Commercial Account Manager - Breakout Brands

Title:
Commercial Account Manager - Breakout Innovation Partners at The REAL Co.

Location:
Split between London Office & Fermentery (Aylesbury) and at customer sites

Full Time:
5 days a week (Monday - Friday)

Salary:
£XXK + share options + benefits

ABOUT THE REAL CO.

The REAL Co. is the producer of world-leading alcohol-free drinks based upon its patent pending fermentation technology. All products are produced in our vertically integrated, state-of-the-art Fermentery in the grounds of the Waddesdon Estate in Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, just 1 hour from central London. The REAL Co. produces under its own brand 'REAL Alcohol Free', as well as leveraging its technology to produce high-quality break out products for a number of other partners:
retailers, food service retailers, and brands. The REAL Co. is shaping the future of alcohol free and functional drinks.

ABOUT THE ROLE

As a small yet rapidly growing business, we require a passionate, highly organised, and detail-focused Commercial Manager to join our team, reporting directly to the Chief Commercial Officer.

This person will be responsible for nurturing The REAL Co.'s breakout innovation partners, including brands, retail and food service customers, with a key focus on leading the customer relationship with Marks & Spencer.

You'll be the connector between our customers, product development, operations, and production - ensuring smooth and seamless communication across all stages:
from identification of new product opportunities, through launch, demand planning, commercial support, and issue resolution.

You'll build deep, service-led partnerships with buyers and brand owners while maintaining sharp coordination between internal and customer-side teams. You will be hyper-organised, an exceptional planner, and on top of every detail. You'll thrive in a fast-moving, cross-functional environment, remaining calmunder pressure.

You'll have strong commercial instincts - skilled with spreadsheets, forecasts, and commercial planning - and an eye for spotting new opportunities. Above all, you're a hyper-communicator, ensuring everyone stays aligned, in the loop, and focused.

The key responsibilities of this role include:

• Lead and grow strategic customer accounts across retail, brand, and food service channels.

• Build and manage strong day-to-day relationships with buyers, as well as technical and product development teams.

• Coordinate communication between our internal teams (product development, technical, operations) and customer-side leads to ensure seamless alignment on briefs, specs, commercials and delivery expectations.

• Own forecasting and demand planning for your accounts - building accurate forecasts to ensure our production team can plan effectively and deliver on time.

• Own revenue reporting for your accounts - ensuring they are tracking and exceeding budget. You will need to work with operations and production to understand how we can fulfill and exceed revenue.

• Track and manage key customer commitments - from service levels to sustainability standards - making sure we deliver on our promises and standards set by customers

• Ensure compliance with customer trading standards, documentation requirements, and onboarding procedures.

• Represent the company at customer meetings, industry events, and trade shows, embodying our values and energy.

• Spot growth opportunities within existing accounts through new product launches, category expansion, or deeper partnership.

• Monitor performance:
  Report regularly on account health, sales performance, and upcoming opportunities or risks.

The skills and experience we are looking for include:

• An experienced commercial manager - ideally someone who has been a retail buyer - (ideally 5+ years) or has managed Innovation Programmes in FMCG, drinks, or fast-paced consumer brands.

• Hyper-organised, an excellent planner, and obsessively on top of detail.

• Has a natural service-first mindset - fast to respond, highly reliable, and always delivering with calmness and professionalism.

• Commercially sharp - experienced in demand planning, revenue forecasting, and driving commercial outcomes through data and spreadsheet-based analysis.

• Effective and diligent project management - ensuring projects for each customer and partner are delivered on time and managed clearly.

• A natural hyper-communicator - keeps all stakeholders informed, connected, and aligned without prompting.

• Skilled at coordinating both commercial and operational conversations across internal and external teams.

• Energised by a dynamic, high-growth environment where no two days are the same.

• Passionate about the health and wellness space and excited to help shape the future of drinks

What's in it for you

• Be part of a fast paced and growing business in the drinks industry
• Work with an experienced and passionate team
• The opportunity to learn from others in the team who care about staff development and progress
• The opportunity to join a company early that is in an exciting and growing sector
• A competitive salary but, more importantly, an opportunity for substantial wealth creation through equity participation
• A constant supply of REAL non-alc drinks for you to enjoy with friends and family

How to Apply:

If you're excited about the opportunity to bring innovative drinks to life and make your mark at The REAL Co., we'd love to hear from you!

Please submit your CV, salary expectations and a video cover letter detailing your experience and why you're a perfect fit for the role to ***