Food and beverage sales salary: what foodservice, beverage and packaged food seats pay

A US food and beverage sales posting on this board typically pays $69,450 a year, with the middle half of postings between $57,200 and $113,100. The seat decides most of it: route and territory reps at distributors and drinks companies post $60,000 to $70,000, often with commission or a bonus on volume, while account managers who sell to grocery chains' headquarters for packaged food makers post more than $100,000. This guide breaks food and beverage sales pay down by kind of company, seat and employer, and says what to ask.

On 2 November 2026 this board had 1,207 open sales roles at companies that sell food and drink (foodservice and beverage distributors, drinks makers and packaged food makers), 708 of them open to US candidates, and 51% of those stated their pay. A role counts by what its employer sells, never its title. Every figure is the midpoint of each posting's own range on a full year's scale (base or on-target earnings, as the posting states it), one per posting after repeats of the same title at the same company are merged, and the median across the US postings. The food and beverage sales jobs page lists every open seat with today's figures.

Contents

1. The short answer
2. Pay by kind of company
3. Pay by seat
4. Pay by company
5. What to ask before accepting
6. Getting into food and beverage sales
7. How these figures were counted
8. Quick answers

1. The short answer

2. Pay by kind of company

• Foodservice distribution is mostly Sysco (305 US openings), whose sales consultants and representatives sell food, supplies and equipment to restaurants, hotels, schools and hospitals in a territory.
• Beverage seats sell drinks to bars, restaurants and stores, on and off premise: Red Bull's own sales trainees and account sales managers, and the wine, spirits and beer reps of distributors such as Breakthru Beverage Group.
• Packaged food makers post the fewest seats and the highest figures, because many are key account and customer sales leads who sell to retail chains and distributors.

3. Pay by seat

Seats whose titles name a territory, district or area manager post a median of $121,800 (9 postings with pay). Sales trainee titles, nearly all of them Red Bull's 70 US trainee openings, post about $50,000, many of them as a wage.

4. Pay by company

Among employers with at least five US postings that state pay, the medians on 2 November 2026 were:

Sysco had the most open US food and beverage sales roles (305), then Red Bull (164) and Breakthru Beverage Group (82). The CPG sales jobs page lists every consumer goods seat, food and drink among them.

5. What to ask before accepting

• Ask how the variable pay works: commission on what your customers order, a bonus on volume and distribution goals, or both, and how often it is paid.
• Ask how many accounts the route or territory covers, and whether you inherit them or open new ones.
• Ask whether the seat merchandises as well as sells: building displays, rotating stock and checking shelves takes time.
• Ask which hours it keeps: bars and restaurants buy late and on weekends, and on-premise beverage seats follow them.
• For distributor seats, ask what reps in the territory earned in total last year, since the posted range is often the salary alone.

The guide What is OTE explains base, variable pay and quota.

6. Getting into food and beverage sales

Food and beverage is one of the most open markets for a first sales job: about one US opening in five is an entry seat, among the highest shares of any industry on the board. Red Bull's sales trainee program, Breakthru Beverage's sales development roles and Land O'Lakes' feed sales internships take people with no sales record, and people coming from restaurants, bars and retail bring the customer's view with them. Of the US postings whose requirements were read, 15 of 48 named a degree. Many beverage seats ask applicants to be at least 21 and to hold a driver's license. The guide Best industries for sales jobs compares the first seats across industries.

7. How these figures were counted

• The roles: every open sales role on this board on 2 November 2026 at a company whose own description names food, drinks, foodservice, beer, wine or spirits, among companies listed in consumer goods or in industry and distribution, read from each company's own careers system and checked every hour: 1,207 roles, 708 of them open to US candidates.
• The kind of company: from the same description: foodservice distributors, beverage makers and distributors, and packaged food makers.
• The pay: the midpoint of each posting's own range on a full year's scale, one per posting after repeats of the same title at the same company are merged, and the median across the US postings. "Up to" figures are left out.

These figures describe one day; the food and beverage sales jobs page always shows the current roles and pay.

8. Quick answers

How much do food sales reps make? On this board, US food and beverage sales postings state a median of $69,450 a year (2 November 2026): foodservice distribution $68,650, beverages $60,000 and packaged food makers $103,208.

How much does a Sysco sales consultant make? Sysco's US postings that state pay show a median of $68,650 across its sales seats, with ranges such as $48,600 to $81,000 a year.

How much do beverage sales reps make? Beverage postings state a median of $60,000; Red Bull's postings $71,250 and Breakthru Beverage Group's $55,000.

Is food and beverage sales a good first sales job? It is one of the easiest to enter: about one opening in five is an entry seat, and many trainee seats take people from restaurants and retail.

Where can I see food and beverage sales jobs? The food and beverage sales jobs page lists every open seat with the pay it posts.