FMCG recruitment across the UK.
TRG FMCG is a specialist FMCG recruitment agency in the UK: we find commercial, product and engineering people for food, drink, household, beauty and personal care manufacturers and brands, from account managers to site engineering leads.
We work with branded manufacturers, own-label producers and challenger brands, from head offices in London to factories in Yorkshire, the Midlands, the North West, Wales and Scotland.
Why a specialist FMCG recruiter
FMCG hiring in the UK is shaped by a small number of very powerful customers. Four grocery multiples, two fast-growing discounters and a handful of wholesalers decide what reaches the shelf, so the people who manage those relationships, and the people who make the product at the right cost, are the hires that move the numbers.
Food and drink is the UK's largest manufacturing sector, employing close to half a million people according to the Food and Drink Federation. Add household, beauty and personal care, and you have a market where good candidates are known, rarely unemployed and usually counter-offered. That is why we only work in FMCG and only in twelve specialisms: we know who is good, who is ready to move and what it will take.
Who we recruit for
We work across the whole supply side of UK consumer goods, from global brand owners to the businesses that make retailers' own-label ranges.
Branded manufacturers
National and multinational brand owners in food, drink, household, beauty and personal care, hiring for sales, marketing, R&D and site engineering.
Own-label producers
Manufacturers who make retailers' own-brand ranges, where account management, NPD and technical teams work very closely with the retailer.
Challenger and scale-up brands
Founder-led and investor-backed brands moving from first listings to national distribution, often hiring their first national account manager or head of sales.
Co-manufacturers and suppliers
Contract manufacturers, co-packers and ingredient suppliers who need process, packaging and maintenance engineers to run other people's products well.
The channels our candidates know
In the UK, channel experience is often the first thing a hiring manager asks about. We match it carefully.
Disciplines and specialisms
We recruit in three disciplines and twelve specialisms. These are the UK job titles we fill most often in each one.
Commercial
The people who win listings, grow accounts and own the number.
- Sales & key account managementNational Account Manager · Key Account Manager · Account Controller · Customer Development Manager · Field Sales Manager
- Category & shopper marketingCategory Manager · Category Controller · Shopper Marketing Manager · Insight Manager
- Revenue growth managementRevenue Growth Manager · Pricing Manager · Trade Investment Manager · Commercial Analyst
- Commercial leadershipHead of Sales · Sales Director · Commercial Director · Managing Director
Product
The marketers, innovators and technologists behind every product.
- Brand marketingAssistant Brand Manager · Brand Manager · Senior Brand Manager · Marketing Director
- Innovation & NPDNPD Technologist · NPD Manager · Innovation Manager · Concept Developer
- Product development & R&DFood Technologist · Product Developer · Development Chef · R&D Manager
- Packaging developmentPackaging Technologist · Packaging Development Manager · Sustainable Packaging Lead
Engineering
The engineers who keep high-speed production safe, running and improving.
- Process & manufacturing engineeringProcess Engineer · Project Engineer · CI Engineer · Manufacturing Engineer
- Automation & controlsAutomation Engineer · Controls Engineer · PLC Engineer · SCADA / MES Engineer
- Maintenance & reliabilityMulti-skilled Maintenance Engineer · Reliability Engineer · Maintenance Planner · Engineering Shift Manager
- Engineering leadershipEngineering Manager · Head of Engineering · Site Director · Operations Director
Where UK FMCG hires
Commercial and marketing roles cluster around head offices and the retailers' own head offices; technical and engineering roles follow the factories. Most of our engineering searches are site-based, so commute, shift pattern and relocation shape every shortlist.
London and the South East
Most head offices and many brand, category and commercial teams. Account teams often sit within reach of the retailers' head offices: Tesco in Welwyn Garden City, Sainsbury's in London, Waitrose in Bracknell and Lidl GB in Tolworth.
Yorkshire and the Humber
A major centre for food and drink manufacturing, from bakery, confectionery and meat to ready meals, and home to Asda (Leeds) and Morrisons (Bradford).
East and West Midlands
Central for distribution and home to large food, drink and household plants. Aldi UK's head office is in Atherstone, Warwickshire.
North West
Greater Manchester, Lancashire, Cheshire and Merseyside combine head offices, including the Co-op in Manchester, with large food, drink, household and personal care sites.
East of England
Lincolnshire, Norfolk and Cambridgeshire sit close to the main growing areas, with fresh produce, poultry and vegetable processing.
Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland
Dairy, meat, bakery and drinks in Wales; spirits, seafood, bakery and soft drinks in Scotland; dairy, meat and bakery in Northern Ireland, each with its own engineering talent pool.
What's shaping UK FMCG hiring
Four forces explain most of the briefs we see in the UK right now.
