LinkedIn Top Companies 2024: The 10 best workplaces in consumer goods in the UK
Our inaugural LinkedIn Top Companies in consumer goods list highlights the 10 best workplaces in the sector in the UK right now. Driven by unique LinkedIn data, the methodology looks at different aspects of career progression, such as how employees are getting promoted, gaining new skills and more. You can read more about how we compile the list at the bottom of the article.
This year’s top companies are proving that investment in the employee experience is vital in today’s employment landscape – whether it’s launching upskilling initiatives to accelerate AI proficiency or offering flexible working arrangements. These are the companies leading the way as some of the best places to work, not only attracting talent, but retaining it in our ever-changing world of work.
You’ll find actionable insights on the roles, skills and functions in demand at every company on the list. See a company that sparks your interest? Take a look at their current job openings and connect with employees you may know, or use the new I’m interested button to signal your interest to recruiters.
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Here are this year’s 10 Top Companies in consumer goods in the UK.
1. Kimberly-Clark
Top locations in the UK: London, Cheshire, Brighton and Hove | Most notable skills: Operational Efficiency, Inventory Management, Product Development | Most common job titles: Mechanical Technician, Machine Operator, Customer Business Manager | Largest job functions: Operations, Engineering, Marketing | About Kimberly-Clark: Kimberly-Clark is an American multinational personal care corporation producing sanitary paper-based products. Its portfolio ranges from tissue paper to adult, baby and feminine care products, comprising well-known brands such as Kleenex, Andrex and Huggies.
2. Kraft Heinz
Top locations in the UK: London, Greater Manchester | Most notable skills: Food Manufacturing, Maintenance & Repair, Enterprise Software | Most common job titles: Engineer, Account Manager | Largest job functions: Operations, Sales, Marketing | About Kraft Heinz: A food and beverage company formed by the merger of Kraft Foods and H.J. Heinz Company in 2015, the Kraft Heinz brand portfolio comprises Heinz-branded condiments and tinned goods including soup and baked beans, as well as Amoy, Daddies and HP Sauce.
3. Mars
Top locations in the UK: London, Leicester, Slough | Most notable skills: Manufacturing Operations, Supply Chain Management, Product Development | Most common job titles: Customer Development Manager, Production Operator, Customer Representative | Largest job functions: Operations, Sales, Engineering | Hybrid job availability: 55.1% | About Mars: One of the largest global players in confectionery, Mars Incorporated’s brand portfolio includes its namesake chocolate brand, Mars, as well as M&Ms, Snickers, Bounty, Twix, Maltesers and Milky Way, to name a few. It also owns other food brands including Dolmio and Ben’s Original and pet nutrition brands Pedigree, Whiskas and Sheba.
4. PepsiCo
Top locations in the UK: Reading, Leicester, London | Most notable skills: Food Manufacturing, Food Service Operations, Product Testing | Most common job titles: Supply Chain Associate, Manufacturing Technician, Business Development Representative | Largest job functions: Operations, Sales, Marketing | About PepsiCo: PepsiCo has an extensive portfolio of convenience food and drinks labels including Pepsi, Lay’s, Doritos, Quaker and Starbucks-branded products. An American multinational company, it caters to consumers in more than 200 countries and territories.
5. Reckitt
Top locations in the UK: Slough, Hull, London | Most notable skills: Pharmaceutical Manufacturing, Chemical Processing, Product Testing | Most common job titles: Biochemist, Regulatory Affairs Associate, Brand Manager | Largest job functions: Operations, Research, Marketing | Remote job availability: 73.88% Hybrid | About Reckitt: Headquartered in Slough, England, Reckitt is a British multinational company producing health, hygiene and nutrition products. The company was formed in March 1999 by the merger of British company Reckitt & Colman plc and Dutch Benckiser NV. Its brands include Calgon, Clearasil, Cillit Bang, Dettol, Durex, Gaviscon, Lysol, Strepsils, Vanish, Veet and Air Wick.
