Brand Directors And Marketing Directors

BRAND DIRECTORS AND MARKETING DIRECTORS RECRUITMENT SPECIALISTS

Lime Talent, based in London, has a comprehensive network of candidates for Marketing Director and Brand Director level roles within FMCG.

Undoubtedly, finding a new Director for your leadership team can pose a significant challenge. It requires candidates with industry expertise, functional experience and strong leadership skills who also fit seamlessly into your company culture. Having the right recruitment partner is crucial in this industry and with our wealth of experience, our team will assist in setting competitive salaries, crafting optimal talent attraction strategies to ensure the best candidate for your role.

Why Use Us?

Established in 2013, we have a track record in recruiting FMCG Brand Directors and Marketing Directors for many blue-chip businesses as well as working with a range of fast-growing challenger brands. Our team members are FMCG recruitment specialists that ensure you will be working with someone who fully understands your brief.

You can see some of our clients below

For Brand Director and Marketing Director roles we cover the following sub categories:

Food & Drink

Alcoholic Drinks

Health, Beauty & Personal Care

Consumer Products

Direct to Consumer & Subscription

What our clients say

  • “Lime Talent are responsive, flexible, honest and therefore very easy to work with. When I need support for trickier roles, then Lime are my first port of call and I always recommend them as they strike a good balance of challenge/blue chip from their network.”

    UK Country Manager | Tony’s Chocolonely

  • “Lime Talent have been a fantastic partner to me as I’ve built out the UK & Europe team for Who Gives a Crap. Their ability to get a quick understanding of our business, the needs I had for the roles and the calibre of Lime’s candidate pool has been invaluable. It’s allowed us to move quickly to build out a team from scratch, hiring roles across a range of functions including commercial, marketing, strategy & insights. I simply wouldn’t have been able to do this without Lime’s support & expertise!”

    MD UK & Europe | Who gives a crap

  • “Lime Talent have remained our trusted partners for the last 5 years. Most of our hires have come through Lime with the team clearly identifying the talent that have made the business successful so far. The candidates we receive are incredibly well filtered and we know before we meet them, that they will have the requisite calibre to succeed.”

    Managing Director | Itsu

  • “Lime Talent demonstrate a high degree of honesty and openness about the risks and considerations of placing specific people and you are continually assured they take a long-term approach to working with Ferrero. Highly recommended.”

    Customer Development Director | Ferrero

  • “Lime Talent made the process as easy as possible by providing well-screened candidates along with regular updates. They also provided clear guidance on the recruitment landscape that helped us position our role as attractive to candidates with the relevant skill set.”

    Marketing Manager | Windmill Organics

  • “Lime did a good job for us and I’ve enjoyed working with them on roles. Moved quickly and have been communicative, understanding our requirements on limited information.”

    CEO | Hackney Gelato

  • “The best recruitment business I’ve worked with. Highly recommended.”

    Founder | Holy Moly

DIRECTOR

Dan Hodge is a founding Director at Lime Talent. He started his career in 2006 placing senior level, permanent and interim candidates into marketing and commercial roles. Exceptionally skilled in filling positions in the consumer goods sector, Dan leads a team of talented consultants whose client list includes a range of publicly listed, private equity backed and privately owned businesses.

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    Client Portfolio

    • Tony's Chocolonely
      Track Record
      We started working with Tony’s in 2018 to assist with their UK launch securing them:
      - UKI Head of Marketing
      - UK Head of Sales
      - UK Operations & Finance Manager
      Feedback
      “I used Lime Talent in the very early days of our UK launch with the team helping me hire my (now) UK leadership team who are all still with us since 2018. "
      Feedback
      "Lime Talent are responsive, flexible, honest and therefore very easy to work with. When I need support for trickier roles, then Lime are my first port of call and I always recommend them as they strike a good balance of challenge/blue chip from their network.” UK Country Manager
    • Danone
      Track Record
      Preferred supplier for roles within commercial and supply chain functions
    • who gives a crap
      Track Record
      Helping to build their EU team with roles including:
      - EU Head of Consumer
      - EU Head of Commercial
      - As well as various other roles
      Feedback
      “Lime Talent have been a fantastic partner to me as I've built out the UK & Europe team for Who Gives a Crap. Their ability to get a quick understanding of our business, the needs I had for the roles and the calibre of Lime's candidate pool has been invaluable. "
      Feedback
      "It's allowed us to move quickly to build out a team from scratch, hiring roles across a range of functions including commercial, marketing, strategy & insights. I simply wouldn't have been able to do this without Lime's support & expertise!" MD UK & Europe
    • L'Oreal
      Track Record
      Various projects from Manager to Director level within functions such as
      - eCommerce
      - Market Intelligence
      - Revenue Growth
      - Category Strategy
      - Business & Data analysis

    FAQ Section

    What does a Brand Director do in an FMCG or consumer goods business?

