BENEO Case Study: Recruiting a Regional Sales Manager for a Key North East Territory

Overview

BENEO is a global producer of functional ingredients, supporting food, feed and pharmaceutical manufacturers with ingredient solutions derived from natural sources including chicory root, beet, rice, wheat and faba bean. The company’s portfolio includes functional fibres, functional carbohydrates, specialty rice ingredients and functional proteins, helping customers develop products with nutritional, technical and health benefits.

Paragon Talent recently partnered with BENEO to recruit a Regional Sales Manager for the North East region of the United States.

This was a critical backfill for the business. The previous person in the role, Emily Jacobson, had originally been placed by our team 3 years earlier and had gone on to be highly successful, ultimately earning a promotion into a Global Account role.

That created a positive challenge for the search.

BENEO was not simply replacing someone who had left the business. They were replacing someone who had performed extremely well, developed strong customer relationships, and progressed internally. As a result, the expectations for the next hire were naturally high.

The North East is also one of BENEO’s most important territories in the US, with an established and substantial customer base. The successful candidate needed to be capable of managing existing strategic relationships, identifying further growth opportunities, and representing a highly technical ingredient portfolio in a consultative, solution-led sales environment.

Specific Requirements for the Search

BENEO required an experienced sales professional from the specialty or functional food ingredient market.

The ideal candidate needed:

• Proven B2B sales experience within specialty, functional or added-value food ingredients
• Strong experience in solution-based and consultative sales
• The ability to manage and grow an established customer base
• Experience selling technical ingredient solutions into food and beverage manufacturers
• Strong commercial capability across both account management and business development
• A technical background, ideally including a food science degree or similar qualification
• The ability to operate credibly with R&D, procurement, technical and commercial stakeholders
• Strong cultural fit with BENEO’s collaborative and technical sales environment

Given the strength of BENEO’s portfolio, it was important that the right candidate could sell beyond price. The role required someone who could understand customer challenges, communicate technical value, and position ingredient solutions effectively across a broad range of applications.

Additional Challenge

This search carried a higher level of expectation because of the success of the previous placement.

Emily Jacobson, who Paragon Talent had placed into the same role around three years earlier, had performed strongly enough to be promoted into a Global Account position. That reflected well on the original search, but it also raised the bar for the replacement.

BENEO needed someone who could step into an important region, inherit a significant customer base, and continue the momentum already created.

The challenge was to identify a candidate who could offer:

• Immediate credibility in the specialty ingredient market
• Strong technical understanding
• The right level of commercial maturity
• The ability to manage an established territory with high expectations
• Long-term potential within the business

Our Approach

Stakeholder Alignment

We began by taking a detailed brief from BENEO to understand the specific requirements of the North East territory, the customer base, the expectations of the role, and the profile of candidate most likely to succeed.

Because this was a backfill following an internal promotion, it was important to understand not only the technical and commercial requirements of the position, but also what had made the previous hire successful.

Market Mapping

We carried out a structured mapping exercise across the specialty and functional food ingredient market.

The search began with BENEO’s direct competitors before expanding into adjacent businesses selling added-value ingredients into similar food and beverage customers.

This allowed us to identify candidates with relevant experience across:

• Functional ingredients
• Specialty food ingredients
• Added-value ingredient systems
• Technical ingredient sales
• Solution-led customer development
• Food and beverage manufacturing accounts

In total, we mapped 167 profiles as part of the initial longlist.

Targeted Headhunting

Once the longlist had been built, we narrowed the market map down to the candidates who were most relevant to BENEO’s requirements.

We then approached and headhunted selected individuals through multiple channels, focusing on candidates who had the right blend of technical understanding, customer exposure, commercial performance and cultural fit.

This was not a volume-led process. The search required careful targeting, as the successful candidate needed to match both the technical nature of BENEO’s portfolio and the importance of the North East region.

Candidate Screening

Each candidate was screened against the core requirements of the role, including:

• Specialty or functional ingredient sales experience
• Technical understanding of food ingredients
• Experience working with food and beverage manufacturers
• Track record in account management and business development
• Ability to sell through value, application knowledge and customer problem-solving
• Motivation for the opportunity
• Cultural fit with BENEO

Following this process, we presented a shortlist of five highly relevant candidates.

Each shortlisted candidate was fully screened and presented with a video profile, giving BENEO clear insight into their background, motivations, experience and suitability before interview.