6. Mondelēz International
Top locations in the UK: London, Reading, Sheffield | Most notable skills: Food Manufacturing, Retail Packaging, Food Service Operations | Most common job titles: Sales Executive, Supply Chain Planning Manager, Change Manager | Largest job functions: Operations, Sales, Research | About Mondelēz International: Mondelēz International, an American multinational formerly known as Kraft Foods before it was broken into two separate companies, is a major player in the global food snacking industry. Known for biscuits, chocolate and baked snacks, some of its most popular brands are Cadbury, Oreo, Toblerone, Milka, Ritz and Belvita.
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7. Procter & Gamble
Top locations in the UK: London, Tyneside Area, Reading | Most notable skills: Fast-Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG), Manufacturing, Supply Chain Management | Most common job titles: Account Manager, Process Engineer, Brand Manager | Largest job functions: Operations, Sales, Research | About Procter & Gamble: Founded in 1837 by William Procter and James Gamble, The Procter & Gamble Company is an American multinational consumer goods corporation specialising in a wide range of personal health and hygiene products. Some of the biggest names in its portfolio extend from bathroom stalwarts (Head & Shoulders, Herbal Essences, Gillette, Olay) to home care (Fairy, Febreze, Flash) and fabric care (Ariel, Bold, Daz).
8. Unilever
Top locations in the UK: London, Liverpool, Leeds | Most notable skills: Retail Packaging, Chemical Processing, Data-driven Decision Making | Most common job titles: Brand Manager, Account Manager, Process Engineer | Largest job functions: Operations, Marketing, Research | About Unilever: British multinational Unilever produces a wide range of consumer goods in various categories. Its food and drink portfolio includes brands such as Marmite and Hellman’s. Beauty brands include Dove, Lynx and Radox and in the home care space it owns Comfort, Domestos and Surf. The company recently announced intentions to split off its ice cream business, which comprises Ben & Jerry’s, Magnum and Wall’s, as part of a cost-saving plan.
9. Diageo
Top locations in the UK: London, Edinburgh, Glasgow | Most notable skills: Retail Packaging, Chemical Processing, Food Service Operations | Most common job titles: Account Manager, Project Manager, Production Operator | Largest job functions: Operations, Business Development, Marketing | Remote job availability: 22.96% Hybrid | About Diageo: A major player in the global alcoholic beverage industry, Diageo is a British multinational company with over 200 brands. Among its premium drinks portfolio are Smirnoff vodka, Johnnie Walker Scotch whisky, Tanqueray gin and Guinness.
10. Henkel
Top locations in the UK: London | Most notable skills: Competitive Strategies, Cosmetology, Product Marketing | Most common job titles: Sales Manager, Stock Clerk, Account Manager | Largest job functions: Sales, Operations, Marketing | Remote job availability: 81.82% Hybrid | About Henkel: Hailing from Germany and operating globally, Henkel has a diversified portfolio of industrial and consumer businesses. It counts hair care brand Schwarzkopf among its most famous, and also produces brands including Dylon, got2b and Oust descaler.
Want to see some of the best companies in other sectors? You can also check out the Top Companies in the UK in tech and finance.
Methodology
Our methodology uses LinkedIn data to rank companies based on eight pillars that have been shown to lead to career progression: ability to advance; skills growth; company stability; external opportunity; company affinity; gender diversity; educational background and employee presence in the country. Ability to advance tracks employee promotions within a company and when they move to a new company, based on standardised job titles. Skills growth looks at how employees across the company are gaining skills while employed at the company, using standardised LinkedIn skills. Company stability tracks attrition over the past year, as well as the percentage of employees that stay at the company at least three years. External opportunity looks at Recruiter outreach across employees at the company, signalling demand for workers coming from these companies. Company affinity, which seeks to measure how supportive a company’s culture is, looks at connection volume on LinkedIn among employees, controlled for company size. Gender diversity measures gender parity within a company and its subsidiaries. Educational background examines the variety of educational attainment among employees, from no degree up to Ph.D. levels, reflecting a commitment to recruiting a wide range of professionals. Finally, employee presence in the country looks at the company’s number of employees in the country relative to other companies, as a means of capturing companies that provide a diverse work environment and more opportunities for career advancement and networking.
To be eligible, companies must have had 5,000 or more global employees with at least 500 in the country as of Dec. 31, 2023.
