Cindy Liggett likes to snack. And the company she recently joined does not make her feel guilty when she munches barbecue-flavored potato chips in her office.

Last month, Liggett was named natural foods sales director in the Rancho Dominguez office of Popchips inc., a San Francisco-based snacks maker. Instead of frying or baking its chips, the company applies heat and pressure to slices of potato, among other ingredients, to produce a “popped” chip.

In her new position, Liggett oversees natural food markets, working with different groups of retailers, sales teams and marketing departments across the country.

Every day is different for Liggett. One day she is in her office catching up with e-mails, conference calls and meetings. Two days later, she is in Seattle working with customers. By the end of the week, she’s flying to San Francisco for a trade show.

Liggett launched her grocery industry career at a college job fair during her senior year at Cal State University Fullerton after bumping into a human resources director from Bradshaw Inc., a food services business based in Santa Fe Springs,.

“When I was in school, I never thought about how food got into grocery stories,” she said.

When the human resources director explained about the chain of events and different jobs involved in the process of delivering food to consumers, Liggett wanted to learn more about the industry. She joined Bradshaw, where she stayed for 12 years.

Liggett said that she’s still learning about the industry despite a career of almost three decades. That’s why she enjoys her new role at Popchips: The company is relatively new, and it’s her job to build a strong brand.

“When I was with Kettle Foods, I used to walk into the stores and I didn’t have any problem monitoring their products,” Liggett said. “But with Popchips, it’s like being a new kid on the block. I get lots of first-time opportunities.”

Because the salty snack category is large, and Popchips is the new entry, Liggett sees challenges when it comes to selling the products. “We are still learning who our customers are. But we have been able to show our customers the benefits of our brand and get our chips into the people’s mouths,” she said.

Liggett lives in Cypress with her husband, Rodney. In her spare time, she likes to go to the cinema and is a big movie buff.