Hosted by celebrity restaurant critic Jay Rayner, the winners will be announced on Thursday 15 September 2022 at The Royal Lancaster Hotel in London.
Karen Betts, chief executive of the FDF, said: “This year’s awards bring together over 200 nominees across 19 categories, showcasing the very best of our industry. The judges had an invidious task in choosing winners from an extremely strong field – from companies driving new sustainability initiatives to championing employee wellbeing, as well as embracing new technologies and supporting cutting-edge skills development in their teams.
“The food and drink sector is based within communities right across the UK’s nations and regions, and these awards really demonstrate how our great companies continue to bring great products to consumers in challenging times. Good luck to all the brilliant nominees.”
Shortlisted finalists include:
Apprentice of the Year - sponsored by Tork
- Caitlin Jones - Co-op Food
- Daisy Abson - Coca-Cola Europacific Partners
- Finley Pryde - Unilever UK & Ireland
- Lorena Martin Olivera – apetito
- Richard Laursen - Unilever UK & Ireland
- Sophie Clifford - Mondelēz International
Brand Launch of the Year - sponsored by International Food & Drink Event (IFE)
- Bemuse - Sparkling low-alcohol mead
- Calbee Group UK Limited - Harvest Snaps plant-based snacks
- Mars Food - Ben’s Original™ Evolution
- Mindful Mixology
- Princes - Plot9
- Walkers - Walkers MAX x KFC
Business Resilience - sponsored by KPMG
- 92 Degrees
- British Corner Shop
- Fresh Pastures & SMUK
- Fudge Kitchen
- Simply Doughnuts Limited
- Teesdale Cheesemakers Limited
Campaign of the Year
- Birds Eye - Proud to Power Team GB
- KP Snacks - Everyone In (KP Snacks & The Hundred Partnership)
- Nestlé Confectionery – KITKAT X HEADSPACE: Augmented Reality Break Experience
- Walkers - #crispIN or #crispOUT
- Walkers - Walkers MAX x KFC – “It Makes Perfect Sense”
- Weetabix Food Company - Any Which Way A Bix
Community Partner – sponsored by The British Standards Institution (BSI)
- Clearly Drinks – Giving support and opportunities to those with additional needs in the local community
- Community Shop - Building Stronger Individuals and More Confident Communities
- Find me the Leads Ltd - To my front door UK/Newark: Championing Independent Food & Drink in Newark on Trent
- FoodCycle - the return to Community Meals
- NEMI Teas
- The Bread and Butter Thing (TBBT)
Diet and Health
- Brusco Food Group - Effective Sodium Reduction: Smart Salt®
- Calbee Group UK Limited - Harvest Snaps plant-based snacks
- Goodfella’s Pizza - Non-HFSS Pizza Portfolio
- innocent drinks
- Nestlé UK & Ireland - Garden Gourmet UK. Health focussed plant-based range
- The Basic Ingredients Ltd - Emma Basic Japanese Style Curry
Digital Transformation - sponsored by KPMG
- Compass Group UK&I
- Foods Connected and Hilton Food Group
- National Skills Academy for Food & Drink
- Odhealth
- Physical2Digital
- VeriPro
Education Initiative
- Britvic plc - Britvic’s supported internships
- Food Matters Live - The Career Conversations series, part of the Food Matters Live podcast channel
- National Skills Academy for Food & Drink - Tasty Careers
- Nestlé UK & Ireland - Virtual School Trip
- The Nutrition Society - The Nutrition Society Training Academy (NSTA)
- Wiltshire Farm Foods - Dysphagia Awareness Training with HCPs of the future
Emerging Business
- Blackthorn Salt
- Cornish Flapjack Shack
- Heura Foods
- Odhealth
- Sessions
- Tasty Mates
Environmental Leadership - sponsored by Powerstar
- ABP UK – Gamechanger
- apetito Ltd - Leading the Way with Net Zero Carbon Strategy
- DELI LITES Ireland Ltd. - To Net Zero and Beyond!
