UK Food Industry Backs IGD’s Mmmake Your Mark Campaign

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.

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.

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.

Sarah Bradbury, CEO, IGD said:
“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.”

Balwinder Dhoot, Director of Growth and Sustainability, The Food and Drink Federation said:
“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.”

“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.”

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.