Representatives from across the UK’s F&B supply chain came together to celebrate the Food and Drink Federation Awards 2020 and toast the achievements across categories including sugar reduction, soy-free meatless offerings and ethical chocolates.

“Every year, the FDF Awards is inundated with high caliber entries from across our industry. For 2020, the judging was particularly challenging, as every single entrant played a crucial role in feeding our country during the pandemic,” says Ian Wright, chief executive of the FDF.

“We should all be immensely proud of the way in which food and drink – at all points in the supply chain, from farm to fork – has responded. In manufacturing facilities, in stores and distribution centers and on farms, our people have been the hidden heroes of this most testing year.”

The ceremony was hosted by celebrity restaurant critic Jay Rayner. The awards were sponsored by Santander UK.

The FDF Awards 2020 winners include:

Recognized companies
Green Cuisine, launched by Birds Eye, under Nomad Foods, is a versatile range of products made with pea protein. The sub-brand created a range of meat-free dinner staples. It was awarded the Brand Launch of the Year.

Aunt Bessie’s, under Nomad Foods, delivered an ambitious project to reduce sugar in seven of their biggest selling desserts, while retaining the taste, quality and overall product experience their consumers demand. The company was recognized in the Diet and Health category.

PLAYin CHOC, a maker of organic and ethical chocolates, has launched in several key international markets and this year launched on Norwegian Airlines across 100 routes. It was recognized in the Emerging Business category.

As the winner of the Innovation category, Meatless Farm launched its first-ever soy-free products marketed as completely gluten, GMO and soy-free. Their primary protein is pea protein, combined with a mixture of other sustainably sourced ingredients.

The Wyke Farms brand was awarded as the Exporter of the Year. It is one of the oldest and most widely distributed cheddar brands in the UK. Its products are available in over 160 countries around the world, including France.

Awarded initiatives
As the UK’s largest doorstep grocery and milk delivery service, Milk & More expresses aims to transform the “great British milkman” into a modern, convenient delivery service with a sustainable, environmentally friendly proposition. It was granted the Environmental Leadership award.

The Bread and Butter Thing is a charity that delivers weekly produce bags, sourced from surplus food and non-food items. This is done at minimal cost to members via community hubs across the area, encouraging them to eat better. The organization was awarded in the Community Partner category.

As recipients of the Hidden Hero award, Moy Park’s Culinary Team in Craigavon led by Aaron Dixon turned their new product development kitchen into a production line during the pandemic. They created 1,000 healthy and nutritious meals a week for those in need, in partnership with the Resource Centre Derry.

Winning the HR Initiative category, PepsiCo’s “Grow our Own” Training and Education Program has focused on creating development initiatives that are designed to unlock the potential of frontline supply chain talent, have a positive impact on everyday life, gain formal accredited qualifications, and ensure employees feel treasured and valued as vital members of the team.

In the Sustainable Packaging Initiative category, Coca-Cola has introduced a new sustainable packaging strategy and a new global ambition for a “World Without Waste.” This included a project to collect and recycle the equivalent of every bottle or can they sell by 2030, with ambitions in Western Europe to achieve this by 2025.

Next to Coca-Cola in this category, Little Freddie is the UK’s first baby food brand to recycle all baby food pouches, from any brand, with zero waste to landfill closed-loop recycling technology. So far, the scheme has saved over 550,000 pouches from going to landfill since it launched in November 2018.

Talent recognitions
Winning Lifetime Achievement award, Dr. Roger Angold, lead scientific consultant at Reading Scientific Services, was recognized for his pioneering of microscopy techniques. These solutions have been pivotal in the development of Quorn. He is also commended for his expertise in starch and bread baking.

In the Apprentice of the Year category, Jordan Brosnan, reliability engineer at Coca-Cola European Partners was applauded for demonstrating his “natural aptitude” for the role as an ambassador for the manufacturing field.

Emma McLeod, a research fellow at Mondelēz International, was recognized as Engineer of the Year. She is commended as an “inspirational technical role model” for colleagues, and especially for women working in science, technology, engineering and mathematics.

Lauren Woodley, group nutrition leader of Nomad Foods, has evolved and driven the company’s nutrition agenda forward, ensuring that health and nutrition are central to the company purpose and strategy. She is the recipient of the Registered Nutritionist/Dietitian of the Year.

In the Rising Star category, Oliver Bradbury, business account manager, has had a “meteoric rise” at Premier Foods. He has impressed senior stakeholders with his work ethic and strong results, working his way up via two promotions after just 15 months working in sales.

As Scientist of the Year, Dr. Steven Muir, sponsored by the Institute of Food Science and Technology, is working on a project with Biomathematics and Statistics Scotland (BioSS) to ascertain the genetic value of parent plants that will ultimately be selected for crossings, regarding desirable phenotypic traits.