FDF Awards 2025 winners
Apprentice of the Year – Joint winner
Alexander Austyn, Packaging Developer Apprentice, Unilever and The Magnum Ice Cream Company, BSc in Packaging Professional Level 6, Sheffield Hallam University
Since joining the apprenticeship scheme in 2022, Alex has made a significant impact at his organisation, progressing to a Packaging Developer role where he leads packaging change projects and supports new product development. His outstanding contribution includes leading the packaging work stream for the 2025 Magnum innovation project, delivering the finest carton yet for a premium product range.
Alex has earned praise for his packaging expertise and project management skills, while also championing apprenticeships by organising events, visiting schools, and mentoring new cohorts. His professionalism, passion, and collaborative spirit have made him an invaluable team member and a key contributor to the brand’s success.
Apprentice of the Year – Joint winner
Gabby Dineen, Food Technical Apprenticeship, Unilever and The Magnum Ice Cream Company Food Industry Technical Professional Degree Apprenticeship Level 6, Nottingham Trent University
Gabby is an outstanding degree apprentice at Unilever, balancing full-time work with academic studies while excelling in technical leadership and innovation. She has assisted with the development of a new Cornetto recipe and is managing the transfer of a multimillion-dollar US brand to Europe, overseeing formulation, trials, and factory coordination. Her collaborative work spans product innovation, packaging, and regulatory challenges.
Beyond her technical contributions, as an ambassador, Gabby actively promotes apprenticeships and STEM education by mentoring new apprentices, organising onboarding activities, and representing Unilever at careers events. Her dedication, technical skill, and positive influence have made her an invaluable asset to both her team and the wider organisation.
Brand Launch of the Year – Joint winner
Wall’s Pastry - When Hunger Calls, Grab a Wall’s
The UK’s leading sausage roll brand, underwent a major transformation to boost consumer engagement and modernise its image. Despite strong sales, the brand faced low awareness and limited appeal among younger audiences. The relaunch introduced its best-ever sausage roll recipe and bold new packaging, while expanding the product range to suit diverse consumer needs, including food-to-go options and new formats like Pizza Pies and breakfast items.
A dynamic marketing campaign featuring the Wallsy mascot and the tagline “When Hunger Calls, Grab a Wall’s” drove nationwide awareness and trial. The result was a sales boost to over £63m, a 30% value increase, and 488,000 new shoppers, solidifying Wall’s position as the third-largest Chilled Savoury Pastry brand in the UK.
Brand Launch of the Year – Joint winner
PepsiCo UK - Extra Flamin' Hot
In March 2024, PepsiCo launched the Extra Flamin' Hot platform in the UK, combining Doritos, Walkers Max, and Wotsits Crunchy under a bold new flavour to meet rising consumer demand for spicy snacks, especially among Gen Z.
Featuring non-HFSS options and eye-catching packaging, the launch included memorable activations like branded fire trucks and a 'sweaty' billboard, driving strong retailer support and consumer engagement. The launch achieved the highest penetration of any spicy new product in three years and generated £27.3 million in sales within less than a year of launching, successfully boosting PepsiCo’s snacking portfolio with a vibrant, flavour-forward brand experience.
Campaign of the Year
PepsiCo UK – No Walkers, No Game
PepsiCo launched its largest and most innovative 360-degree campaign for the Walkers brand, 'No Walkers, No Game,' to make it the go-to snack during the football summer of 2024, leveraging major football events like the UEFA Champions League and Men’s European Championships.
Featuring brand ambassadors such as David Beckham and Thierry Henry, the campaign included extensive media coverage, social engagement, on-pack giveaways, and prize opportunities that resulted in 97% national reach. Over 100 million promotional packs were sold, and generating a strong sales uplift among retailers and pubs.
Community Partner
Danone UK & Ireland
Danone and FoodCycle's three-year partnership, launched in 2023, supports expanding access to nutritious meals and promotes sustainable healthy eating across the UK, serving over 3,600 meals weekly and aiming for 100 locations by 2024.
This collaboration addresses food poverty intensified by the cost-of-living crisis, with Danone providing funding, volunteer support, and nutrition expertise, resulting in positive dietary changes for the majority of FoodCycle guests and fostering sustainable food attitudes while reducing waste.
Diet & Health
Saltire Patisserie Ltd
Saltire Patisserie, supported by FDF Scotland’s Reformulation for Health programme and funding bodies, successfully reduced the salt content in their wholemeal bloomers and bagels while maintaining artisan quality through recipe adjustments and fermentation techniques. These healthier bakery products are now served across various Scottish cafés and hospitality clients, reflecting the company's commitment to improving public health without compromising flavour or structure.
