James Harris Email & Phone Number

Newport Beach, California, Us

Newport Beach, California, Us

* Helping emerging brands with all aspects of building sales, distribution and Ecom. * Snacks, CBD, Plant Based products and Beverages.

San Diego, California, Us

North Hollywood, Ca, Us

- Managed a sales team of 16 people covering Grocery, On premise, and E-comm- Drove National distribution in the grocery channel- Grew gross revenue +$1.2mm year over year while improving margin- Developed strategic plan to grow grocery sales through acquisition of new accounts and with existing accounts. Impact to revenue was +96% (+$2.6mm) Y.O.Y.

- Launch the US Market- Developed, manage, and implemented US pricing strategy, promotional programs, and product demonstration schedule- Identified and secure national distribution network using UNFI, KeHE, Natures Best, DPI, and Haddon House.- Secured broker representation with Grassroots, Natural Food Purveyors, Breakout Sales & Marketing, Southern Cross Trading & H&H Specialty Foods in first 30 days- Secured authorization in two Whole Foods Regions (SoPac & Mid-Atlantic), New Seasons Markets, Fresh & Easy, Bristol Farms, Jimbos, Berkeley Bowl, Bashas’, AJ’s, Wegmans, and Harris Teeter.

Berkeley, Ca, Us

- Lead a sales team of 5 focused on Retail, On Premise and E-commerce- Drove year over year sales by 50% through new distribution, shelf management, and improved execution on promotional programs, trade shows, and demos.- Managed National Broker and Distribution network in the US and Canada- Increased sales in the On Premise channel by 33% through distributor focus, new accounts, and additional usage points in existing accounts.- Launched 11 new items in the retail channel.- Implemented a sku optimization program that eliminated over 40 under performing products. This action improved production efficiency, reduced packing needs, and improved available capital.

Renton, Washington, Us

Currently lead all nationwide sales/marketing activities for this $200M private-label roaster of Premium Coffee—emphasizing sales into the Grocery, Club, and Food Service channels.• Manage 12-member sales team and related hiring, mentoring, and performance review activities.• Key member of account team that landed new contracts with McDonalds, Panera, and Au Bon Pain.• Drive continuous innovation in the areas of packaging, new SKU creation, and shelf management.• Responsible for overseeing corporate P&L, forecasting, pricing and margin management.• Negotiated new 5-year contract with Safeway targeted to generate $100M in sales.• Launched the company's first-ever branded product, Panera Bread Coffee, into the Meijer, SaveMart, Price Chopper, Weis, Schnucks, WinCo, and Albertsons accounts.• Eliminated unprofitable DSD program and implemented new high-margin warehouse program that led to a 55% increase in sales.

Waterbury, Vt, Us

Recruited to lead sales and marketing objectives for this $100+ million coffee roaster. Managed the sales organization, e-com, customer service and marketing with goals to expand the retail side of the business while remaining the leader in office coffee service both domestically and in Canada. • Retooled the sales strategy, increasing revenues from $35M to $100M within two years.• Initiated four price increases during tenure, leading to profitability for the first time in four years. • Boosted online sales >100% within a single year through effective collaboration with Amazon.com.• Successfully negotiated new distribution agreements with Costco, Sam’s Club, and HEB Grocery stores—including coordinating the highly-anticipated rollout of Diedrich Coffee K-Cups.• Improved production efficiencies by optimizing SKU assortment, reducing SKU count from 52 to 31.• Developed/launched new line of SKUs that drove incremental sales and added $10+M in revenue.• Worked directly with Costco executives on SKU launch, rollout, and promotions; built win/win relationship that led to Costco becoming the company's #2 customer in unit and revenue sales.• Implemented new distributor management strategies, promotional programs, and marketing accrue program that drove revenue sales +22% in OCS channel compared to industry average of 4%.• Championed an In-Room hotel distribution program that led to 24 major properties (e.g. Mandalay Bay, Four Seasons, Caesars Palace, MGM, Bellagio) adding K-cups as a standard guest amenity.

Hired to identify and develop distribution systems for Hansen's Monster Energy Drink product line, with an emphasis on expanding into International markets where the brand was non-existent. Led strategic plan to establish distribution via direct delivery to the retail and on-premise channels. • Created distribution systems that opened new global markets and maximized sales performance in Mexico, Caribbean, South America, Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa.• Achieved sales growth of +200% through new account authorization and first-time SKU placements in Mexico, Bahamas and Central America.• Initiated high-potential new programs related to Sports Marketing and International POS.

Los Angeles, Ca, Us

10-year tenure of progressive leadership roles within this leading beverage manufacturer and distributor. Responsible for P&L across the 15 Western United States, overseeing a distribution network that included the Dr. Pepper/7UP Bottling Group, Admiral, Kalil Bottling, Southern Wine & Spirits, Young’s Market, Wine Warehouse, and many others. • Managed teams of up to 55 sales professionals conducting Direct Store Delivery (DSD), natural products delivery, and direct store retail sales. • Responsible for product placement, event sampling, trade show representation, and marketing group supervision. • Worked closely with DSD systems and served as the primary contact with top executives from all major distributors and accounts.• Increased sales volume by 150%, resulting in FIJI Water emerging as the #1 premium bottled water brand in 14 of 18 markets throughout the Western US, as indicated and measured by IRI.• Established SKUs in all major grocery chains: Safeway, Vons, Ralph’s, Gelson's, Whole Foods, Wild Oats, Raley’s, Kroger, and more.• Added $5M in revenue by securing two major retailers— Trader Joes & Cost Plus World Markets.• Led distribution system transition from beer wholesalers to Major Carbonated Soft Drink systems that generated sales increases of as much as 100% in the first year. Managed all transition elements including termination of existing systems and set-up/launch of new distributors.• Achieved sales growth of +200% through new account authorization and new SKU placements. • Led successful turnaround of a previously under-performing territory.• Generated over $100K in new annual sales via creation of a new On-Premise distribution system.

Eden Prairie, Mn, Us

Manage and develop Key Accounts. Managed company owned DSD distribution centers in San Diego and then Hayward, CA.