Riviana Foods: Enabling Manufacturing Expansion Through Specialist Executive Search

Securing Specialist Talent in a Highly Competitive Market

Riviana’s expansion created immediate demand for senior and specialist talent across a wide range of functions, including engineering, maintenance, production, supply chain, and human resources. These were roles that would directly influence production output, product quality, and regulatory compliance, meaning each hire carried significant operational and financial risk.

A major challenge Riviana Foods faced was a shortage of skilled talent, as the highly specialised food manufacturing environment requires specific industry experience. Major competitors were also keen to attract the same pool of skilled professionals, which intensified the competition and challenge.

With the required talent not based locally in Memphis, Riviana Foods needed to identify talent who would consider relocating from across North America for a new opportunity. Candidates not only had to meet the professional requirements, but the role also needed to align with their personal life, as withdrawals and counteroffers can derail hiring processes. Working with an executive recruiter who has strong relationships with candidates ensures frequent communication and in-depth knowledge of candidate motivations and preferences to guide this process. For Riviana Foods, failing to secure the right talent quickly would have delayed production, slowed product launches, and increased the cost of an already significant investment. 

Riviana Foods had previous experience with recruiters but had been disappointed by inconsistent delivery and a lack of ownership over the recruitment process, ultimately tarnishing their opinion of engaging with recruiters. They found traditional approaches focused on basic CV submission without truly understanding the technical environment, the human element of relocation, and the consequences of hiring delays. This is where CSG Talent’s specialist Food and Beverage Executive Search team provides a fundamentally different approach by operating as a strategic partner to take ownership of the entire hiring process.

Delivering Talent Through a Consultative Executive Search Model

From the outset, CSG Talent approached the partnership as an extension of Riviana’s leadership team. The process began with a deep consultation to fully understand the Memphis operation and the strategic outcomes the business needed each hire to deliver. 

With decades of combined global experience across food and beverage manufacturing, the team understands how products are made on site, how supply chains operate, and how engineering, maintenance, and production functions work together. This industry expertise gave Riviana Foods confidence that every candidate presented had been selected with precision and was genuinely capable of performing in a high-pressure operation.

With the talent pool being extremely limited, CSG Talent conducted targeted market mapping across North America to identify passive candidates who were not actively seeking new roles, which is a key differentiator in the highly competitive food and beverage industry. This allowed CSG Talent to explore a wider and more specialised network, ensuring Riviana Foods could access talent that would otherwise remain unavailable.

As relocation was a key component of the search, CSG Talent invested significant time into understanding each candidate’s personal circumstances, motivations, and long-term career objectives. This human-led approach reduced the risk of late-stage withdrawals and ensured that relocation decisions were realistic for both the individual and the business. When counteroffers and last-minute complications did occur, CSG Talent maintained momentum with pace and persistent engagement to ensure that roles were filled without costly delays.

For a key project engineering position, there were no candidates in the United States with the required technical background willing to relocate. To overcome this challenge, CSG Talent expanded the search internationally and successfully secured a candidate from Mexico, managing the relocation process throughout. This demonstrates the advantage of working with an executive search partner with a global talent network.

Riviana Foods also required a HR manager fluent in both English and Spanish, who also had the necessary skillset and willingness to relocate. Through direct headhunting and market expertise, CSG Talent delivered a candidate that met all criteria, which would have been extremely difficult through standard recruitment channels.

CSG Talent also provides direct, consultative guidance on salaries and packages, helping Riviana Foods remain competitive in line with market expectations. This level of honest advice is made possible by their strong relationship, with Riviana Foods’ leadership team trusting CSG Talent to challenge them when necessary to ensure each offer is positioned to secure the right talent.