Food and Drink Federation Awards
Our awards are fast becoming the industry benchmark of excellence for innovation, competitiveness and talent. Each year, companies from across the food and drink supply chain enter the FDF Awards, and over 500 guests come together to celebrate the winners at the FDF Awards ceremony.
Take a look at our award categories and enter for free before
28 February 2020, for your chance to win - you can enter as many categories as you like
and nominate multiple projects/colleagues.
How to enter?
Download the entry form and submit
your application for free online before Friday 28 February 2020. You
can enter
as many categories as you like and nominate multiple projects/colleagues.
Who can enter?
- Food and drink manufacturers
- Retailers, producers, growers, hospitality
- Sectors working with the food and drink supply chain including researchers,
distributors,
health, local authorities, education providers
2020 Awards Categories
Apprentice of the Year
There are more apprentices than ever in the food and drink supply chain. These
are the potential
industry leaders of the future. Our Apprentice of the Year will have shown
exceptional progress in
both their skills development and studies or have made an exceptional
contribution to the business
through a one-off project.
Those nominated must be undertaking their apprenticeship at the time of
nomination. The
nomination can be made by a line manager, HR representative or college tutor.
Download entry form
View the
2019 winner's case study
Have you considered entering our other individual awards?
Engineer of the Year, Scientist of the
Year or Rising Star
Brand Launch of the Year
Have you launched an exciting new brand, whether a single product or a range? Or
is your
business strengthening an existing brand or rebranding an existing range?
This category will look at food and drink manufacturers launching a new brand,
launching a new
initiative to strengthen an existing brand or launching a rebrand. In all three
cases, the brand may
relate to a single product or a range of products.
Judges will look at the brand positioning, communication, differentiation,
protectability and the
initiatives taken to build consumer engagement, whether rational, emotional or
both. Entries will need
to show why a specific brand approach has been adopted, the steps taken to
protect and
communicate it, with metrics demonstrating consumer engagement.
Download entry form
View the
2019 winner's case study
Have you considered entering our Innovation category, or Campaign of the Year award?
Campaign of the Year
Companies are becoming ever-more innovative in communicating with their
audiences. This
category is for in-house or agency teams to enter campaigns centring on sales,
driving behaviour
change, launches, research or increasing awareness. The campaign can utilise a
variety of media
including digital, PR or marketing.
The judges will be looking for campaigns that are strongly evaluated against
their original aims.
Success will be considered against the original objectives and should include a
variety of
measurements, not just AVE or 'likes'.
The judges will be looking for a campaign that is creative, achieves its
objectives, is clearly
evaluated and robustly demonstrates its value for money.
Download entry form
View the
2019 winner's case study
Community Partner
Are you making a difference in your community?
Many food and drink supply chain companies work closely with their communities
and this can
either be a physical community, such as those living close to the factory; a
specific sector of society
or even an online community.
We are looking for companies that have carried out outstanding work with their
chosen
community and made a positive difference.
Download entry form
View
the 2019 winner's case study
Diet & Health
Has your company made a significant contribution to improve the health of its
customers? This
award is aimed at projects that have focused on:
- Product reformulation; changing recipes to help people achieve dietary goals*,
for example
by reducing salt, fat and sugar content or increasing fibre or vegetable
composition.
- Portion sizes; offering a range of smaller or more adaptable products to
encourage
appropriate consumption.
- Creating new products; helping people achieve dietary goals* by NPD which
focuses on
improved nutrition for the targeted eating occasion.
The category is open to all sizes of companies and achievement will be judged on
the following
criteria:
- The aim of the project. What did the project set out to do; what dietary need
was it trying to
tackle?
- The development process. Whether it is an original concept or extension of
existing work,
the judges need to see the steps from concept to final project delivery.
- What was the biggest challenge, how was it overcome and what learnings were
taken from
it?
- The reach of the project. Each submission should clearly show the audience
reached and
how the change benefits the consumer.
*This award is aimed at recognising where companies are helping their customers
achieve
dietary goals by changing products or introducing new products. Judges will be
considering the UK
dietary guidance for both nutrients (e.g. salt, sugars, saturated fat, energy,
fibre) or foods (fruit &
vegetables, oily fish).
Please note foods that are designed to help consumers with specific medical
conditions,
e.g. gluten free, or that help a lifestyle choice, e.g. vegan will not be
considered unless the products
are also designed to have an improved nutrition profile.
Download entry form
View the
2019 joint winner case studies: Kellogg's and Kerry Taste &
Nutrition
If your initiative is a health-based community intervention, have
you considered entering our Community Partner award ?
If you are launching your brand, have you considered entering our
Brand Launch of the Year award or Emerging
Business
award ?
Education Initiative
Many companies work positively with schools and colleges to encourage interest
in food and
drink manufacturing and help to facilitate employment opportunities for young
people. Nominations
could be for a one-off event, an ongoing contribution to lessons, schemes to
experience the world of
work or develop employability skills.
Entries can be made for local or national initiatives.
Download entry form
View the
2019 winner's case study
Have you considered entering our HR Initiative
award ?
Emerging Business
Have you started your business and experienced a significant growth in the past
few years? Are
you proud to be a thriving food or drink company in your area?
Growth can be through increased sales, capacity and resource expansion,
developing new and
innovative product lines or even impressive first-year achievements after
starting from scratch. In
short, if you think your business is fabulous, enter and tell us why.