    A Brand Director leads the long-term brand strategy, ensuring the brand grows in awareness, penetration and revenue. They oversee marketing planning, communications, innovation, brand equity, consumer insight, agency management and cross-functional alignment with sales, category and product teams. In challenger brands, the role is often broader and more hands-on, combining strategy with execution.

    What is the difference between a Brand Director and a Marketing Director?

    A Brand Director typically focuses on brand strategy, positioning, equity, creative direction, consumer insight and brand performance.
    A Marketing Director usually has wider responsibility across brand, digital, shopper, performance marketing, innovation, and sometimes trade marketing.
    In SMEs, the titles are often interchangeable — but Marketing Directors usually own the full marketing function and budget.

    What salary does a Marketing Director or Brand Director earn in the UK FMCG sector?

    Typical UK salary ranges are:

    • Brand Director (Challenger / SME): £90,000–£120,000 + bonus + LTIP
    • Brand Director (Blue-chip FMCG): £110,000–£140,000 + car + bonus + LTIP
    • Marketing Director (Challenger / SME): £100,000–£150,000 + bonus + LTIP
    • Marketing Director (Blue-chip FMCG): £120,000–£180,000 + car + bonus + LTIP
      Packages often increase where the role includes innovation ownership, global responsibilities or P&L input.

    What skills do employers look for in Brand or Marketing Directors?

    Key capabilities include:

    • Strategic brand leadership and long-term brand planning
    • Deep understanding of consumer insights and category trends
    • Experience building and leading high-performing marketing teams
    • Strong agency & stakeholder management
    • Expertise in digital, performance and omnichannel marketing
    • Innovation and NPD launch experience
    • Ability to balance creativity with commercial thinking
    • Experience working in fast-paced, high-growth environments

    Do Marketing Directors need experience in the same category?

    Often yes — especially in regulated or highly specialised categories (e.g., baby, beauty, supplements).
    However, many consumer brands prioritise:

    • Demonstrable brand-building success
    • Experience driving penetration and household awareness
    • Digital fluency
    • Ability to scale a brand quickly

    Category is helpful but transferable brand leadership is just as valuable, particularly in challenger brands.

    How do Lime Talent recruit Brand Directors and Marketing Directors?

    We run a specialist marketing executive search process tailored to the FMCG sector, including:

    • Market mapping across brand, marketing, digital and innovation functions
    • Competency-based interviews and behavioural profiling
    • Salary benchmarking
    • Full shortlist curation with references and insight
    • Support through offer negotiation and onboarding
    • Optional Thomas behavioural profiling for leadership roles

    Lime Talent has deep experience appointing Marketing Directors for both challenger brands and global FMCG groups.

    Why do consumer brands partner with Lime Talent to hire Marketing Directors?

    Because brands need leaders who can drive growth efficiently, connect with consumers, and build teams capable of delivering multi-channel brand execution. Lime Talent has specialist insight into the nuances of marketing within food, drink, health, wellness, beauty and lifestyle categories — and understands what “good” looks like at each stage of a brand’s growth.

    How long does it take to hire a Marketing Director?

    The typical search timeline is 4–8 weeks, influenced by:

    • The required level of strategic vs. hands-on leadership
    • Specific category or channel expertise needed
    • Salary competitiveness
    • Candidate notice periods

    We also support accelerated searches for urgent hire needs.

    Can Lime Talent provide interim or contract Marketing Directors?

    Yes. We regularly place interim Marketing Directors, Brand Leads, Innovation Consultants, and Digital Strategy contractors, often for:

    • Maternity cover
    • Rebranding or repositioning projects
    • Innovation pipelines
    • Turnaround strategies
    • Gaps between permanent hires

    What types of businesses do Lime Talent support?

    We recruit marketing leaders for:

    • Fast-growth challenger brands
    • VC/PE-backed consumer scale-ups
    • Founder-led SMEs
    • Global household-name FMCG companies
    • DTC, omnichannel and lifestyle brands

    Our sweet spot is appointing leaders who blend creative flair with commercial impact.

    Does Lime Talent recruit globally for Brand and Marketing Directors?

    Yes. While our core market is the UK, we also support roles across Europe, North America, the Middle East and APAC — especially for brands expanding internationally or launching into the UK for the first time.