CPG recruiters expect US consumer goods companies to hire for 2027 in three places: revenue growth management (RGM) and analytics, plant automation and technical skills, and retailer-facing commercial roles. Hiring is selective, not broad. Companies are protecting headcount where they can, and paying for the skills that move margin or keep lines running.
This article sets out what the published data says, where demand is strongest by function, how remote and on-site working is settling, and what UK and European brands should plan for before they enter the US. In the UK the same industry is called FMCG. In the US it is CPG, or consumer packaged goods.
What the labor data says about CPG hiring
The long-run picture is positive. The US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) projects that food and beverage manufacturing employment will grow from about 2.1 million in 2024 to over 2.2 million in 2034. It is projected to add more jobs than any other manufacturing sector, about 130,000. That is growth of 6.2%, against 3.1% for total employment.
Within that, beverage manufacturing is projected to grow fastest at 11.4%, adding about 37,800 jobs. Bakeries and tortilla manufacturing are projected to add 18,800, and other food manufacturing, which includes snacks, 21,900. Fruit and vegetable preserving, seafood and grain milling are expected to stay roughly flat.
Two cautions. These are ten-year projections, not a forecast for next year. And the near-term picture is mixed: some large manufacturers are restructuring portfolios and closing sites, while others add capacity in growth categories. That is why demand looks uneven by function and by company type.
How CPG recruiters see demand by function
The table below summarizes where we expect the pressure to sit in 2027. The evidence column uses published figures. Demand strength is our assessment as a specialist recruiter, not a measured statistic.
| Function | Demand outlook | What is driving it | Published evidence |
|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue growth management and pricing analytics | Strong | Pricing, pack architecture and promotion decisions now run on models | POI 2026: 34% of organizations at predictive maturity, 10% at prescriptive, 25% using AI or ML for pricing |
| National and key account management (Walmart, Kroger, Target, Costco) | Steady, selective | Joint business plans and trade terms need people who can use data in the room | BCG: AI is being applied to customer planning and the digital shelf |
| Brand marketing and innovation | Selective | Focused portfolios and faster innovation cycles; disrupter brands taking share | Deloitte describes a move to more focused, category-led portfolios |
| Automation and controls engineering | Strong | Labor gaps push plants toward automation in inspection, changeover and handling | PMMI: end users plan automation for loading, inspection and changeover |
| Maintenance, reliability and technicians | Strong, hard to fill | Retirements, turnover and competition for technicians | PMMI: 95% of CPG companies struggle to hire skilled operators and technicians |
| Packaging and R&D | Steady | Pack attributes, reformulation and functional products | POI 2026: 52% prioritize pack attributes as a growth driver |
For deeper pay context, see our US CPG salary guide. For the retailer-facing end of the market, read how to hire a national account manager for Walmart, Kroger and Target.
Automation and RGM: two growth areas with the same skills gap
RGM is moving from reporting to decision support. The Promotion Optimization Institute's 2026 research found 34% of CPG organizations at a predictive analytics level and 27% still diagnostic. Only 10% have reached prescriptive capability, though 32% aimed to get there in 2026. Only 25% use AI or machine learning to optimize pricing.
That gap is the hiring story. Companies need people who can build or challenge an elasticity model, then take the answer into a retailer meeting and defend it. BCG's 2026 work on AI in CPG notes that CPGs are applying AI from concept through RGM, customer planning and the digital shelf, and estimates that scaling it across the demand chain could add 220 to 350 basis points of EBIT. Few companies are capturing that value at scale yet. If you are building this team, start with our view on RGM hiring and the RGM recruitment specialism.
On the plant floor, the driver is labor. PMMI's 2025 Inside the Workforce Gap research found 95% of CPG companies surveyed struggle to hire skilled operators and technicians, and nearly 60% expect it to get harder. Many plan to automate loading and unloading, inspection and changeover. They also cite barriers: return on investment, small plant footprints and downtime during installation. Automation does not remove the need for people. It changes the people you need: controls engineers, maintenance technicians who can work across mechanical and electrical, and reliability leads. See the automation skills in demand in food and beverage plants and our automation and controls recruitment page.
