Twenty years ago a bonus was a perk. Today it is the architecture of the offer. Target bonus appears in 84 percent of the offers we closed since 2023, and in every beer and food offer. A signing bonus is rarer than it was, and it lives at the top of the ladder.
This post covers the fifth finding in The Price of Talent 2026: the anatomy of an offer, from the base, target bonus and sign-on terms of 1,335 Protis Global placements for consumer brands since 2007.
Median target bonus as a share of base salary, 2019 to 2026, for offers that recorded one:
Entry level: 13 percent
Manager: 20 percent
Senior Manager: 22 percent
Director: 25 percent
Senior Director: 34 percent
Vice President: 26 percent
EVP and SVP: 40 percent
C-level: 50 percent
Sector changes the bonus. Beer offers carry the richest target bonus at 25 percent of base, then wine and spirits at 23 percent, with food and non-alcoholic beverage at 20 percent.
The share of offers with a sign-on fell from 27 percent in 2007 to 2012 to 14 percent in 2019 to 2022, then recovered to 18 percent since 2023. The median sign-on was $10,000 for three eras and is $15,000 since 2023.
Where a signing bonus appears depends on level. Since 2019, 9 percent of Manager offers carried one, 20 percent of Director offers, 29 percent of VP offers and 42 percent of EVP and SVP offers. Median sign-on by level since 2019: Manager $5,000, Director $14,000, Vice President $17,600, EVP and SVP $25,000.
Sector barely moves the sign-on. Beer 18 percent of offers, food 17 percent, wine and spirits 13 percent, non-alcoholic beverage 12 percent.
At the Director level: a base near $162,500, a 25 percent target bonus, and in one case in five a sign-on near $15,000, usually to replace a bonus the candidate is walking away from. At VP: a base near $232,500, a 26 percent target bonus, and a sign-on in roughly three offers in ten.
If your structure cannot do both the target bonus and the sign-on, know that before the finalist stage. Offers that fail usually fail on structure the candidate could have been told about in week one.
How common is a signing bonus in CPG offers?
Since 2023, 18 percent of Protis Global placements carried a sign-on bonus, with a median of $15,000. By level since 2019: 9 percent of Manager offers, 20 percent of Director offers, 29 percent of VP offers and 42 percent of EVP and SVP offers.
What is a normal target bonus for a Director in consumer brands?
25 percent of base salary at the median in 2019 to 2026 placements. Managers median 20 percent, Vice Presidents 26 percent, C-level 50 percent.
Do most CPG offers include a bonus?
Yes. A target bonus appeared in 84 percent of offers closed since 2023, and in 100 percent of beer and food offers in that period.
The full report, The Price of Talent 2026, is free to download at protisglobal.com/price-of-talent-2026. If you want the analysis run against your org chart, your offer, or your next search, talk to our team.