10k YouTube hits for food manufacturers’ video

The Chilli Baby​ video is part of the Food and Drink Federation’s (FDF’s) Taste Success – A Future in Food campaign, designed to attract a new generation of talent into the UK food and drink sector. 

Aimed at 16- to 18-year olds, Taste Success aimed to bust the myths that food industry jobs were low-paid and unskilled and showcase the exciting career opportunities available.

Cheeky video​

FDF digital manager Hanne Christensen said: “We always felt that our cheeky Chilli Baby video would capture the imagination of young people although we’ve been shocked by the speed with which it has taken off. ​

“Social media has enabled us to extend the reach of our Taste Success campaign and spread the word about a career in food and drink to the next generation. Our hope is that this work will help food and drink manufacturers to secure the best talent, a vital ingredient to secure the future success and sustainability of the industry.”​

The Chilli Baby ​video was released in March alongside three other fun videos Sugar Rush​ and Awkward Questions​. “All three are fun videos that form part of an exciting digital project designed to get young people to consider a career in food and drink manufacturing as part of the Taste Success campaign,” ​said the FDF.

Skills gap​

Meanwhile, the size of the skills gap facing UK manufacturing was highlighted by Jack Matthews, former chief executive of the sector skills council, Improve.

He told the HR Forum, organised by FoodManufacture.co.uk’s sister title Food Manufacture, ​in March: “We have 137,000 vacancies to fill over the next five years. When we look at the demographics of our sector, too many young people will retire and there not enough young people to replace them.”​

"Young people's perception of food and drink manufacturing is, at best, ambivalent and, at worst, negative. It is a strident question we need to answer urgently.”​

For more about the FDF’s campaign to reach out to young people, watch our video interview with Terry Jones, FDF director or communications, here​.

To hear how food entrepreneur and founder of the Black Farmer brand Wilfred Emmanuel Jones harnesses the power of social media, listen to our exclusive podcast here​.