Education Initiative
Mondelēz International - ProFSET Food Engineer Student Launchpad
The ProFSET Food Engineer Student Launchpad from Mondelēz International connects engineering students and university staff to an advanced food manufacturing environment and fosters collaborations to raise the sector's profile, enhance skills, and secure future talent pipelines.
UK food and drink manufacturing offers significant investment returns and growth potential but faces challenges in technology adoption and talent attraction. Connecting engineering academia to the UK’s largest manufacturing sector could improve productivity, economic growth, increase food security and investment in science and technology, plus drive sustainability and increase the welfare for all regions of the UK.
SME Emerging Business
The Gym Kitchen
The Gym Kitchen, founded by Segun Akinwoleola, offers affordable, high-protein, macro-friendly ready meals that combine convenience with quality ingredients and bold flavours, aiming to make healthy food accessible nationwide.
Experiencing rapid growth, stockists include major UK retailers; Asda, Co-op, Tesco, Morrison’s and Ocado. The brand emphasizes diversity and inclusion while promoting a lifestyle centred on nutritious, tasty meals without compromise.
Environmental Leadership
Quorn Foods
As a leading producer of sustainable protein—with over 10 billion servings delivered since 1984, the company is committed to its purpose: "Healthy Food for People and Planet." It aims to become Net Positive by 2030, focusing on emissions reduction, social responsibility, supply chain integrity, community engagement, and product nutrition. Every employee now has at least one sustainability objective in their personal development goals. In this way, sustainability is embedded in the business strategy and operationalized through employee contributions, including:
- Product development: factoring in sustainability and nutrition early in design.
- Procurement: promoting ethical and social values in sourcing.
- IT: optimizing infrastructure to save 167,000 kWh annually.
- Packaging: reducing plastic and improving recyclability, targeting 98%.
- Finance: integrating sustainability into financial planning.
- Operations: cutting energy use by 3,000 MWh year-over-year.
This collective effort fosters innovation, efficiency, and long-term positive impact.
Equality, Diversity & Inclusion Initiative
Weetabix Food Company
Weetabix's "Inclusion Without Exception" program, launched in 2019, has significantly enhanced workplace inclusivity, increasing employee perception of inclusiveness from 50% to 74%. Key initiatives include personal experience sharing sessions, new inclusive policies, accessibility improvements, and leadership training, resulting in a rise in female senior leadership from 16% to 35% and higher overall engagement.
The company overcame communication challenges across multiple sites through volunteer Inclusion Champions and continues to commit to full inclusivity and diversity advancement.
Exporter of the Year
Ramsden International
Ramsden International is a leading British wholesale exporter with a 79-year legacy, supplying over 25,000 grocery products to more than 650 customers across 130 countries. Based in Grimsby with facilities and sales presence worldwide, the company offers a broad product range including confectionery, cooking ingredients, drinks, and non-food items, and partners with brands like Co-op and Waitrose.
Committed to customer satisfaction, Ramsden provides value-added services such as logistics, compliance support, and multilingual customer service, and has received over 100 industry awards, including three Queen’s Awards for Enterprise, with its CEO honoured with an MBE for international trade contributions.
Food & Drink Technologist / Scientist of the Year
Dr Robert Griffiths, Technical Specialist – Lipids, RSSL
Robert Griffiths, a Technical Specialist in lipids at RSSL, has spent nearly 25 years advancing lipid science and enhancing food supply chain resilience. With a PhD in Lipid Biochemistry, he has pioneered analytical methods and led critical projects in shelf-life evaluation, fat characterisation, and crisis management - particularly during global disruptions like the Ukraine conflict.
His work has helped over 200 companies maintain product integrity and navigate supply challenges, while also contributing to industry standards through BSI and ISO. A respected mentor and thought leader, Robert has shaped the future of food science through his consultancy, educational outreach, and leadership in organisations such as the Society of Chemical Industry and BSI. His legacy is defined by innovation, mentorship, and a deep commitment to security and safety of nutritious and quality foods.
Food and Drink Engineer of the Year
Dr Laura Malhi, Associate Principal Engineer, Mondelēz International
Laura is a leading technical ambassador for the UK Food and Drink industry, known for her expertise in food engineering and digitisation. As Associate Principal Engineer at Mondelez, she has driven major innovations in process engineering, solving long-standing manufacturing challenges and delivering over £50 million in global savings through predictive control systems.
