The Jobs To Be Done (JTBD) theory is a customer-centric framework that shifts the focus from traditional market segments and product features to the deeper motivations behind purchase behavior. Rather than asking "Who is the customer?" or "What do they like?", JTBD asks, "What is the customer trying to accomplish?" In the context of CPG products – think snacks, cleaning supplies, toiletries, or beverages – this helps uncover why people truly choose one brand over another.

Understanding the "job" behind the purchase

When someone grabs a specific brand of granola bar, they’re not just buying food. They might be hiring it for a quick energy boost before a meeting, a lunchbox snack for their child, or even as a healthier alternative to satisfy late-night cravings. Each of these scenarios reflects a different “job,” and these jobs help inform everything from marketing to product innovation to in-store placement.

Instead of guessing what appeals to broad customer segments, JTBD helps brands zero in on these underlying motivations – the jobs that products are consistently "hired" to do in a customer’s life. This leads to consumer insights that are both actionable and deeply human.

Examples of JTBD in packaged goods (fictional for illustration):

• Surface cleaner: Hired not just to clean, but to create a home that “feels fresh and safe” for kids.
• Packaged iced coffee: Hired as a quick morning ritual that helps someone feel energized and productive.
• Frozen meal: Hired as a way to have a comforting dinner without the hassle after a long day.

For CPG brands, the magic lies in discovering these patterns. When you understand what job your product is solving on a functional, emotional, and social level, it becomes much easier to refine branding, positioning, and messaging to align with what truly matters to your customer.

Why JTBD matters in a crowded CPG market

CPG shelves are noisy. The average consumer wades through dozens of competing products for every need. While price and convenience are parts of the equation, JTBD exposes more enduring reasons why certain products become favorites – and why those seemingly subtle factors drive repeat purchases and long-term loyalty.

By integrating JTBD thinking into your brand strategy and market research process, you’re not simply learning what people buy. You’re uncovering why they buy it again and again – and how to ensure they keep coming back.

Customer loyalty doesn’t come from a single positive experience – it stems from consistent satisfaction over time. For consumer packaged goods brands, this means one thing: reliably solving the right job. When a product does what the consumer needs it to do, in the exact context of their lives, they come back. Without that match, even the flashiest packaging or a short-term promotion can fall flat.

Loyalty depends on job alignment

At its core, loyalty builds when a product consistently fulfills a role in a customer’s routine or lifestyle. With JTBD insights, brands can better align their product offerings, positioning, and experience to the real task the consumer is trying to accomplish. This alignment is often the key difference between a product that’s tried once and forgotten, and one that becomes a household staple.

For example, a busy parent might “hire” a certain brand of fruit snacks to act as a stress-free after-school treat – easy to pack, widely liked, and perceived as wholesome. If the brand veers too much toward indulgence or changes packaging in a confusing way, the product may no longer fulfill its job as neatly. Recognizing this helps teams make smarter brand decisions.

Why JTBD supports repeat purchases:

• Consistency: Products that solve a job well become trusted go-to solutions in specific moments of need.
• Relevance: When messaging connects with a customer’s actual situation, it enhances recall and emotional engagement.
• Trust: When consumers believe your brand “gets” their real needs, they’re more likely to stick with it through minor bumps (like pricing or availability).

Jobs-based loyalty in real-world terms

Think about a customer choosing a daily bottled water brand. On the surface, all options are similar. But if the job is to present a polished, health-first lifestyle at the gym, a particular brand that markets clean aesthetics and balanced electrolytes can become tied to that identity. That repeat purchase isn’t only about hydration – it’s about continuity in self-image. Once a brand understands these deeper motivations, retention strategies become far more targeted and impactful.

Using JTBD to shape your brand strategy

For CPG leaders, embracing JTBD is about asking better questions during product development, market research, and campaign planning. What role does this item play in someone’s everyday flow? How is it experienced – not just functionally, but emotionally? What would be disrupted if it were gone?

By identifying and delivering on the right jobs consistently, brands can foster long-standing habits, boost customer retention, and create pathways to growth – all rooted in human behavior, not assumptions.

To understand how Jobs To Be Done (JTBD) can shape brand loyalty, it helps to look at everyday CPG products through a new lens – the functional and emotional 'jobs' they fulfill for consumers. While the framework is widely used across industries, its impact on CPG success is particularly strong due to the competitive nature of the space and the frequency of consumer decision-making.

Here are two fictional but realistic scenarios that illustrate JTBD in action for CPG brands.

Example 1: The Afternoon Snack That Powers Productivity

Imagine a busy professional who consistently chooses the same granola bar brand. It's not just about taste or price – the product is “hired” to solve a specific job: providing a nutritious, no-mess snack that delivers steady energy between lunch and dinner. This brand wins repeat purchases because it understands the underlying need: sustain focus during long workdays without crashing.

Recognizing this, the brand might refine messaging to spotlight energy and performance support, optimize its portion size for mid-afternoon hunger levels, or even launch a multi-pack designed for stocking office desks. These moves reinforce the brand's fit for that job, driving loyalty through relevance.

