Contingent Executive Search
CPG Executive Search
VP of Sales through CEO for food, beverage, and packaged goods manufacturers — sourced against real category management and retail-channel track record.
- Senior Practice Director, Blue Signal Search
- Contingent-first · No up-front retainer
- Twelve-month guarantee on every placement
I recruit CPG executive leadership — VP of Sales, VP of Marketing, Head of Category Management, Head of Supply Planning, Brand Director, and CEO-level roles — for food, beverage, and packaged goods manufacturers selling through grocery, mass, club, and e-commerce retail channels. Sourced against real category management and retail-buyer track record, not a generalist consumer-brand resume filter. Contingent-first. No up-front retainer. Every placement carries a twelve-month guarantee.
CPG executive search runs on category and retail-channel track record
Generalist consumer-brand recruiting treats “CPG experience” as a single resume line. That misses the real evaluation question: has this person actually carried a retail buyer relationship through a real slotting negotiation and category review — or was their consumer-brand exposure limited to direct-to-consumer digital sales with no grocery, mass, or club-channel experience at all.
I work the CPG manufacturer stack specifically: food manufacturers, beverage companies, and packaged goods brands selling through grocery, mass, club, and e-commerce retail channels — from emerging, founder-led brands scaling their first major retail placement to established manufacturers replacing category and sales leadership. This is a distinct evaluation lane from corporate retail-brand leadership, which the Retail Recruiters hub covers, and from the cross-industry supply chain function, which Supply Chain Recruiters covers.
Roles I recruit for
VP of Sales — leaders who have actually carried a retail-buyer relationship through a real slotting and category review, not generalized B2B or DTC sales experience.
VP of Marketing / Brand Director — leaders who can build brand equity and retail-shelf positioning specific to a CPG category, not a generic consumer-marketing background.
Head of Category Management — the person who owns the retail-buyer-facing category strategy and shelf-space negotiation.
Head of Supply Planning — leaders who can run demand forecasting and co-manufacturer relationships specific to a CPG production and distribution model.
CEO / Founder-level leadership — for emerging CPG brands building a founding go-to-market team ahead of a major retail-channel placement or funding milestone.
Blue Signal Search vertical: as Senior Practice Director, my desk has placed VP of Sales and VP of Marketing leadership at emerging beverage and packaged food brands, plus Head of Category Management and Head of Supply Planning hires at packaged goods manufacturers — the specific search history behind this page, not a generalist recruiter's claim.
Pain patterns I see every quarter
“Consumer brand experience” gets used as a generic filter, ignoring retail-channel exposure. A candidate whose brand experience is limited to direct-to-consumer digital sales does not automatically transfer to a grocery or club-channel retail-buyer relationship — the evaluation criteria are genuinely different.
Generalist recruiters can’t evaluate real category-management or buyer-relationship track record. Distinguishing a candidate who actually carried a slotting negotiation from one who only supported it requires real fluency in retail-channel dynamics.
Emerging CPG brands outrun their go-to-market bench. A brand scaling past its first regional retail placement toward a national chain often needs a second-inning VP of Sales who has already carried that scale-up — generalist consumer recruiters cannot source that market.
Compensation competes against well-funded emerging brands and larger manufacturers’ internal mobility. Buyers hiring VP of Sales or Marketing need a real competing-offer picture across both emerging and established CPG companies, not a generic consumer-goods salary survey.
Supply planning and co-manufacturer relationships get treated like a generic operations hire. Head of Supply Planning searches require evaluating CPG-specific forecasting and co-manufacturer coordination experience, not general supply chain background.
Category management searches get treated like a generic marketing hire. A Head of Category Management’s value is tied to real, attributable retail-buyer relationship and shelf-negotiation experience, not marketing tenure alone.
How I run the search
I start by confirming the retail-channel mix — grocery, mass, club, or e-commerce — and the brand’s current stage, because that context defines what a credible VP of Sales or Head of Category Management candidate actually looks like. From there, sourcing runs against real, attributable category-management and retail-buyer track record.
Engagements are contingent-first. No up-front retainer required to start. Every placement carries a twelve-month guarantee — the only quantified claim on this site.
