Food and beverage recruitment: the people behind quality products
Production, quality, R&D, commerce, supply chain: Cadran Talents recruits agri-food executives and experts for industrialists, cooperatives and brands, in France and internationally. A single contact person, from the brief to integration.
Agri-food is an industry of precision: living raw materials, strict standards, high rates and increasingly demanding consumers. Successful companies rely on strong production, quality, R&D and trade teams. Cadran Talents recruits these profiles for industrialists, cooperatives, SMEs and brands, in France and internationally.
Let's be honest: recruiting a production manager for a rural site, a bilingual quality manager or a specialized R&D project manager often resembles a combatant's journey. Few candidates, lots of competition, and positions that cannot remain vacant for long.
We exist to change that. At Cadran Talents, recruiting from the agri-food industry means going to the right people where they are, assessing them seriously and convincing them to join you: a single interlocutor, a constant requirement and candidates who keep their promises.
Why food is so demanding
A production manager who excels in a dry product plant can suffer in a fresh product workshop. Not because it is bad, but because the constraints of pace, hygiene and team management are not the same. Each sector (meat, dairy products, bakery, beverages, prepared dishes) has its own codes.
This is where a true knowledge of the sector becomes indispensable. A CV tells you what the candidate did; an interview conducted by someone who knows the industry reveals how he did it, and if he knows how to do it at home. This is the difference between a candidate checking the boxes and a person holding the site on a day of supply disruption.
Our "human first" approach means real conversations with real candidates. Not an algorithm that sorts keywords, but consultants who know the factories, standards and business issues of the sector, and who know how to present your project.
The profiles we recruit
We cover all the functions of the agri-food industry, from the production site to the headquarters, for industrialists, cooperatives, family SMEs and national brands.
Trade, marketing & supply chain. Sales managers, key account managers large distribution and catering out-of-home, export managers, product managers, supply chain managers and logistics. Profiles that know the signs, circuits and seasonality of the sector.
The factory and product trades
Production & Industrial. Plant managers, production managers, workshop managers, maintenance managers, continuous improvement managers, HSE managers. Women and men capable of keeping pace, safety and quality at the same time, and of advancing teams.
Quality, food safety & regulation. Responsible for site and group quality, responsible for quality assurance, responsible for food safety, responsible for regulatory affairs. Profiles that master certification standards, client audits and relations with authorities.
R&D & innovation. Engineers and researchers who design products of tomorrow: R&D managers, product development project managers, process engineers, nutrition and formulation managers, packaging managers. A small pool, which we follow closely.
Find out how we recruited a DAF in 27 days:
How we work in the agri-food industry. Your management positions by executive search and Assessment & evaluation, your subsidiaries and sites abroad by international recruitment, the success of the first months by our support for integration, and your managers and experts by direct approach — one brief, one team, all trades.
Our recruitment solutions for agri-food
Direct approach
For your managers and experts: we map the sites and companies where the target profiles are located, we approach them personally and give you a qualified shortlist in three weeks on average.
Executive search
For your management positions: factory director, industrial director, sales director, subsidiary general manager. Discover our offer ofexecutive search, confidential warrants conducted with discretion, until taking up the post.
International recruitment
For your sites and subsidiaries abroad, or to attract profiles from other countries: we recruit locally with the same standards as in France and accompany the mobility of candidates.
Volume recruitment and RPO
For site opening, seasonal escalation or recurring needs: a dedicated team, an industrialised process and weekly reporting, from team leader to workshop manager.
Food & Foodservice
For those involved in out-of-home catering, catering and collective catering: we recruit the operating managers, regional managers, purchasing managers and product managers who are familiar with these circuits.
Interim management
For an unexpected departure, an audit to be prepared or a transformation to be carried out: an experienced manager available within ten days, for missions of three to twelve months.
Also discover our expertise dedicated to hotel and catering:
Our approach
Step 1: Understand Your Need
Every agri-food business has its own constraints. We begin by understanding the position, the site, the team and the context: what issue does this recruitment have to solve? What does a success look like in six months? This scoping gives a shared brief and clear criteria.
Step 2: Select the method
We adapt the method to your needs. Sometimes a targeted direct approach is sufficient. Other times, it is necessary to combine headhunting, international recruitment or interim management. We're telling you frankly.