Download entry form
View
the 2019 winner's case study
Environmental Leadership
Everyone is looking to produce more with less and with less impact on the
environment. Our
Environmental Leadership category is for companies that can meet either of the
criteria below:
- Embedding sustainability throughout a product from development right through to
customer
use and disposal
- Ground-breaking initiatives to reduce your company's impact on the planet
Download entry form
View the
2019 winner's case study
Exporter of the Year
British food and drink has never been more popular and exports continue to be a
key area for
growth. This category is for companies that are entering new markets, creating
targeted products or
growing sales in established markets. It is open to manufacturers but also to
intermediary companies.
The judges will look at achievement and ambition relative to the size of the
company, not just the
largest sales figures! Please note that this category aims to celebrate the
success of UK based
companies exporting UK produced food and drink and therefore:
For manufactures, 75% of your product must be produced in the UK
Consolidators/intermediaries – you may only include British produced brands
within your
submission
Download entry form
View the 2019
winner's case study
Food and Drink Engineer of the Year
Engineering skills are essential for our industry to grow and we want to
recognise the people that
will make this happen. Entrants can be nominated by a colleague, line manager
or
self-nominate.
Nominees must:
- Be currently employed within the UK food and drink manufacturing sector
- Have contributed to product development over a sustained period or be a
promising new
entrant to the industry who has led at least one significant project
- Be a positive role model/ambassador within the company and externally
- Go 'above and beyond' as an exceptional employee in both their work and
behaviours
Download entry form
View the 2019
winner's case study
Have you considered entering our other individual awards? Apprentice of the Year, Scientist of the Year, Rising Star.
Food and Drink Scientist of the Year
Scientific developments help to give our industry its competitive edge and we
are fortunate to
have many talented scientists working within our sector. This award will
recognise someone who has
made an exceptional contribution to the food and drink sector.
Nominees must:
- Be currently employed within the UK food and drink manufacturing sector
- Have contributed to product development over a sustained period or be a
promising new
entrant to the industry who has led at least one significant project
- Be a positive role model/ambassador within the company and externally
- Go 'above and beyond' as an exceptional employee in both their work and
behaviours
Download entry form
View the 2019
winner's case study
Have you considered entering our other individual awards? Apprentice of the Year, Scientist of the Year, Rising Star.
HR Initiative
Employee recruitment and retention is important to a successful company, so show
us how your
company is a great place to work. Initiatives under this category must
specifically benefit your
employees and could include employee support, innovative training, workplace
wellbeing or an
'above and beyond' approach to flexibility.
Download entry form
View the
2019 winner's case study
Innovation
Many companies within our industry do exceptional work, creating products or
developing new
ways of thinking and working. Entrants must show either of these:
- Significant development achieved over the past three years in either product
research and/or
Development in the food supply chain e.g. developing new ingredients to cut
waste or improve
yield
- A significant and innovative change to the way you do business e.g. processes,
factory
design or logistics
Download entry form
View the
2019 winner's case study
If you are launching your brand, have you considered entering our
Brand Launch of the Year award ?
If your entry is focusing on packaging, have you considered
entering our Packaging Initiative award ?
Registered Dietitian / Nutritionist of the Year
Nutritionists and dietitians support our industry in improving the health of the
nation, and are
crucial to innovative new product development. We are fortunate to have many
talented nutritionists
and dietitians working in our sector. This award will recognise someone who has
made an
exceptional contribution to the food and drink sector.
Nominees must:
- Be currently employed within the UK food and drink manufacturing sector
- A Registered Dietitian or Registered with the Association for Nutrition (as a
Registered or
Associate Nutritionist)
- Have contributed to the company's efforts to support diet and health initiatives
over a
sustained period or be a promising new entrant to the industry who has led at
least one diet and
health related project
- Be a positive role model/ambassador within the company and externally for the
nutrition /
dietetics profession
Download entry form
View the
2019 winner's case study
Rising Star
We're looking for the bright sparks of the food and drink industry with this
award category. Open
to entrants within their first five years in the industry at any academic and
training level, the Rising
Star category is for the people with the potential to go far. Nominations can
be
made by line
managers or HR managers.
Download entry form
View the 2019
winner's case study
Sustainable Packaging Initiative - new for 2020
Plastics and packaging has been in the media and political spotlight over the
past year.
Whilst there is a broad consensus about the need for urgent action to reduce the
impact of
plastics on the environment, it needs to be remembered that plastic packaging
in
common with all
forms of packaging has a number of practical applications for the food and
drink
sector notably in
protecting products and ensuring they are delivered safely and in good
condition
from the point of
production to the point of consumption. Therefore in a circular economy,
packaging ensures the food
or drink it contains remains in optimal condition, thereby helping to ensure it
is consumed, and does
not become waste.
Identifying more sustainable solutions either through improving existing formats
or looking at
alternative materials is a complex, expensive and time-consuming business
especially if the overall
sustainability of the product is not to be compromised and unintended
consequences are to be
avoided. However many companies are making great strides to reduce their
environmental impact by
improving the design of existing materials or switching to alternative
materials
already on the market.
This new category looks at how food and drink producers have moved towards more
sustainable
packaging solutions particularly in respect of plastics. Entrants may be food
and drink producers
implementing their own internal packaging strategies or researchers and
innovators developing
innovative solutions to benefit the industry.
Entrants for this category can submit entries based on:
- Researching and developing new packaging solutions which deliver improved
environmental
outcomes and contribute to overall product sustainability
- A strategy of demonstrably addressing the sustainability of packaging for your
products/brands
Download entry form
Entrants, please note: To enter this category your ranges do not need to be
entirely plastic
free. Innovation takes time and will be more complex depending on the product.
The judges will be
looking at the ambition and scale of the challenge to package your products
more
sustainably and for
innovations which contribute to a net improvement in the use of resources
across
the value chain.
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