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Target account: Briarwood Chocolate Company — U.S. mid-market premium manufacturer (~$180M revenue). Scaling regional to national distribution.

Segment: Specialty cocoa and inclusion ingredients — single-origin, traceable, story-grade sourcing.

Opportunity: New ingredient partner slot tied to a confirmed product-line expansion. Replacement decision unfinalized.

Key insight: A long-term inclusion supplier exited four months ago. The sourcing window will not survive the next planning cycle.

• Owns the NPD pipeline and signs off on new ingredient suppliers.
• Reports directly to the COO. Sits on the internal product committee.
• Six-year tenure. Promoted 14 months ago — shaping the next sourcing cycle.

The smallest unit of authority that can move a supplier from cold to qualified.

• Supplier qualification authority: High
• NPD ingredient budget control: High
• Veto on procurement shortlists: Medium
• Visibility to COO and product committee: High

Approaching anyone above or below him resets the cycle.

Four signals. One closing window.

• Two new SKU lines confirmed for launch inside 9 months.
• A long-term inclusion supplier exited last quarter.
• Public shift toward traceable, single-origin cocoa.
• Two new R&D leads hired — capability is being built, not borrowed.

Two quarters from now, the slot is filled and the conversation is over.

They are buying narrative defensibility — not just ingredients.

• Privately held brand scaling national, with cocoa-price pressure.
• Distribution buildout and a search for stability narratives.
• Supplier base reduced from 14 to 8. Board push to differentiate on premium, not price.

A margin-stabilizing, story-grade partner — not a vendor.

• Lead with traceability and origin. Price is a closer, not an opener.
• Anchor the first conversation on their NPD calendar, not your catalog.
• Bring one sharp proof point. Not a portfolio.
• Sequence: warm-context intro → one-page fit brief → sample or meeting. No deck.

Sources

• Public records and corporate filings
• Professional networks and verified public presence
• Company announcements and industry publications

Compliance

• GDPR and CCPA care
• Legally obtained, publicly available information
• Not sold, shared, or published as a list