The Food and Drink Federation Announces Winners of Awards 2020

Ian Wright CBE, Chief Executive, Food and Drink Federation, said:

“Every year, the FDF Awards is inundated with high calibre 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.

“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 centres and on farms, our people have been the hidden heroes of this most testing year.

“This is the time to celebrate all of you. We thank our headline partner Santander UK and all of our Award sponsors. I also thank all those who donated to our silent auction supporting GroceryAid and the bidders who take them home.”

Andrew Williams, Head of Food & Drink, Santander UK, said:

“Santander is delighted to be a long-standing partner of the FDF, and the annual awards are a highlight of this partnership. These awards showcase the amazing innovation, competitiveness and talent in the industry and I would like to thank all those who took the time to enter last year, despite the challenges of the current environment.”

The FDF Awards 2020 winners are as follows:

Lifetime Achievement - Dr Roger Angold (sponsored by Santander UK):

Dr Roger Angold has enjoyed a distinguished career in the food industry. He has pioneered ground breaking microscopy techniques, been pivotal in the development of “Quorn” and has become renowned for his expertise in starch and (bread) baking. Roger has also been an exceptional mentor in RSSL, and to the wider industry.

Apprentice of the Year - Jordan Brosnan, Coca-Cola European Partners:

Jordan’s values of hard work, curiosity and perseverance have been stand-out since his first day at Coca-Cola European Partners. As well as demonstrating his natural aptitude for the role, Jordan has also been a fantastic ambassador for the manufacturing field as a whole.

Brand Launch of the Year - Green Cuisine, Birds Eye (Nomad Foods):

Green Cuisine, a sub brand launched by Birds Eye, is a versatile range of products made with pea protein. It became the mission of Green Cuisine to create a range of mouth-watering meat-free dinner staples that are healthy and taste like the real thing, so no one will miss their favourite dishes.

Campaign of the Year - KP ‘Check your Nuts’ Movember Campaign:

KP partnered with the men’s health charity Movember for their ‘Check Your Nuts’ campaign. The campaign used KP’s brand awareness in the UK as a social facilitator to encourage more people to open up the conversation about testicular cancer, and the importance of the need for men to regularly ‘check your nuts’.

Community Partner - The Bread and Butter Thing:

The Bread and Butter Thing is a charity making a real difference to the lives of thousands of families by delivering 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, helping to make their lives more affordable while encouraging them to eat better.

Diet and Health - Aunt Bessie’s, Nomad Foods:

Aunt Bessie’s has been creating healthier products to help empower more positive choices by consumers. The team has 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.

Education Initiative - Britvic PLC, Britvic's Young Persons Programme:

Britvic's Young Persons programme offers young people practical experience in engineering, and comprises of a five-day week including three longer school days and two days on site at their National Distribution Centre at Lutterworth. Launched in 2015, the programme has acted as a career pathway into a FTSE 250 company for local young people.

Emerging Business - PLAYin CHOC (sponsored by Bruni Erben):

PLAYin CHOC has launched into several key international markets, including BENELUX, Japan, Norway – and has this year launched on Norwegian Airlines across 100 routes. Following a successful trade show at ISM in Germany, they have had significant interest from over 30 distributors in 21 countries.

Engineer of the Year - Emma McLeod, Mondelez International (sponsored by Finch Consulting):

Emma has proved herself to be an incredible technical ambassador for the UK food and frink industry. Her combination of global technical leadership and commitment to helping careers grow has seen her become an inspirational technical role model for colleagues, especially for women working in STEM across the company.

Environmental Leadership - Milk & More:

As the country’s largest doorstep grocery and milk delivery service, Milk & More is on a journey to transform the great British milkman into a modern, convenient delivery service that has a sustainable, environmentally-friendly proposition at its heart.

Exporter of the Year - Wyke Farms Ltd (sponsored by Santander UK):

The Wyke Farms brand is one of the oldest and most widely distributed cheddar brands in the UK. You can find their products in over 160 countries around the world, including France, where the Wyke Farms brand is listed in all of the national retailers.

Hidden Hero (Team) - Moy Park’s Culinary Team in Craigavon:

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 (RCD).

Hidden Hero (Individual) - Erika Burany, Unilever UK & Ireland:

Erika has led the creation of several free resources and activity kits to support the physical and mental wellbeing of care home residents during Covid-19. These included ‘Hydration Kits’, recipe books and guides to video calling so residents could stay digitally connected with friends and family.

HR Initiative – PepsiCo, ‘Grow our Own’ Training and Education Programme

PepsiCo’s ‘Grow our Own’ Training and Education Programme 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.

Innovation - Meatless Farm (sponsored by Pentadel Project Management):

Meatless Farm launched their first ever soya-free products, from the brand’s new pea product range. This innovation means that Meatless Farm’s burgers and sausages are not only plant-based, but also completely gluten, GMO and soya-free, with the primary protein being pea protein, combined with a mixture of other sustainably sourced ingredients.

Registered Nutritionist/Dietitian of the Year - Lauren Woodley, Nomad Foods:

Lauren has evolved and driven Nomad Foods’ nutrition agenda forward, ensuring that health and nutrition are central to the company purpose and strategy. Her significant contribution to the transformation of nutrition throughout the business is recognised by colleagues throughout Europe.

Rising Star - Oliver Bradbury, Premier Foods (sponsored by PepsiCo UK & Ireland):

Oliver has had a meteoric rise at Premier Foods, demonstrating his passion and determination immediately. He has impressed senior stakeholders with his work ethic and strong results, working his way up via two promotions to Business Account Manager after just 15 months working in sales.

Scientist of the Year - Dr Steven Muir, Agrico UK Ltd (sponsored by the Institute of Food Science and Technology):

Dr Steven Muir 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.

Sustainable Packaging Initiative - Coca-Cola Great Britain and Coca-Cola European Partners:

Coca-Cola have introduced a new sustainable packaging strategy and a new global ambition for a ‘World Without Waste’. This included an industry-first to collect and recycle the equivalent of every bottle or can they sell by 2030, going even faster in Western Europe to achieve this by 2025.

Sustainable Packaging Initiative - Little Freddie Organic Baby & Toddler Food:

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.

The 2021 FDF Awards have already launched and categories close on 28 February 2021.