This search runs under Blue Signal Search, a national contingent and retained executive search firm — the affiliation gives this desk firm-level sourcing infrastructure and reference-checkable delivery history across food, beverage, and packaged goods leadership roles.
Competitive positioning (respectful)
Heidrick & Struggles / Korn Ferry / Spencer Stuart — built for retained C-suite search at Fortune 500 packaged goods scale, not the VP and Director-level searches most emerging and mid-market CPG brands actually need filled at speed. Not a competing lane for this hub.
Cross-hub and next steps
For corporate and headquarters leadership at retail brands themselves, see Retail Recruiters. For the cross-industry supply chain function, including food and beverage supply chain roles, see Supply Chain Recruiters. For hospitality, beauty, luxury goods, and fashion leadership, see Consumer Lifestyle Executive Search.
Schedule a 30-Minute Call with Dan — Calendly, dpoore@bluesignal.com, or 669-900-4504. That is the only conversion path.
How a search works
- 01 Confirm the retail-channel mix
Grocery, mass, club, and e-commerce each carry different buyer relationships and slotting dynamics — the search starts with that context, not a generic "consumer brand" title match.
- 02 Source against real category and retail-buyer track record
Candidates evaluated against actual, attributable experience carrying a retail-buyer relationship or category management assignment, not a resume claim.
- 03 Close with guarantee
Contingent-first engagement, clear channel-mix and stage context, twelve-month guarantee on the placement.
Track record
CPG Placements
Roles placed across food, beverage, and packaged goods manufacturing. Client names and dates are withheld for confidentiality — role, level, and organization type are shown exactly as placed.
| Role placed | Level | Platform scale |
|---|---|---|
| VP of Sales | VP | Direct-hire, emerging beverage brand |
| VP of Marketing | VP | Direct-hire, packaged food manufacturer |
| Head of Category Management | Director/Head | Direct-hire, packaged goods company |
| Head of Supply Planning | Director/Head | Direct-hire, food manufacturer |
| CEO | C-Suite | Direct-hire, emerging CPG brand |
Every placement above carries a twelve-month guarantee. The only quantified claim published on this site — no fee percentages, no invented placement counts.
Case study
A recent placement
An emerging beverage brand needed a VP of Sales who had actually carried a retail buyer relationship through a real grocery or club-channel slotting negotiation, not someone whose "consumer brand" experience was limited to direct-to-consumer digital sales. We sourced against that specific retail-channel and buyer-relationship track record, and the hire landed the brand's first major grocery chain placement inside the standard search window.
The commitment
Twelve-month guarantee
Every placement carries a twelve-month guarantee. That is the only quantified claim on this site — no fee percentages, no invented placement counts.
Get in touch
Schedule a 30-Minute Call with Dan
Contingent-first. No up-front retainer. One conversion path — book the call.
Frequently asked questions
What CPG roles do you recruit for?
VP of Sales, VP of Marketing, Head of Category Management, Head of Supply Planning, Brand Director, and CEO-level roles across food, beverage, and packaged goods manufacturers.
How is this different from your Retail Recruiters or Supply Chain Recruiters hubs?
Retail Recruiters covers corporate and headquarters leadership for retail brands themselves — the companies selling to consumers. Supply Chain Recruiters covers the cross-industry supply chain function. This hub is specific to CPG manufacturers — food, beverage, and packaged goods companies — and the retail-channel sales, category management, and brand leadership roles unique to getting a product onto a retail shelf.
Do you work with emerging or early-stage CPG brands?
Yes. Emerging CPG brands scaling past founder-led sales into a real retail-channel go-to-market are a core part of this hub, alongside established packaged goods manufacturers.
Do you place category management and retail-buyer-facing roles?
Yes. Category Management and retail-buyer-facing sales roles are evaluated against real grocery, mass, club, or e-commerce channel negotiation experience, not a generic sales resume.
What is the twelve-month guarantee?
Every placement carries a twelve-month guarantee. That is the only quantified claim I publish — no fee percentages and no invented placement counts.
Who typically signs a CPG executive search engagement?
CEOs and Founders at emerging CPG brands, and VPs of Sales, Marketing, or Supply Chain at established food, beverage, and packaged goods manufacturers scaling or replacing leadership.