What Is the Consumer Economy?

The concept of the consumer economy is more relevant today than ever before, especially for professionals looking to hire talent in the consumer products industry. As businesses strive to meet evolving market demands, understanding the consumer economy becomes crucial for strategic planning, hiring, and growth.

What is the consumer economy?

At its core, the consumer economy is an economy driven by the buying and selling of consumer goods and services. This type of economy relies heavily on consumer spending as a primary driver of economic growth and stability. When consumers purchase goods and services, they stimulate production, create jobs, and drive business revenues, leading to an overall healthier economy.

Consumer behavior — how people decide to spend their money — plays a pivotal role in shaping the consumer economy. Factors influencing consumer behavior include income levels, cultural trends, technological advancements, and broader economic conditions. Consequently, the consumer economy is dynamic and continually evolving, adapting to the changing preferences and habits of consumers.

Key industries in the consumer economy

Several industries are integral to the consumer economy, providing the goods and services that drive consumer spending. Here are some primary sectors — all of which are industries that ForceBrands specializes in.

Beverage

The beverage industry encompasses everything from soft drinks and bottled water to alcoholic beverages like beer, wine, and spirits. Innovations in health-focused drinks, craft beverages, and new flavors consistently attract consumer interest, making this industry a significant player in the consumer economy.

Food

The food industry is vast, including everything from fresh produce and packaged goods to restaurant services. Trends such as organic foods, plant-based diets, and convenience meals are continually shaping consumer demands, prompting the industry to innovate and expand.

Beauty and personal care

The beauty industry covers skincare, haircare, cosmetics, and personal grooming products. The increasing focus on wellness, self-care, and natural ingredients has spurred growth in this sector, with consumers seeking products that align with their health-conscious lifestyles.

Wellness and longevity

The wellness industry is broad, spanning fitness equipment, nutritional supplements, mental health apps, and more. As people prioritize their well-being, this industry has seen significant growth, reflecting consumer desires for healthier lifestyles and preventative care.

Cannabis

The cannabis industry encompasses all activities related to the cultivation, production, distribution, sale, and consumption of cannabis and cannabis-related products. This industry includes both the medical and recreational use of cannabis.

Pet care

Pet care is another critical segment of the consumer economy, encompassing pet food, grooming supplies, veterinary services, and pet accessories. With more people viewing pets as part of the family, spending in this industry has surged, driving innovation and variety in product offerings.

Consumer tech

Consumer tech, short for consumer technology, refers to electronic products and services designed for everyday use by individuals. These products are typically intended to enhance daily life, offering convenience, entertainment, communication, and productivity. From personal laptops to wearables like fitness trackers, consumer tech is ever-evolving.

How ForceBrands serves the consumer economy

ForceBrands is a recognized leader in the consumer economy as it relates to strategic team building. As the preferred strategic talent partner and recognized thought leader for the consumer economy, the Force family of hiring solutions include: Impactful Search, Force Recruitment, and CreatorForce. These differentiated hiring solutions provide a consultative experience to help consumer-focused brands and organizations connect with leadership, executive, and top-tier professional talent. 

Our consumer-focused specialization, network and functional expertise keep Force at the forefront of building and elevating companies and the consumer community.  

Some of our brand partners include Vital Proteins, Spindrift, AB InBev, Magic Spoon, Central Pet & Garden, Stateside, Mondelez, NotCo, Campari, Pernod Ricard, RNDC, Bowery Farming, Hu, Congo Brands, and HopWTR.

Here’s how ForceBrands supports and strengthens the consumer economy through its strategic hiring solutions:

Impactful Search

Impactful Search is the preferred executive search solution for identifying board members, c-suite, and executive talent for the consumer economy. 

The Impactful Search® team provides a world-class consultative and immersive experience for investors and companies facing a critical business inflection point such as scale, transformation, or sale.

Force Recruitment

We’re the trusted hiring partner for hiring VP, Director and Senior Management positions across the Consumer Economy

Our Force Recruitment team works with brands and organizations to find professional talent with proven and/or specialized consumer industry experience in sales, marketing, operations, finance, and HR. We’ve worked with some of the most popular brands/services to secure single hires or build out full teams quickly through project work. 

We also have a consumer brand job board for entry-level roles that reaches 150K job seekers, nationwide. 

CreatorForce

CreatorForce is the go-to partner for strategic celebrity and creator talent collaborations, specializing in negotiating creator deal types, including equity relationships, endorsements, and licensing. CreatorForce is powering the next generation of the Creator Economy.

Interested in learning more about Force? Visit our website.