Remote, hybrid and on-site: what is settling in CPG
There is no single CPG policy. Plant, supply chain and quality roles are on-site by nature. Commercial, marketing and RGM roles at large manufacturers are mostly hybrid, with set office days. Fully remote roles are the exception, and more common at smaller brands and in functions such as finance and analytics.
For field sales and account teams, geography matters more than policy. Many retailer buying teams sit in a small number of hubs, and being within reach of them is part of the job. Be honest about this in the job ad. A role advertised as remote that becomes hybrid after six months costs you the hire and your reputation with candidates. Where you need on-site presence, say how many days and why, and pay for it with relocation or a clear salary position.
Outlook for UK and European brands entering the US
The US remains attractive, but the cost of entry has risen. The UK Food and Drink Federation reports that UK food and drink exports to the US fell 16.5% in the first half of 2026 after the 10% US tariff, and expects further falls as EU producers hold a more favorable position. Its first-quarter data showed exports to the US down 27.9% year on year to £529.6m.
The Grocer's reporting on UK brands trying to crack America points to what that means in practice. Distributors and brokers act as gatekeepers to shelf space, and alcohol brands face state-by-state rules. Even so, funded UK challengers in functional drinks, coffee and supplements are still investing in the US.
For these brands, the first US hires matter more than the first shipment. The usual early roles are a head of US sales who knows brokers and distributors, a key account lead for one or two target retailers, and someone to own pricing and trade spend from day one. UK commercial leaders moving across also need to adjust. Read what changes when moving from UK FMCG to US CPG, and our US recruiting page for how we support brands building a US team.
A six-step plan for 2027 CPG hiring
Use this sequence to decide where to spend headcount:
- Rank roles by margin impact. Put RGM, pricing and key account roles tied to your top retailers first, then plant roles that protect line efficiency.
- Audit your plant skills gap. List retirements due in 24 months and the technicians who hold knowledge no one has written down. Plan hires before the leaving date.
- Match automation plans to people. For each planned inspection, changeover or handling project, name the controls and maintenance owners before you buy equipment.
- Set the work model per role. Decide on-site, hybrid or remote by function, and state it in the advert.
- Benchmark pay early. Check ranges against a current guide before you open the role, not after the first rejected offer.
- Decide how to search. Use contingency for volume roles, and retained search for senior commercial or plant leadership. For project peaks, consider interim cover.
If you are staffing new capacity, our guide to food manufacturing recruitment for a new factory covers the sequencing. If your priority is a commercial leader, see the commercial director recruitment specialism.
Frequently asked questions
The strongest demand is for revenue growth management and pricing analytics, automation and controls engineers, and maintenance and reliability technicians. Retailer-facing national account roles and brand and innovation roles continue, but more selectively. Demand is uneven by company: restructuring at some large manufacturers sits alongside growth in beverage, snacks and functional categories.
Over the long run, yes. The Bureau of Labor Statistics projects food and beverage manufacturing will add about 130,000 jobs between 2024 and 2034, more than any other manufacturing sector. Beverage manufacturing is projected to grow fastest. These are ten-year projections, so near-term hiring can still be uneven.
Very hard. PMMI's 2025 Inside the Workforce Gap research found 95% of CPG companies surveyed struggle to hire skilled operators and technicians, and nearly 60% expect the problem to get worse. Retirements, turnover and competition for technicians are the main causes, which is why many plants are investing in automation and training.
Most roles are on-site or hybrid. Plant, quality and supply chain roles are on-site by nature. Commercial, marketing and RGM roles at larger manufacturers are typically hybrid with fixed office days. Fully remote roles exist but are less common, so employers should state the work model clearly in the job advert.
Usually the first senior commercial hire comes early. US distributors and brokers act as gatekeepers to shelf space, and retailer relationships take time to build. A head of US sales or a lead for one or two target retailers helps a brand set pricing, trade spend and ranging plans that work in the US, not just the UK.
CPG recruiters keep standing relationships with passive candidates, know current pay ranges by function and region, and can judge whether a candidate's retailer or plant experience transfers. That matters most for scarce profiles such as RGM leads, controls engineers and key account managers, where open job adverts rarely reach the right people.