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FDF Awards ceremony celebrates industry leaders

22 September 2017

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The Food and Drink Federation Awards ceremony last night showcased the success and achievements of the UK's food and drink manufacturing industry. A panel of expert judges were tasked with choosing the most inspiring, innovative and creative submissions with 21 prizes awarded to individuals, companies, and campaigns throughout the country. They were presented by broadcaster, writer, and comedian Hardeep Singh Kohli at London's The Brewery.

The FDF Awards 2017 winners are as follows:

Apprentice of the Year (sponsored by AKTRION FOOD)

Elise Rawlins, Sustainability Apprentice at Bidfood in Nottingham

Campaign of the Year

Berkshire-based Mars Chocolate UK's campaign, MALTESERS® celebrates diversity with ads that Look on the Light Side of disability

Community Champion (sponsored by Santander)

Victoria Prowse, Senior Manager, Commercial Strategy at Coca-Cola European Partners Ltd in Uxbridge

Community Partner (sponsored by General Mills UK Ltd)

apetito in Wiltshire, working in partnership with the Trowbridge senior community

Education Initiative

Central England Co-operative SENse to Aspire Scheme which supports students through classroom employability sessions and work experience in Staffordshire Weetabix Food Company's apprenticeship and education programme in Northamptonshire

Environmental Leadership (sponsored by Kite Packaging)

PepsiCo UK, in Berkshire, '50 in 5' project which aimed to halve the water and carbon used to grow the potatoes that make Walkers crisps in water stressed areas

Exporter of the Year (sponsored by Santander)

BFree Foods, the 3rd largest bakery brand in the Free-From category, based in Newry and Dublin.

Food and Drink Engineer of the Year (sponsored by Sheffield Hallam University)

Sarah Cain, Reliability & Maintenance Manager at The Wrigley Company in Reading

Food and Drink Scientist of the Year (sponsored by the Institute of Food Science and Technology)

Dr Wendy Russell, Gut Health Theme Leader and a principal investigator in natural product chemistry at the Rowett Institute of Nutrition and Health, University of Aberdeen

Good Employer

KP Snacks' 'Achieving Together: Creating and Embedding KP's Values and Behaviours' project in Slough

Health

Danone Nutricia Early Life Nutrition's 'Taste, Texture and Transparency: Revolutionising the C&G jars portfolio' project in London

Innovation (sponsored by Omron)

Trowbridge-based Apetito's 'Puree Petite' range of smaller meals suitable for those suffering from dysphagia

Rising Star (sponsored by PepsiCo UK)

David King, Marketing Manager at Bidfood in Slough, recognised for his passion to deliver and impressive results.

Regional Growth Business (sponsored by Grant Thornton UK LLP)

Central & Northern England: The Yorkshire Wagyu Company Ltd, a meat producer in East Yorkshire

Scotland & Northern Ireland: Loch Duart Salmon in Sutherland, an independent Scottish salmon farming business

South East England: Joe & Seph's Gourmet Popcorn, a family business from London

South West England: Friska, based in Bristol, an ethically minded, quality, quick service restaurant in the food-to-go market

Wales: Tiny Rebel, a family-run brewery in Newport, South Wales

Special Recognition Award (sponsored by Santander)

Radnor Hills Mineral Water Company, a soft drinks manufacturer in Powys, Wales that showed impressive growth, commitment to community development, and strong environmental ethos.

Ian Wright CBE, Director General of the Food and Drink Federation, said:

“The winners of the FDF Awards are the stars of our industry. I congratulate all of them and our shortlisted contestants and entrants. They demonstrate the vigour and brilliance of everyone who works so hard to provide the nation's food and drink. I also thank our judges and sponsors for making this event possible, and everyone who attended the ceremony for coming together to celebrate our winners.”

Nicola Thomas, Head of Food & Drink, Santander Corporate & Commercial Banking said:

“Supporting the food and drink industry has been a focus for Santander in 2017 and sponsoring these fantastic awards is one way to showcase our commitment to the sector. The standard of nominations was extremely high in all categories and congratulations must go to all the winners. We understand the importance of the sector to the success of the UK economy and were thrilled to celebrate their successes with industry leaders at the awards.”

The 2018 FDF Awards will launch in November 2017. For more information on the FDF Awards visit http://www.fdf.org.uk/fdf-awards.aspx.

Notes for editors:

  1. The Food and Drink Federation (FDF) is the voice of the food and drink manufacturing industry – the UK's largest manufacturing sector. For more information about FDF and the industry we represent visit: www.fdf.org.uk
  2. Full details of all the winning company initiatives are available at: http://www.fdf.org.uk/fdf- awards-winners-2017.aspx
  3. Santander UK is a financial services provider in the UK that offers a wide range of personal and commercial financial products and services. It has brought real competition to the UK, through its innovative products for retail customers and relationship banking model for UK SMEs.

More information

Event photos will be available on FDF's Flickr page

Contact Skye Oudemans, Corporate Affairs Division, at: skye.oudemans@fdf.org.uk, or 02074207120.

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