Her leadership extends beyond technical achievements to industry-wide collaboration, including co-founding ProFSET, influencing policy through UKRI and Defra partnerships, and mentoring future scientists. Laura’s impact is recognised across academia and industry, especially for her role in promoting STEM careers and advancing Industry 5.0 in food manufacturing.
Food Waste Initiative
Quorn Foods cross-functional food redistribution programme
In 2024, Quorn Foods significantly improved its food redistribution programme by reducing warehouse food waste by 46% per tonne and achieving a 17% absolute reduction since 2019, while doubling its food donation target to provide two million nutritious portions of protein to people in need globally.
This initiative also included enhanced monetary, voucher support and their chefs cooking for beneficiaries at charities, reinforcing Quorn Foods’ commitment to its Net Positive agenda.
HR Initiative
Mondelēz Playing to Win Together
Playing to Win Together (PTWT) is a UK & I business cultural programme designed to empower colleagues to lead with care and courage, focusing on trust and psychological safety through three pillars: 'Courage over Comfort' 'Clarity is Kindness', and 'Connection through Curiosity'. It encourages a growth mindset, powerful dialogue, and inclusive connections, supported by functional champions and continuously evolving with new content such as "think differently" and "building meaningful connections". Launched in 2024, it positively impacts on colleagues and the organisation.
Manufacturing & Digital Transformation
The Pudding Compartment
The Pudding Compartment bakery is advancing its ambition to become a model "SME factory of the future" by integrating digital technology to enhance sustainability, business performance, and workforce skills. Collaborating with local partners and leveraging automation, IoT systems, and cloud-based traceability, the bakery has implemented a robotic finishing, cutting, and packing line alongside real-time digital monitoring, resulting in transformational insights and opportunities for continuous improvement.
Net Zero Initiative
Glebe Farm Foods
Glebe Farm Foods, a British oat producer, invests £1 million annually in renewable energy and circular processes, aiming for energy self-sufficiency within five to seven years. The company has centralized packing at its Cambridgeshire site, significantly reducing transport emissions, and is installing solar panels and biomass boilers that use oat husk residues to generate steam, eliminating fossil fuel use for oat flaking. These sustainable efforts have attracted partnerships with major UK foodservice operators like British Airways and Elior as part of their green initiatives.
Product Innovation
Vadasz
Vadasz revolutionized the UK's food market by scaling artisanal pickling and fermentation into a £16m business, leading in fresh kimchi, pickles, and ferments stocked by major retailers. Vadasz ensured mass production retained artisanal quality through perfected cold brining and lacto fermentation techniques, making the brand a staple for both retail and foodservice sectors.
The company continues innovating with new flavours like Super-Beet Kimchi, expanding fresh condiment options and promoting healthier eating nationwide.
Rising Star
Vlad Racins, Combustion Technician, Diploma Level 3 Apprenticeship, British Sugar
Vlad joined British Sugar in 2021 and quickly rose through the ranks due to his dedication and technical aptitude, progressing from Customer Supply to a supervisory role and then into sugar production. After earning a Distinction in his Process Apprenticeship in the Energy team, he now serves as a Shift Combustion Technician, managing the site’s Combined Heat and Power plant and Anaerobic Digestion plant.
His proactive learning, contributions to procedural documentation, and additional training on complex equipment have earned him respect across the company. Known for his approachable nature and commitment to safety, Vlad is recognised as a mentor and a future leader with strong potential for career advancement.
Registered Dietitian/Nutritionist of the Year
Dr Sue Gatenby – PepsiCo UK
Dr Sue Gatenby has led a transformative 20-year career at PepsiCo, where she built a nutrition science team from the ground up in Europe and spearheaded major initiatives like the Global Nutrition Criteria, for which she won the Chairman’s Award, and the UK Health Report, which set ambitious KPIs and influenced healthier product development. Her work spans product innovation, internal education, external engagement, and strategic policy leadership, positioning PepsiCo ahead of health and regulatory trends.
Beyond her internal contributions, she holds influential roles on several nutrition boards and continues to mentor colleagues, reflecting her deep commitment to advancing public health through evidence-based decision-making and collaborative leadership.
Sustainable Packaging Initiative
The Compleat Food Group
The Compleat Food Group, a leading UK food manufacturer, has eliminated 110 tonnes of plastic annually and reduced CO2 emissions by 430 tonnes per year by removing plastic trays from its pork pie packaging through automation technology.
This advancement has maintained product quality, shelf-life and efficiency while promoting sustainability and easier disposal for consumers. It reinforces the company's commitment to achieving net-zero emissions by 2040, and sets a standard for responsible food manufacturing in the UK.