Stephanie Castanha, FMCG Recruitment Consultant at Hays, shares her thoughts on why the food and beverage industry is so popular. An expert in all aspects of FMCG food and beverage, including Grocery Multiples, Foodservice, HORECA, Cash and Carry and Wholesale, she'd be delighted to get in touch with anyone who has experience in FMCG and sales either by email (stephanie.castanha@hays.com ) or via the Sales Specialists UK LinkedIn group.
Saving money remains a top priority for shoppers, these days people are shopping less but with more purpose. However, according to the Food and Drink Business Confidence survey, consumer spending on food began to recover in Q1 2013, and according to global information and insights company Nielsen, European FMCG sales experienced an upturn. This is good news as the FMCG industry is key to achieving the Government's goals for economic growth, exports, employment, environmental sustainability and public health. It’s good news for the sales industry too: as consumer spending increases, food and beverage companies are expanding, leading to a range of challenging opportunities for motivated and ambitious professionals.
As food and beverage companies enjoy sales and business growth, they are also competing to ensure that their brand names are positioned in a positive light and are at the forefront of the market. In light of recent quality concerns within the food and beverage industry, Defra has launched a questionnaire to find out the public’s opinion on UK food supply. This really highlights how important customer opinion is to the market. It influences shopper behaviour, government goals and industry standards. Customers drive sales. It’s more important than ever for successful salespeople to understand their customers.
The food and beverage manufacturing industry is the single largest manufacturing sector in the UK, employing up to 400,000 people (Source: Food and Drink Federation). It’s a competitive, complex and challenging industry to work in, with a real focus on customer demand. As FMCG companies rise to the challenge of catering for busy working consumers with a variety of dietary and health needs, there are opportunities for sales people in a diverse range of roles within both large big-name companies and smaller niche organisations.
What’s more, it's not all about sales. You'll get the chance to work with business areas such as logistics, finance, marketing and more. For a salesperson, managing relationships with multiple manufacturers, retailers, customers and consumers is key. The scope for learning and development within FMCG food and beverage sales is huge.
Our consultants have in-depth knowledge of the FMCG sales jobs market, and help sales professionals across the UK to find jobs matching their skills and personalities. To find out more about how our highly-skilled consultants can support you, please visit our website.