Attrition can be no higher than 10% over the methodology time period, based on LinkedIn data. Similarly, organisations that have had layoffs of 10% or more of their workforce based on corporate announcements or public, reliable sources between Jan. 1, 2023 and the list launch, are not eligible. These decisions are made by the LinkedIn News team based on company statements and/or reputable news outlets. Only parent companies rank on the list; majority-owned subsidiaries and data about those subsidiaries are incorporated into the parent company score. The methodology time frame is Jan. 1, 2023 through Dec. 31, 2023. This analysis represents the world seen through the lens of LinkedIn data, drawn from the anonymized and aggregated profile information of LinkedIn's members around the world.
We exclude all staffing and recruiting firms, educational institutions and government agencies. We also exclude LinkedIn, its parent company Microsoft and Microsoft subsidiaries.
About company insights
Company insights were sourced from LinkedIn Talent Insights and include the parent company and majority-owned subsidiaries. Data reflects aggregated public member data from active LinkedIn profiles in the relevant country and includes employee profiles associated with the parent company and majority-owned subsidiaries on LinkedIn. We exclude members who identify as interns or contractors. All insights reflect a 12-month time period looking back from January 2024. Top locations were categorised as the regions or cities that employed the largest percentage of each company. Skills data was derived from measuring the most frequent unique skills among a company’s employees, relative to other companies. Most common job titles represent the occupations most common within each company. Largest job function measures the function area most prevalent within each company. Remote and hybrid job availabilitymeasures jobs flagged as “remote” or “hybrid” by the company or containing similar keywords.
Reported and proofread by: Aaron Toumazou
Methodology and insights by: Nadine Fares
President, Wow! Stuff | Chairman, Hot House Games | Investor (private projects)
8moOut of the top 10 the one that resonates for me most is the one I would hear about from my bosses weekly - when I was a junior salesman in an entrepreneur owned consumer goods company. That company was Mars. My bosses would always be on the look out for people who had once worked at Mars and had gone through their sales and marketing programmes. They would say ‘their training is a level above any other company’. Over time I met a few ex Mars people and their professionalism was always first class. It felt like they’d been to an elite school, the special forces of the consumer goods industry 🤣
Co-founder | Chief Strategy Officer I Investor | Deep Tech
8moAaron Toumazou. Thanks for getting in touch! The commitment these consumer companies have toward fostering employee experiences is exceptional. Unilever, Procter & Gamble & PepsiCo stand out on the list. The emphasis on sustainability, digital transformation, and personalization is reshaping the Consumer Goods Industry. Companies that prioritize innovation, flexible work arrangements, and employee development are poised to thrive in this dynamic environment.
Helping Startups and SMEs Expand Globally with Their Medical Devices | CEO - Hands Associates Ltd | Creator of The Healthcare Export Accelerator Programme | Host of the HandsOn Business Podcast | Author | Entrepreneur
8moReally interesting article but I notice there isn't any parameter that records customer satisfaction or retention (over a longer period), sick rate etc I know this data isn't that easy to get from Linkedin but I thibk its really important becaue it tells you more about the specific culture rather than just about your job prospects. I.e. I may be able to progress my career well in some of theae companies but if I have to do it at the expense of my family, mental or physical health, then it wouldn't be a great place to work. I'm not suggesting that is the case I'm just suggesting that there are other factors which aren't measure here that you'd need for a true measure. Enjoyed the read and wondering if there is a way to include some of the factors I mentioned?
Congratulations to all 10 amazing companies that made it to the #LinkedInTopCompanies list 👏
Technical Author | Self-Help Content Specialist | CRM Management & Organisational Efficiency Enthusiast
8moIt's noteworthy to mention the global nature of these top consumer goods companies. While they're making waves in the UK market, it's important to recognize that many of these companies, like Kimberly-Clark, Kraft Heinz, and PepsiCo, are not originally from the UK but have established a strong presence and contributed significantly to the country's economy and job market. This global perspective not only enriches the consumer goods sector but also offers employees a diverse and inclusive environment to grow, learn, and thrive. It's a testament to the industry's ability to adapt, evolve, and embrace talent from different backgrounds, contributing to a dynamic and resilient workforce. So, while these top companies may have roots elsewhere, their commitment to the UK market and their contributions to shaping the consumer goods landscape are truly commendable. It's an exciting time to be part of this thriving industry, and these companies are leading the charge with their innovation, vision, and dedication to excellence. 🌍🌟