Case Study — Foodservice and Hospitality Expansion
Building a Culinary Sales Team Across Canada
Industry: Foodservice and Hospitality — Location: Canada — Roles: Regional Sales Managers, Key Account Managers and Culinary Professionals
— The Challenge —
Finding professionals who could speak both the language of the kitchen and the language of business.
A global commercial kitchen technology company was expanding its presence across Canada. It needed more than conventional equipment salespeople.
Regional Sales Managers, Key Account Managers and culinary professionals had to understand commercial kitchen operations while possessing the ability to develop territories, build distributor relationships and advise sophisticated foodservice customers.
The ideal candidates required an unusual combination of experience:
Professional culinary or foodservice knowledge
Consultative sales ability
Hospitality industry credibility
Territory and account management experience
Confidence presenting technical solutions to chefs and operators
The independence to manage large Canadian regions
A strong salesperson without culinary credibility could struggle to connect with chefs. A culinary professional without commercial discipline might struggle to develop a territory. The company needed people who could do both.
“The company needed people who could do both.”
— Our Approach —
We searched at the intersection of culinary expertise and commercial leadership.
Campbell Morden developed a targeted recruitment strategy focused on professionals from commercial foodservice, hospitality, culinary operations and equipment sales.
Rather than treating each assignment as a conventional sales search, we assessed candidates against the complete customer facing role. This included their ability to understand kitchen workflows, demonstrate value, develop industry relationships and translate technical product capabilities into meaningful operational benefits.
Our search included candidates with backgrounds in:
Commercial foodservice equipment
Hotels, restaurants and institutional kitchens
Foodservice distribution
Culinary sales and product demonstrations
Regional territory development
National and regional key accounts
Hospitality operations
Candidates were evaluated for more than industry experience. We examined their ability to work independently, educate customers, represent a premium international brand and build lasting relationships with chefs, restaurant operators, hospitality groups, dealers and foodservice decision makers.
Because the expansion covered multiple Canadian markets, we also considered the distinct customer networks, languages and operating conditions within each region.
— The Result —
A stronger Canadian presence supported by professionals who understood the customer.
Campbell Morden supported the company’s expansion by recruiting Regional Sales Managers, Key Account Managers and culinary professionals across Canada.
The successful candidates brought the combination of foodservice knowledge, culinary credibility and commercial ability required to represent a specialized commercial kitchen brand.
These appointments helped strengthen relationships throughout the hospitality and foodservice industries, expand regional market coverage and provide customers with knowledgeable, locally based support.
The engagement demonstrates Campbell Morden’s ability to recruit specialized professionals whose value cannot be measured by sales experience alone. In technical foodservice markets, successful candidates must understand the solution, the customer’s operation and the commercial opportunity.
— Why the Search Worked —
The client was not simply hiring salespeople.
It needed credible foodservice professionals who could become trusted advisers to commercial kitchen customers.
Campbell Morden’s experience in technical sales and sales management recruitment allowed us to identify candidates capable of combining industry knowledge, consultative selling and independent territory development.
Looking to Expand a Specialized Sales Team?
Campbell Morden recruits Regional Sales Managers, Key Account Managers, technical sales professionals and industry specialists for companies expanding across Canada.
Build your Canadian sales team with recruiters who understand specialized markets.