Step 3: Approaching and Assessing
Good recruitment starts with good candidates. We identify them according to specific criteria, meet them in a structured interview, check their achievements and take references. Our consultants know how to get a production manager to talk about their real results.
Step 4: Compare and decide
A stack of CVs doesn't make a decision. You receive a shortlist commented on from three to five candidates, with our recommendations and vigilance points. We arrange the interviews and help you build the offer.
Step 5: integrate and follow up
We remain present during the notice and the first months, with the candidate as well as with you. Our replacement warranty covers the trial period. If something gets stuck, we know it early and we act.
Our views on what needs to change in recruitment:
What makes agri-food special
Food is not an industry like any other: we work there with living people, under strict health constraints, with sites often located away from large cities and teams that run continuously. Candidates know this, and they choose their employer carefully.
This reality requires a special approach to recruitment. We can't just ask, "Do you know the food safety standards?" It is important to understand how the candidate managed a difficult audit, a supply disruption, a team conflict or a line launch.
A good evaluation avoids bad surprises. We saw recruitment fail because the candidate had never worked in a fee, or because the location of the site had not been approached frankly. We also saw profiles coming from other industries brilliantly succeed, because their culture of rigour corresponded. Our job is to make a difference.
Ready to launch a recruitment ? →
Recruit internationally without losing your mind
International recruitment does not need to be complicated. Here is what a concrete collaboration with Cadran Talents looks like:
You're briefing us. once. We adapt the search to each country you recruit. We support sourcing, evaluation, interview coordination and negotiation with our local partners in more than 25 countries.
You do not manage several firms and you do not wonder if the candidates are comparable. You have a partner who drives everything, with the same requirement everywhere.
From historical basins to new markets
From Brittany to New Aquitaine, from Hauts-de-France to the Rhône Valley, and beyond our borders in Europe, the Maghreb, North America and Asia: we recruit wherever your sites and markets are located, including in rural employment areas where attracting managers requires real know-how.
Let's get started.
Good recruitment begins with a clear need. When you are ready to strengthen your production, quality, R&D or trade teams, we begin with an exchange to understand your context and your issues.
No unnecessary complexity, no oversized mission, no services you don't need. Just a clear reflection on how to bring you the right people, at the right time.
Ready to recruit the talents that will make your products quality?
Frequently Asked Questions on Agri-Food Recruitment
What profiles are you recruiting in the agri-food industry?
Managers and experts in production and industry, quality, food and regulatory security, R&D and innovation, commerce, marketing and supply chain, as well as site managers and branch managers. Our clients are industrialists, cooperatives, family SMEs, national brands and out-of-home catering players.
How do you recruit a production manager or factory manager?
By direct approach: we map sites comparable to yours (file, size, technology), identify those in charge and contact them personally. We then evaluate their concrete results (cadence, quality, safety, management) in structured interview, then check their references.
Why go through a specialized firm rather than an advertisement?
Because the right agri-food profiles are in place and rarely in active research, especially in the region. A firm that knows the sector knows where to look, how to deal frankly with the question of location and how to assess very concrete skills. You save time and secure your decision.
How much does a recruitment in the agri-food industry cost?
Our fees are expressed as a percentage of the gross annual remuneration of the candidate recruited and depend on the level of the position, its scarcity and its location. For volume campaigns, we offer a suitable price. You receive a clear proposal within 48 hours, without hidden costs.
What are the trends in recruitment in the sector?
A lasting tension in the production and maintenance professions, increasing demand for quality and regulatory profiles, the development of decarbonation and sustainable packaging skills, and increased attention by applicants to the quality of life on site. We help you adapt your offers and your speech.
Are you recruiting for sites in rural areas?
Yes, very often. Attracting a framework at a site far from the major cities requires a good presentation of the project, the territory and the proposed conditions, and to address mobility from the first exchange. We know how to do this, and we accompany relocation when necessary.
How do you manage the confidentiality of a recruitment?
For an unannounced replacement or leadership position, we conduct the mission without notice, directly approaching a limited number of identified candidates. The name of your company is revealed only to the successful candidates, with your consent.
How long does it take to hire?
Count three weeks for a first qualified shortlist and six to ten weeks until signing, depending on the notice. For an urgent need, a transition manager can be in office within ten days.