- Eurest - Combatting and Leading Change on Food Waste
- FareShare - FareShare’s Surplus with Purpose scheme
- Molson Coors Beverage Company - Molson Coors’ Carbon Reduction project
Exporter of the Year - sponsored by 4C
- Belvoir Farm Drinks Ltd
- British Corner Shop
- Nairn's
- Nasco UK Ltd
- Ramsden International
- Symington's Ltd
Food and Drink Engineer of the Year - sponsored by Sheffield Hallam University
- Dean Foots - Britvic Soft Drinks
- Graeme Strike - Premier Foods
- Ian Marsh - Musk Process Services
- James Warby - British Sugar
- Laetitia Rynhoud - Jordans Dorset Ryvita
- Yianni Alissandratos - Britvic plc
Food and Drink Technologist / Scientist of the Year - sponsored by Institute of Food Science and Technology (IFST)
- Beth Highfield - Britvic plc
- Charlotte Vodden - Birds Eye
- David Lloyd – Huel
- Holly Cuthill - Britvic plc
- Ruth Kelly - Goodfella's (Nomad Foods)
- Yogini Lad – Princes
HR Initiative - sponsored by KPMG
- Britvic plc - Working Well: Britvic’s global hybrid working programme
- Coca-Cola Europacific Partners (CCEP) - ‘JustBe’ from Coca-Cola Europacific Partners GB
- Mars Food - Food Switch off For Dinner
- Moy Park Ltd - Moy Park’s Development Academies
- PepsiCo UK - Frontline Home Grown Accelerated Development Programme
- Proper Cornish Ltd - Health and Wellbeing Initiative
Manufacturing Initiative - sponsored by Redzone
- British Sugar - Factory of the Future
- Clearly Drinks Ltd - New canning line
- EBS Food Systems - Pigs in Blankets Pick & Place Robot Cell
- Koolmill - NextGEN Rice Milling
- Radnor Hills Mineral Water Company Ltd. - Pressure Less Pack Conveyer System
- Weetabix - Compliance Improvement Initiative
Product Innovation - sponsored by Clarke Energy
- apetito & Wiltshire Farm Foods - Finger Foods Bites: the future of Dementia-friendly dining
- Meatless Farm - Plant-Based Chicken Breast
- Premier Foods - Saxa Salt Sprays: changing the way we use and think about salt
- Simply Doughnuts Limited - Development of fresh, long shelf-life doughnuts for retailers and wholesalers
- Sutherlands of Portsoy - Coffee Smoked
- THIS™ - Fat 2.0
Registered Dietitian / Nutritionist of the Year
- Eretia O'Kennedy Coleske - Starbucks Coffee Company (UK)
- Kelly Fortune - apetito & Wiltshire Farm Foods
- Rebecca Deeley -Tillery Valley Foods
- Rebecca Williams – Huel
- Rees Bramwell – Eurest
Rising Star - sponsored by PepsiCo UK
- Amy Day - Premier Foods
- Declan Henderson – apetito
- Oliver Havers - Pilgrim's UK
- Rhian Smith – Princes
- Sharlene Harrison - Müller UK & Ireland
- Sophie Edwards - Mondelēz International
Sustainable Packaging Initiative - sponsored by Water Plus
- apetito Ltd - Boomerang: a first for large-scale closed loop recycling
- Ellers Farm Distillery - Dutch Barn Orchard Vodka - Amber Bottle Project
- Kingsmill - Bread bags recycled content trial
- Laithwaites Wine - Organic w/o Frappato in 100% post-consumer recycled ‘wild’ glass bottle
- Nestlé UK & Ireland - SMARTIES transition from plastic to paper packaging
- PepsiCo UK&I - Multi-pack Crisps Direct to carton
- Sutherlands of Portsoy – QuadFresH
If you would like to attend the event, you can purchase tickets here.