Interview Process

BENEO interviewed all five shortlisted candidates.

Following first-stage Teams interviews with the hiring manager and another member of the team, the shortlist was narrowed to three finalists.

All three finalists were then invited to BENEO’s site in New Jersey for face-to-face meetings with the Managing Director.

The quality of the shortlist meant BENEO would have been comfortable progressing with all five candidates. However, the process was narrowed based on the strongest overall fit for the territory, customer base, technical requirements and long-term potential.

Following the final face-to-face interviews, a decision was made to extend an offer.

Offer Management

Paragon Talent managed the full offer and negotiation process, ensuring expectations were aligned between BENEO and the successful candidate.

This included supporting communication around the opportunity, compensation, timing and acceptance.

The process moved quickly, and we successfully secured Brianna’s acceptance.

Results

Brianna has now joined BENEO as Regional Sales Manager North East and is settling into the team well.

The search delivered:

• A successful backfill for one of BENEO’s key US territories
• A high-quality shortlist of five fully screened candidates
• Three strong finalists taken through to face-to-face interviews
• A technically credible sales professional with relevant specialty ingredient experience
• A smooth offer and acceptance process
• Continued support for BENEO following the successful promotion of a previous Paragon Talent placement

This project also highlights the value of long-term recruitment partnerships. The original hire placed by Paragon Talent went on to succeed, progress and earn promotion within BENEO. When the business needed to replace her, we were able to support again with a targeted, specialist search process.

Key Takeaways

This project demonstrates the importance of understanding not only the job description, but also the context behind the hire.

BENEO needed more than a sales professional. They needed someone capable of stepping into an important, established region following the promotion of a high-performing predecessor.

Key factors behind the successful outcome included:

• Deep knowledge of the functional and specialty ingredient market
• Targeted mapping of 167 relevant professionals
• Direct competitor mapping followed by a broader adjacent market search
• Focused headhunting through multiple channels
• Structured screening around technical, commercial and cultural fit
• Video profiles to support a clear and efficient shortlist process
• Full management of interviews, feedback, offer and negotiation

As a result, BENEO successfully secured a strong Regional Sales Manager for one of its most important US territories.

About Paragon Talent

Paragon Talent is a specialist recruitment consultancy connecting ingredient-led businesses with senior commercial, technical, operational and leadership talent.

We operate across specialist markets including:

• Flavours & Fragrance
• Food & Beverage Ingredients
• Functional Ingredients
• Nutraceuticals & Health Ingredients
• Pharmaceutical Ingredients
• Specialty Ingredients

Our deep sector expertise, global network and hands-on recruitment approach enable us to support businesses with complex and highly specialised hiring projects across Europe, North America and other international markets.

Whether a business is replacing a high-performing employee, strengthening an existing team, entering a new market, or building specialist capability, we help identify, attract and secure the people needed to support long-term growth.

About the Author

Jamie Pickup is the Founder and Director of Paragon Talent, specialising in senior-level recruitment across the ingredients, flavour, fragrance, food, beverage, nutraceutical and pharmaceutical sectors.

With almost 15 years of experience in executive search, Jamie has built a strong track record of helping international manufacturing and ingredient businesses recruit high-performing commercial leaders, technical specialists and operational executives across Europe, North America and other global markets.

FAQs

Q. Can Paragon Talent support backfill searches after internal promotions?
Yes. We regularly support clients when a successful employee is promoted internally and a critical role needs to be backfilled without losing momentum.

Q. How does Paragon Talent identify specialist ingredient sales candidates?
We combine market mapping, direct headhunting, sector knowledge and targeted outreach to identify candidates with the right technical, commercial and customer-facing experience.

Q. Does Paragon Talent recruit across the US ingredients market?
Yes. We support clients across North America, including regional, national and leadership-level searches within food ingredients, flavours, functional ingredients, nutraceuticals and pharmaceutical ingredients.

Q. Why are video profiles useful in a recruitment process?
Video profiles help clients understand a candidate’s experience, motivations, communication style and suitability before interview, making the shortlist process more transparent and efficient.

Q. What made this search complex?
The role was a backfill for a high-performing employee who had been promoted into a global position. The successful candidate needed to meet high expectations, manage an important established territory, and sell a highly technical ingredient portfolio in a solution-led way.