Interim or Permanent? What’s Right for Your Business Right Now?
The Future of Food: Trends, Tech and Changing Tastes in 2025
The UK food and drink manufacturing industry is always moving and in 2025, the pace feels faster than ever. With new technology, shifting consumer demands and constant pressure to stay competitive, manufacturers are being asked to do more than just keep up. They need to be forward-thinking, agile and ready to adapt.
At True North Talent, we spend our time speaking to leaders, candidates and businesses across the industry. That means we’ve got a front-row seat to the changes shaping the sector right now.
In our fifth article, we look at recruitment and workforce planning and how it affects industries.
Interim or Permanent? What’s Right for Your Business Right Now?
When it comes to building a strong team in the food and drink manufacturing industry, one size definitely doesn’t fit all. Sometimes you need a long-term leader to shape your future strategy, while other times you need an experienced professional who can hit the ground running and fix an immediate problem. That’s where the choice between permanent and interim hiring comes in.
When Permanent Hiring Makes Sense
Permanent hires are the backbone of your organisation. They’re the people who help set long-term direction, build teams and carry your culture forward. If you’re looking for stability, leadership continuity, or to nurture specialist skills for the future, then a permanent hire is often the right choice. Think operations directors driving efficiency year after year, or NPD leaders shaping innovation pipelines over the long term.
When Interim Hiring Is the Better Fit
But what if you don’t have the luxury of time? Interim hires are ideal when you face immediate challenges or short-term projects. Maybe you’re going through a factory expansion, need to cover sudden leadership gaps, or want a fresh perspective on a technical or compliance issue. Experienced interims can step in quickly, deliver results and then step away when their work is done, keeping your business moving without long-term commitments.
Striking the Right Balance
It’s not about choosing one over the other; it’s about matching the right solution to your business challenge. Permanent hires build for the future, while interims help you solve problems today. The key is understanding when each is most valuable. At True North Talent, our clients will often request us to provide an interim whilst they retain us for their permanent hires.
How True North Talent Can Help
At True North Talent, we know the unique pressures of food and drink manufacturing. Our network spans both permanent leaders and seasoned interim professionals, so whether you need someone to deliver a transformation project, step into a senior role at short notice, or commit to long-term leadership, we can connect you with the right solution, fast.
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Emma Symonds
Director
Latest Insights
Explore our latest market insights on all things food and drink manufacturing.
HelloFresh vs Gousto…
I’m a sucker for a good discount code, and I’ve seen numerous influencers posting codes lately about HelloFresh and Gousto so I thought I’d give them a try. Although recipe boxes have been around awhile now, I’m totally new to trying them. There’s a few pros and cons I’ve noticed so far.
Why Talent Shortages are More Damaging Than Supply Chain Issues
In the Food and Drink manufacturing industry, we're no strangers to disruption. From Brexit to Covid, global conflicts to raw material shortages, supply chains have taken a beating over the last few years. And while those headlines have dominated, there's a quieter, more dangerous challenge threatening the industry's long term stability: the talent shortage. Yes, a late shipment can throw off your production line. But a missing team leader, technical manager, or site director? That can derail your entire operation.
A Lens whilst Shopping
There was an article this week in the Food Manufacture by Bethan Grylls, titled "Reading food and drink labels with sight loss" - and how food manufacturing companies can make their packaging more inclusive and accessible for those with visual impairments. It is a really insightful article exploring the world of a VIP (Visually Impaired Person) and certainly made me think of scenarios I hadn't thought of before - how are VIPs expected to navigate their way around a supermarket and read food and drink labels. As a coeliac, I wear my glasses on my head in the supermarket as I am constantly trying to read the ever decreasing font size on food labelling to ensure the product I buy is safe for me! I cannot imagine how challenging it must be for VIPs. It will be interesting to see how the technologies currently available and those yet to be invented, can help VIPs and those of us whose eyesight is likely to deteriorate further.
HelloFresh vs Gousto…
I’m a sucker for a good discount code, and I’ve seen numerous influencers posting codes lately about HelloFresh and Gousto so I thought I’d give them a try. Although recipe boxes have been around awhile now, I’m totally new to trying them. There’s a few pros and cons I’ve noticed so far.
Why Talent Shortages are More Damaging Than Supply Chain Issues
In the Food and Drink manufacturing industry, we're no strangers to disruption. From Brexit to Covid, global conflicts to raw material shortages, supply chains have taken a beating over the last few years. And while those headlines have dominated, there's a quieter, more dangerous challenge threatening the industry's long term stability: the talent shortage. Yes, a late shipment can throw off your production line. But a missing team leader, technical manager, or site director? That can derail your entire operation.
A Lens whilst Shopping
There was an article this week in the Food Manufacture by Bethan Grylls, titled "Reading food and drink labels with sight loss" - and how food manufacturing companies can make their packaging more inclusive and accessible for those with visual impairments. It is a really insightful article exploring the world of a VIP (Visually Impaired Person) and certainly made me think of scenarios I hadn't thought of before - how are VIPs expected to navigate their way around a supermarket and read food and drink labels. As a coeliac, I wear my glasses on my head in the supermarket as I am constantly trying to read the ever decreasing font size on food labelling to ensure the product I buy is safe for me! I cannot imagine how challenging it must be for VIPs. It will be interesting to see how the technologies currently available and those yet to be invented, can help VIPs and those of us whose eyesight is likely to deteriorate further.
