail presence.
The Search Challenge
For this retail food manufacturing executive search, the client sought a senior leader who could align commercial growth with operational execution across the retail business.
Retail partnerships require close coordination across sales, innovation, packaging, and manufacturing teams. As private label programs and retail channels continue to expand, companies need leadership that understands how these functions connect and how to scale them responsibly.
Key leadership priorities included:
- Guiding the strategy and growth of the retail and co-manufacturing business
• Supporting private label development and custom product partnerships
• Aligning commercial teams with operational and supply chain capabilities
• Strengthening relationships with national retail customers and branded food companies
• Supporting cross-functional collaboration across sales, category management, packaging, and customer service
• Ensuring retail programs continued to grow while maintaining operational consistency
Executive Leadership for Retail and Co-Manufacturing Growth
As private label programs and retail partnerships continue to expand, food manufacturers increasingly need leadership that understands both the customer relationship and the operational structure behind it.
Retail programs require close coordination across sales, commercialization, packaging, supply chain, and manufacturing teams. Leaders responsible for these channels must be able to manage those connections while maintaining strong relationships with major retailers and branded food companies.
This retail food manufacturing executive search focused on identifying a leader who could guide that work. The organization needed an executive who understood how retail partnerships translate into production planning, supply coordination, and long-term customer collaboration.
By placing a senior leader with deep experience across retail partnerships and food manufacturing environments, Alpha helped position the company to strengthen its retail business while continuing to expand its co-manufacturing capabilities.
Supporting Leadership Across Food Manufacturing
Retail partnerships and co-manufacturing programs continue to shape how food manufacturers grow. As these relationships expand, organizations increasingly look for leadership that understands both the commercial side of retail relationships and the operational realities behind large-scale production.
Searches like this highlight the importance of placing leaders who can navigate both sides of that equation. Executives responsible for retail channels often work closely with operations, supply chain, commercialization, and customer teams to ensure growth remains aligned with manufacturing capabilities.
Alpha Executive Search works closely with food and beverage manufacturers to identify leaders who understand production environments, customer partnerships, and operational growth.
If your organization is evaluating leadership across retail, operations, or commercial teams, our team is always available for a confidential conversation! Learn more about our executive search approach here.