UK food industry backs IGD’s Mmmake Your Mark campaign
26 August 2025Future-proofing the industry: Why UK food and drink sector needs a bold new talent strategy.
The UK food and drink industry is uniting to tackle a workforce crisis. Facing a critical labour shortage and skills gap, businesses, trade bodies and government are rallying behind the Mmmake Your Mark initiative led by IGD. The 2025 campaign aims to directly address the workforce challenges by highlighting the wide range of rewarding career paths available, from farm to fork.
New research commissioned by IGD reveals a significant disconnect between young people's career aspirations and their awareness of diverse opportunities within the UK's dynamic food and drink industry. The comprehensive survey, involving over 1,000 young people aged 16-25 and 1,000 parents, underscores a pressing need to reframe the industry's image and highlight its breadth of modern career paths.
The new findings challenge long-held perceptions, indicating that while young people are passionate about creative and purpose-driven careers, they often overlook the food and drink sector as a viable pathway to explore this. This “Guidance Gap” is further compounded by parental influence, which often steers young individuals towards more "traditional" career fields.
Reshaping youth career perceptions
The research shows that over a third (38%) of young people aged 16-25 cite their parents or guardians as the single biggest influence on their career considerations. This influence often translates into pressure, with 57% of young people admitting they have felt pressure from parents or teachers to pursue 'traditional' or 'safe' careers such as law, medicine, or finance, even if not aligned with their interests.
Strikingly, despite this external pressure, 6 in 10 (61%) of young people expressed a genuine passion for creative and service-led industries, including careers in food, hospitality, and media. However, a stark one in five (19%) do not realise they can pursue these passions within a career in the food and drink industry.
The hidden depths of food and drink careers
From AI and cybersecurity, to engineering and analytics, many roles in the food and drink industry go unnoticed. Nearly a fifth (19%) of young people surveyed admit to not being aware of the jobs available, highlighting the need to showcase the breadth of exciting, purpose-driven possibilities that are on offer to them within food and drink.
A staggering 72%1 of young people do not consider it a place where they could discover their purpose and learn essential skills, even though 78% of respondents have a passion that could be met in the food and drinks space.
"The food and drink industry is one of the UK’s most dynamic and largest private-sector employers, offering incredible careers which are professional, varied, high-tech, and well-paid. Through our cross-industry Mmmake Your Mark campaign, we want to bridge this knowledge gap and showcase to parents, career advisors and young people the rewarding careers available in our industry. Young people are often unaware of the incredible career paths and sense of purpose they can find in the food and drink industry. By joining the Mmmake Your Mark campaign, businesses can help put these careers front and centre, attracting the next generation of talent.”
— Sarah Bradbury, CEO, IGD
“From data and sustainability experts, to product developers and food scientists, food and drink manufacturing provides half a million jobs in every corner of the UK, all contributing to a thriving food system. The next decade will be critical for our sector as we look towards achieving net zero, shaping healthier diets and unlocking a £14bn growth opportunity through AI, digital technology and automation. But this can only be achieved with the right people to drive this growth. That’s why raising awareness of the exciting career opportunities in the UK’s largest manufacturing sector is so important.”
— Balwinder Dhoot, Director of Growth and Sustainability, The Food and Drink Federation
“The food and drink industry is vital to the UK economy, yet it faces urgent skills and workforce challenges. Mmmake Your Mark is a leading example of how industry and education can come together to showcase the exciting, purposeful careers on offer and inspire the next generation to take their best next step.”
— John Yarham, Interim CEO of The Careers & Enterprise Company
This lack of awareness around inspiring roles within food and drink has national implications. The UK food system employs 4.2m people, making up around 13% of all employment, or more than 1 in 8 jobs2; however, IGD foresight predicts that the workforce challenge is set to escalate if proactive action is not taken by the industry.
This is because in the next 10 years, the UK population will grow from 69.9m (2025) to 73.4m (2035)3, meaning more food and drink will be needed. Some will be sourced from abroad but, realistically, UK food and drink capacity will have to increase to meet demand.
By guiding young talent away from essential industries based on outdated views or lack of awareness, the UK is at risk of exacerbating critical skills gaps and labour shortages in sectors vital to the economy.
IGD is urging the food and drink industry to join the Mmmake Your Mark initiative to raise awareness of the diverse opportunities and essential skills available within the sector, to help create a more resilient food system. Kicking off from Wednesday 27 August and running throughout September, IGD encourages all businesses across the food system to post on social media about careers in the industry and to share any other posts using the hashtag #mmmakeyourmark or tag @mmmakeyourmark.
To support this effort, IGD has developed a suite of fully adaptable Mmmake Your Mark assets. These resources can help organisations take action, from creating a social media plan to promote their business, career opportunities, and people. By participating, businesses can not only boost their own profile but also become part of a powerful, cross-industry movement.
All supporting assets and guidance can be found in the Mmmake Your Mark Toolkit or contact [email protected]. You can find inspiration and examples of last year’s activity by following the Mmmake Your Mark LinkedIn page.
1This stat is the inverse of those who selected ‘A space to discover purpose and passion’ when asked ‘What, if anything, do you believe to be true benefits of careers in the food and drink industry? (Select all that apply)’
2 Defra Food Statistics Pocket Book, April 2025
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Notes to Editors:
With more than 100 years of providing training to the food system, IGD trains over 13,500 students a year through its schools programme. IGD also helps 3,000 new professionals each year start their career journey with its New Starter Skills course, giving them the best foundation for a thriving career.
1. All content is owned by IGD. If you use or refer to any content in this press release, please credit IGD.
2. Follow us on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/igd/
3. IGD brings together stakeholders from across the food system, fostering action across on critical challenges across a broad cross section of forums. Through evidence-based insights, credible research, and thought leadership, IGD guides businesses to make informed decisions that not only benefit their operations but also contribute to the collective good of society. As a charity with a long-standing commitment to the food and grocery industry, IGD does not advocate for any single commercial interest but works towards fostering alignment on shared goals that can have a positive, lasting impact on both the industry and the communities it serves. Its neutrality and impartiality are key to its role in facilitating collaboration. By staying connected to the changing dynamics of the world, IGD ensures that the food system remains robust and sustainable, creating tangible benefits for businesses, consumers and society.
About Mmmake Your Mark
Mmmake Your Mark is a cross-industry initiative from IGD’s social impact programme. The campaign is designed to attract the next generation of talent to the food and drink industry by showcasing the incredible breadth of modern careers on offer and providing young people, parents, and educators with the information they need to see the industry as a first-choice career destination.
About Censuswide
The research was conducted by Censuswide, among a sample of 1000 nationally representative UK consumers (aged 16-25). The data was weighted to be nationally representative based on gender, age, and region. The data was collected between 13.08.2025 - 15.08.2025. A separate study was conducted amongst 1000 UK Parents (29+) of children aged 14-25 between 13.08.2025 - 15.08.2025. Censuswide abides by and employs members of the Market Research Society and follows the MRS code of conduct and ESOMAR principles. Censuswide is also a member of the British Polling Council.