Production-floor to back-office hires for UK food, FMCG and cold chain.
Mon-Fri 8am-8pm UK-wide
FMCG · Food · Cold Chain

Permanent hiring for the UK's food & FMCG production lines.

Active Staffing Limited places permanent staff for food production, FMCG, beverage, bakery, meat & seafood processing, and cold-chain logistics employers across the UK. Production, quality, hygiene, warehouse, distribution.

  • Hygiene & HACCP-aware vetting
  • Shortlist in 5-7 days
  • Replacement guarantee
  • One direct consultant
5-7d
First shortlistMost production briefs return a vetted shortlist in a working week.
12+
Food & FMCG sectorsFrom beverage to bakery, meat to cold chain.
UK
Nationwide reachEngland, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
1:1
One consultantEnd-to-end accountability from intake to start day.
UK-wide
Coverage across England, Scotland, Wales, NI
12+
Food & FMCG sectors actively staffed
5-7 days
Average shortlist turnaround
1:1
One consultant per client, end to end
Sectors we cover

The disciplines that feed Britain, properly staffed.

Vetted, properly briefed candidates for the production lines, cold stores, distribution centres and quality teams that keep UK food and FMCG moving.

Food Production & Manufacturing

Production operatives, line leaders, shift supervisors, quality assurance and hygiene teams.

Cold Chain & Refrigerated Logistics

Cold store operatives, refrigerated transport planners, temperature-controlled distribution leads.

FMCG & Consumer Goods

Production operatives, packaging leads, planning, scheduling and stock controllers.

Beverage & Brewery

Brewers, beverage production operatives, bottling and canning line operators.

Bakery & Confectionery

Bakers, confectioners, ovens leads, scaling and dough-mixing operatives, packing teams.

Fish & Seafood Processing

Filleters, processors, packers, quality leads and refrigerated despatch coordinators.

Meat & Poultry Processing

Boners, butchers, line operatives, slaughterhouse hygiene leads and dispatch supervisors.

Distribution & 3PL Warehousing

Warehouse operatives, FLT-licensed staff, despatch supervisors and transport planners.

Production Engineering

Maintenance engineers, multi-skilled engineers, automation leads and reliability technicians.

Quality & Hygiene

QA technicians, NPD specialists, BRC auditors, hygiene team leaders and HACCP-trained leads.

Transport & HGV Driving

HGV Class 1 and 2 drivers, transport planners, fleet managers and licensed delivery teams.

Industrial Cleaning & Sanitation

Cleaning team leaders, CIP specialists, hygiene technicians and shift supervisors.

Why employers stay with us

Production hiring without the noise.

We brief properly, vet thoroughly, and stand behind the people we send. No CV firehose. No mismatched candidates.

One named consultant

One consultant from intake to start day. They know your site, the shift patterns, the team mix. No handoffs.

5-7 day shortlist

Most production briefs receive their first qualified shortlist within a week. Urgent cover briefs flagged on day one move to the top.

Replacement guarantee

Every permanent placement carries a free replacement period. If a hire doesn't stick within the agreed window, we re-run the search at no charge.

Hygiene-aware vetting

For food and cold-chain roles we screen for HACCP awareness, hygiene training, and willingness to work in low-temperature or high-care environments.

Vetted, not just sourced

Right-to-work, references, qualifications, motivation, all checked before a CV reaches your desk. No noise.

Built for the long term

Our entire desk is geared around hires that stay, the brief, the vetting, the offer support, and the day-7 / 30 / 90 follow-ups, all built to keep the placement in seat.

How we work

From first call to first shift, properly run.

A clear three-step process. No drawn-out kick-offs, no dropped balls.

01

The brief, properly

A 30-45 minute briefing call. We capture the role, the shift pattern, the must-haves, the deal-breakers, the salary band and the timeline. You get a written brief back to confirm.

02

Targeted shortlist

We approach our network and active candidates, vet, interview and rank. You receive a tight, qualified shortlist with our notes on hygiene training, shift fit and availability.

03

Offer support and onboarding

We handle counter-offer pressure, notice-period coordination and start-date logistics, then check in on day 7, 30 and 90 to make sure the hire is settled.

Locations served

Working with employers across the UK.

Production sites, cold stores and 3PL distribution centres we recruit into most often. Remote-first and nationwide briefs equally welcome.

London
Manchester
Birmingham
Leeds
Liverpool
Sheffield
Bristol
Glasgow
Edinburgh
Cardiff
Belfast
Newcastle
Nottingham
Peterborough
Lincolnshire
Norfolk & Suffolk
Common questions

Questions employers ask before working with us.

How quickly can you deliver a shortlist?
Most production and cold-chain briefs receive their first shortlist within 5-7 working days. Senior or specialist briefs may take a fortnight, but we will tell you upfront. We never sit on a brief.
Do you screen for hygiene and HACCP awareness?
Yes. For food, beverage and cold-chain roles we screen for HACCP / Level 2 Food Hygiene awareness as standard, plus willingness to work in low-temperature or high-care environments. We capture this on the briefing call.
Are your fees percentage-based?
For permanent placements, yes, we work on a percentage of first-year base salary. The exact rate depends on level and sector, and is agreed in writing before any candidate is introduced.
What does the replacement guarantee cover?
If a placed hire leaves or is dismissed within the agreed period, we will source a free replacement. The window is usually 8-12 weeks for most roles, longer for senior hires.
Can you support multi-site or seasonal hiring?
Yes. Multi-site campaigns and seasonal-peak hiring (Christmas, Easter, summer) get a dedicated account lead and structured weekly check-ins. Tell us up front so we can plan capacity.
What information do you need to start a search?
A job description (or rough notes), shift pattern, salary band, start-date target, and one decision-maker we can speak to. We can build the rest of the brief on a 30-45 minute call.

Ready to fill that production vacancy?

Tell us the role, the urgency and the must-haves. We will be back within one working day with a clear plan and a fee quote.

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