When Should a Growing CPG Brand Hire a VP of Sales?
For an emerging consumer brand, sales leadership can be the difference between getting into retail and actually building a scalable retail business. Founders often lead sales themselves in the early stages. But as a CPG brand grows, selling becomes more complex: national retail accounts, distributors, brokers, pricing, promotions, forecasting, retailer relationships, and sales team management all require increasing attention.
So when should a CPG brand hire a VP of Sales? The short answer: when sales have become too important and too complex for the founder to manage alone.
Signs Your CPG Brand Needs a VP of Sales
There is no single revenue threshold that determines when to hire a VP of Sales. Instead, look for signs that your sales function has outgrown its current structure. You may be ready to hire a VP of Sales if:
The founder is still personally managing most major retail relationships.
The brand is entering or preparing to enter major national retailers.
Sales opportunities are growing faster than the team can manage.
There is no consistent sales strategy or forecasting process.
Retailer relationships depend heavily on the founder.
The company needs to build and manage a sales team.
The brand is expanding across multiple channels or markets.
The founder is spending less time on strategy because they are constantly managing sales.
The company needs stronger relationships with buyers, distributors, brokers, or national accounts.
At this stage, a VP of Sales is not simply another salesperson. They are responsible for building the commercial engine that turns distribution opportunities into sustainable revenue.
If you're also evaluating which executive a founder should hire first, sales leadership should be considered alongside operations, finance, marketing, and other critical functions.
VP of Sales vs. Head of Sales: What's the Difference?
The titles can overlap, particularly at growing CPG companies. Generally, a Head of Sales is more likely to be a hands-on sales leader focused on executing the existing strategy, managing accounts, and driving near-term revenue.
A VP of Sales typically operates at a broader strategic level. Depending on the company's size and structure, the role may own:
Sales strategy and revenue targets
National and strategic accounts
Retailer and distributor relationships
Sales team hiring and management
Forecasting and pipeline development
Channel expansion
Pricing, trade spend, and commercial strategy
Broker and agency relationships
Go-to-market planning
For an emerging brand, either title can work. The scope of the role matters more than the title.
When Should a Founder Stop Owning Sales?
Founders usually own sales early on. Their relationships, passion, product knowledge, and ability to tell the brand story can be powerful advantages.
But founder-led sales eventually becomes a constraint. The transition often makes sense when the founder is spending too much time managing accounts instead of leading the business, or when sales requires capabilities the founder cannot realistically build alone.
The goal isn't to remove the founder from sales entirely. A strong VP of Sales should institutionalize the founder's relationships and knowledge while building a sales organization that can operate without depending on one person.
This is part of a broader question: How should a growing consumer brand build its executive leadership team?
What Changes When a CPG Brand Moves Into Major Retail?
Moving from primarily DTC sales into major retail fundamentally changes the sales function.
DTC gives brands direct access to consumers and control over the customer experience. Retail introduces a different set of stakeholders, economics, and operating requirements.
A retail-focused sales leader needs to understand:
Retailer-specific buying processes
National account management
Distributor relationships
Broker management
Retailer negotiations
Trade promotions and spending
Assortment and distribution strategy
Forecasting and inventory requirements
Category dynamics and competitive positioning
Retailer-specific performance metrics
Major retailers also expect brands to bring more than a compelling product. They want a clear commercial strategy, reliable execution, and an understanding of how the brand can drive the category. That makes retail experience one of the most important considerations when hiring a CPG sales executive.
DTC vs. Retail Sales Leadership
A successful DTC sales leader is not automatically the right VP of Sales for a retail-focused CPG company. DTC growth tends to emphasize customer acquisition, conversion, retention, digital merchandising, and performance marketing. Retail sales leadership requires a different skill set: buyer relationships, negotiations, distribution, forecasting, trade strategy, category management, and account development.
For a brand moving from DTC into retail, look for a leader who has actually scaled consumer products through the channels you are targeting. The ideal candidate doesn't necessarily need experience at a massive CPG company. In many cases, experience successfully scaling an emerging brand can be more valuable than experience operating inside a much larger organization.
What Experience Should You Look for in a VP of Sales?
When hiring a VP of Sales for a CPG brand, prioritize relevant experience over impressive titles.
Look for a candidate who has:
Experience selling consumer products through your target channels
Existing relationships with relevant retailers or distributors
A track record of growing revenue and distribution
Experience building or scaling sales teams
Strong commercial and financial judgment
Experience with forecasting and sales planning
The ability to balance growth with profitability
Experience working cross-functionally with marketing, operations, finance, and product
The ability to operate strategically while remaining hands-on
Most importantly, ask: Has this person solved the type of sales problem our company is about to face? A VP who built a $500 million retail business may not be the right fit for a $20 million emerging brand. The best CPG sales executive is one whose experience matches the company's current stage and next stage of growth.
Common Mistakes When Hiring CPG Sales Leadership
One of the biggest mistakes growing consumer brands make is hiring based on the candidate's title or relationships alone.
Other common mistakes include:
Hiring a big-company executive for an entrepreneurial environment.
A leader accustomed to significant resources and large teams may struggle in a lean organization where they need to build the infrastructure themselves.
Overvaluing retailer relationships.
Relationships matter, but they aren't enough. You need someone who can create a repeatable sales strategy and build an organization around those relationships.
Hiring for the current problem instead of the next stage.
Your VP of Sales should be capable of solving today's challenges while preparing the company for the next level of scale.
Failing to define ownership.
Before hiring, clarify what the VP owns: revenue, accounts, brokers, forecasting, pricing, trade spend, team building, or some combination.
Waiting too long.
If the founder has become the bottleneck for every major sales decision, the business may already be overdue for experienced sales leadership.
For more guidance, see our breakdown of the biggest executive hiring mistakes growing consumer brands make.
Finding the Right Sales Leader for Your Next Stage of Growth
Hiring a VP of Sales is one of the most consequential leadership decisions a growing CPG brand can make.
The right executive can help build a scalable commercial strategy, strengthen key retail relationships, develop a high-performing sales organization, and prepare the business for its next stage of growth. The wrong hire can create costly setbacks, particularly when a company is entering new channels, expanding into major retail, or navigating rapid growth.
At Fairfield Partners, we specialize in helping consumer brands identify and recruit the executive talent needed to scale. We understand that the right VP of Sales isn't defined by title alone. The best candidate must have experience relevant to your category, channels, business model, and stage of growth.
Our executive search process focuses on finding leaders who can address the challenges your business faces today while bringing the experience and perspective needed for what comes next.
Whether you're hiring your first senior sales leader, building out a broader commercial organization, or looking for an experienced executive to lead your next phase of retail growth, Fairfield Partners helps consumer brands make critical leadership hires with confidence.
Looking to hire a VP of Sales or other commercial leader for your CPG or consumer brand? Learn more about Fairfield Partners' CPG executive search expertise.