Engineering and automation shortages
Multi-skilled maintenance engineers and automation and controls engineers are the hardest roles to fill on most sites. PLC platform experience, shift pattern and travel time decide who moves, and good engineers usually have more than one offer.
Revenue growth management
With cost pressure on both sides of the negotiating table, price, promotion and mix decisions get more scrutiny. RGM and pricing teams keep growing, drawing people from insight, finance and category.
Packaging regulation
Packaging extended producer responsibility (pEPR) started its first assessment year on 1 April 2025, with first invoices issued by PackUK from October 2025. Plastic Packaging Tax applies to plastic packaging with less than 30% recycled content (£228.82 per tonne from 1 April 2026), and a deposit return scheme for drinks containers is due in England, Scotland and Northern Ireland from October 2027. All three increase demand for packaging technologists and sustainability leads.
Reformulation and innovation
Rules on promoting less healthy (HFSS) foods, cost-down projects and the growth of own label keep NPD, R&D and technical teams busy, and make people who can reformulate without losing taste or margin very valuable.
How we run a UK search
Every search is run by a consultant who only works in your discipline.
A proper brief
We agree the role, the site or territory, the channels, shift pattern, car or car allowance, bonus and the real must-haves, not a copy of the job description.
Map the market
We map competitors, adjacent categories and own-label suppliers to find people who have done the job, most of whom are not on job boards.
Assess and shortlist
Every candidate is interviewed against the brief, including technical or commercial depth, and you get a short list with honest notes.
Offer and notice
We manage offers, counter-offers and notice periods (often one to three months in UK FMCG) so your hire actually starts.
Hiring between the UK and the US
Many UK manufacturers sell into the US, and US brands are building UK teams. We recruit on both sides, so you can brief one partner for roles in both markets. UK commercial, R&D and engineering people are often a good fit for US roles, and the reverse is true, but titles differ: a UK key account manager may be a national account manager in the US, and a packaging technologist is usually called a packaging engineer.
Right to work is the first question in any cross-border hire. We raise it at the brief, and we are clear with candidates from the start about whether a role offers sponsorship.
UK: Skilled Worker visa
The main route for sponsored hires into UK roles. For certificates of sponsorship issued from 22 July 2025, most roles must be at degree level (RQF 6) and the general salary threshold rose to £41,700, with some exceptions.
US: L-1, H-1B and E-2
L-1 visas cover transfers within the same company group; H-1B covers specialty occupations and is subject to an annual cap; E-2 covers treaty investors and their essential employees, and the UK is a treaty country. See our US page for more.
This is general information, not legal advice. Immigration rules change often: check the official guidance and speak to a qualified immigration adviser before making an offer.
Hiring in the US? See our CPG recruiting page →FMCG recruitment questions
All FAQs →An FMCG recruitment agency finds and assesses people for fast-moving consumer goods businesses: manufacturers, brands and their suppliers. A specialist like TRG FMCG knows the channels, categories and factory environments, so it can judge whether a key account manager has really run a grocery multiple or whether a maintenance engineer can handle high-speed packing lines.
It depends on the role. Large multi-sector agencies have reach; specialists have depth. When you compare agencies, ask how many people in your discipline they have placed recently, whether consultants only work in FMCG, how they find people who aren't on job boards and how they handle counter-offers. TRG FMCG works only in FMCG and only in twelve commercial, product and engineering specialisms.
Demand is strongest for engineering and automation, revenue growth management and packaging, and steady for brand and account management. Candidates in short-supply roles often have more than one offer, so employers who move quickly and are clear on package and progression hire the best people.
Head offices and commercial teams cluster in London and the South East and around retailer head offices. Manufacturing is spread across the country, with large concentrations in Yorkshire and the Humber, the Midlands, the North West, the East of England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.
Multi-skilled maintenance engineers, automation and controls engineers, reliability engineers, packaging technologists with recyclability experience, and revenue growth managers. These are the roles where a specialist network makes the biggest difference.
Yes. Food and drink manufacturing is a big part of our work, especially for process, automation, maintenance and engineering leadership roles, and for NPD, R&D and packaging technologists. We also recruit for household, beauty and personal care manufacturers.
Fees are agreed upfront and depend on the service. Most permanent roles are on a success basis, with retained options for senior and confidential searches. Our service is always free for candidates.
Yes. You can brief one partner for roles in both markets, including people moving between the two. Sponsorship depends on the employer, the role and the visa route, so we discuss it at the brief.
Sources
- Food and Drink Federation: careers resources (largest manufacturing sector)
- Grocery Gazette: FDF Powering Communities report figures (March 2026)
- GOV.UK: Preparing for pEPR year 1 invoicing
- GOV.UK: Plastic Packaging Tax
- GOV.UK: Deposit return scheme, producer and retailer responsibilities
- Foot Anstey: Skilled Worker visa reforms from 22 July 2025
- GOV.UK: Skilled Worker visa