Food & Drink /
Reach for the stars at the Future Food Awards 2019
Is your company the next New Covent Garden Soup? Are you the best thing since Tetra Pak? Are you all set to disrupt your category? Well the Future Food Awards wants to hear from you!
The inaugural Future Food Awards will showcase the very best of the innovation taking place across the food industry, whether in food, drink, packaging or technology.
They will celebrate and support inspirational businesses and offer that invaluable opportunity to get your company on the radar.
The Future Food awards are the brainchild of Holly Shackleton, editor of Speciality Food – the biggest trade magazine in the fine food sector – and Sue Nelson, founder of The FoodTalk Show – a dedicated podcast enjoyed around the world.
They have joined forces to merge the established Speciality Food New Producer Awards and The FoodTalk Awards to offer the industry a pioneering awards scheme to benefit and promote both the companies at the heart of food and drink innovation and the industry at large.
Scooping a win could boost your business to the next level, as last year’s Awards best-in-class will testify.
Single origin bean to bar chocolate company Bullion Chocolate has not had time to look back since being named supreme champion at the New Producer Awards 2018.
The entrepreneurial company is just about to open its first craft factory in the foodie destination of The Cutlery Works in Sheffield.
Founder Max Scotford says: “The last year since winning the award has been non-stop, we now have a successful café and coffee bar and we are about to move into production premises three times the size of our previous ones. I want craft chocolate to be recognised in the same way as craft beer or coffee, and we have plans to develop a model of a craft chocolate factory and café format which could be rolled out around the country, making the chocolate-making process accessible to everyone by offering visitor tours.”
A people’s choice champion of the 2018 FoodTalk Awards was Rubies in the Rubble banana ketchup. Jenny Costa set up the sustainable food brand, turning fruit and veg that would otherwise be discarded into condiments. You can now find her chutneys, ketchups and relishes on shelves from Selfridges to Whole Foods.
She says: “We have had a really busy and exciting year growing our customer base and product range, so we now offer classic condiments as well such as classic ketchup. Winning an Award gives reassurance to the people you are dealing with and a stamp of approval of what you do.”
An eminent panel of judges will be looking for businesses who can demonstrate a similar winning combination of product excellence and fresh thinking at the Future Food Awards 2019.
The panel, boasting legendary founders and industry experts will whittle the entries down to unveil a winner from each category. The full judging panel is yet to be announced but will include entrepreneur John Stapleton founder of New Covent Garden Soup Co and Little Dish.
The Awards have nine categories including Young Producer, Drink Innovation, Mission Driven and Technology, giving food and drink businesses ranging from small-scale producers to technology-driven innovators their time in the spotlight.
Holly Shackleton commented: “The food industry is a hugely exciting place to be right now, and I can’t wait to delve deeper into the world of innovation and new businesses thanks to the Future Food Awards.”
And Sue Nelson said: “We want to encourage innovation across all categories and I’m so happy to be working with the experienced and enthusiastic team at Speciality Food magazine. I can’t wait for the entries to arrive!”
These winners, who will then pitch to the full panel of prestigious judges at Bread & Jam – the UK’s first food founders’ festival, to be held on Thursday 3 October 2019 at the Institute of Directors in London’s Pall Mall – for a chance to be named the Supreme Champion of the Future Food Awards.
All finalists will be presented with trophies, promoted in Speciality Food and on prime slots on The FoodTalk Show – not to mention money-can’t-buy access to some of the most revered professionals in the UK’s food and drink industry.
Jason Gibb, founder of Bread & Jam said: “It is an exciting year to be part of the Future Food Awards as they are opening up to a larger field of inspiring, emerging challenger brands – I’m proud to be on the judging panel of one of the few awards that are free to enter and offer winners such great exposure and support.”
Entries to The Future Food Awards 2019 will close at midnight on 30 June 2019. If your business is a taste of what’s to come in food and drink, enter for free or find out more at www.futurefoodawards.com.
The awards categories
For all categories, the awards are only open to food or foodtech sector businesses that have been trading for two full financial years with the exception of the Newcomer and Young Producer award:
Young Producer – 5 finalists
A company headed by a founder or co-founder that is aged 25 years or under
Newcomer – 5 finalists
A company that has been trading less than two years
Mission-driven – 4 finalists
A company that is a CIC, social enterprise, charity or has profit for purpose at its heart
Farm-to-fork – 4 finalists
A company that champions or delivers traceable provenance from supply to the end consumer without the addition of unnecessary preservatives or additives
Food Innovation – 5 finalists
A food product that shows real innovation in their category using unusual ingredients or combinations or removing allergens without sacrificing quality or taste
Drink Innovation – 5 finalists
A beverage, soft or alcoholic drink that shows real innovation in their category using unusual ingredients or combinations or removing allergens without sacrificing quality or taste
Food Packaging – 4 finalists
Innovative packaging that delivers or protects food or drink products whether for retail, delivery or takeaway
Technology – 4 finalists
Smart gadgets, innovative apps or technology that makes cooking, preparing or analysing food easy to understand or use
Impossible to Categorise – 4 finalists
A company innovating in the food sector and making an important contribution that just doesn’t fit into the other award categories