Example 2: A Skin Care Product That Builds Confidence

A consumer buys the same facial moisturizer month after month. On the surface, it’s because it prevents dryness. But the deeper job may be emotional – helping them feel confident in social and professional settings. In this case, the product isn’t just solving dryness – it’s enabling self-assurance.

By understanding this emotional job, the brand can communicate more effectively, perhaps by highlighting testimonials, sharing real-life stories, or pairing with other items that support a full skincare ritual. The result? Stronger alignment with consumer behavior and increased brand loyalty.

These examples show how JTBD reframes consumer usage patterns into deeper needs that go beyond features or specs. For CPG brands, this perspective is a powerful way to build meaning into everyday products.

• Functional jobs answer: What task does the consumer need to complete?
• Emotional jobs answer: How do they want to feel while doing it?
• Social jobs answer: How do they want to be perceived?

Ultimately, what keeps customers coming back is a brand's ability to consistently fulfill these jobs better than the alternatives. JTBD helps uncover those very reasons.

Repeat purchases don’t happen by accident – they happen when a product reliably solves a meaningful consumer need. That’s where the Jobs To Be Done (JTBD) framework brings clarity. By understanding what specific jobs your customers are hiring your product to do, you can fine-tune every part of the experience that encourages customers to return.

A Shift from Product Features to Purpose

Many brands focus on what their product does. JTBD shifts the conversation to why consumers choose it. This subtle but powerful shift helps creatives, marketers, and product teams align more closely with consumer intent – which is key to improving customer retention and minimizing brand-switching in crowded CPG categories.

Why Repeat Purchases Happen (or Don’t)

Consumers repeat-buy when:

• The product consistently delivers on their expectations
• Their confidence in the solution grows over time
• The brand aligns with their lifestyle, values, or identity

JTBD insights reveal gaps between expectations and experiences. For instance, if people buy your cleaning spray to save time during hectic mornings but the bottle design causes spills or leaks, you’re not fully delivering on the job. These friction points lead shoppers to explore other options. With JTBD clarity, you can identify and remove these barriers.

Using JTBD to Reinforce Loyalty

JTBD helps improve customer retention in CPG by:

1. Identifying drivers of satisfaction: Knowing which elements of the product matter most helps refine them for continued success.

2. Personalizing messaging: When your ads reference the jobs people care about, your brand feels more relevant and trustworthy.

3. Innovating based on real needs: Additions or changes to packaging, flavor, or form factor become more targeted, less risky – increasing perceived value.

Take, for example, a shampoo brand that uncovers a primary job as “saving time on busy school mornings.” That insight can inform quick-dispense packaging, bundle-compatible products, or even faster lather-to-clean formulas. Such enhancements make customers’ lives easier – and keep them coming back.

When repeat purchases are nurtured intentionally via customer understanding, the cumulative business impact is profound. JTBD is a powerful tool that connects the dots between consumer behavior and brand loyalty – all anchored in delivering value that lasts.

The most successful CPG brands don’t just push products – they design experiences that align with real-life consumer needs. By applying JTBD insights across brand strategy and product development, organizations create stronger differentiation and longer-lasting brand loyalty.

JTBD Guides Strategic Focus

Without direction from the customer’s point of view, strategy can easily become reactive or misdirected. JTBD keeps the focus on what truly matters by answering, “What job are we solving better than anyone else?”

This clarity empowers teams to:

• Prioritize the most impactful product improvements
• Uncover whitespace opportunities in crowded categories
• Develop packaging or formats that match when and where the job happens (e.g., on-the-go, late at night, or shared among families)

Fueling Innovation with JTBD

Innovation isn’t about chasing trends – it’s about finding unmet needs. By mapping consumer jobs, your team can spot what’s missing in their routines, leading to more useful, relevant product ideas.

For example, say a paper towel brand uncovers that a major job consumers are hiring them for is keeping kids’ messes under control while reducing stress. That kind of emotional and functional combo might lead to a child-safe dispensing system or bundled kitchen-cleanup kits. The key is that the idea matches the job – not just the product category.

Strengthening Brand Positioning

Once you know the deeper jobs your brand performs, your messaging gets sharper. Instead of vague statements about “quality” or “value,” your brand can speak directly to the need it fulfills – like “slides into snack time without slowing you down” or “confidence in a single wipe.” This targeted voice creates stronger emotional resonance that fuels customer loyalty.

JTBD also helps unify teams. When product developers, marketers, and researchers are all aligned around the job to be done, they make more cohesive, consistent decisions – and that leads to smoother rollouts and less wasted effort.

Integrating JTBD Into Your CPG Playbook

When used alongside other market research tools – such as concept testing, ethnography, or quant surveys – JTBD adds context and meaning to the findings. At SIVO Insights, we often find the richest insights come when JTBD frameworks are integrated into full-service custom research. This ensures brands not only understand what consumers do, but why.

In short: JTBD helps you think like your customer. And in a competitive CPG space, that perspective is essential to growing long-term loyalty and relevance.