On Thursday, 6 February 2025, hundreds of food and drink professionals descended upon the London Hilton Bankside for an evening of glitz and glamour to celebrate the 25th anniversary of Food Manufacture Excellence Awards.

An industry highlight, the annual awards ceremony organised by leading F&B title Food Manufacture, recognises the very best in UK food and drink operating standards and processes. This year welcomed special guest and well-known TV personality Mark Durden-Smith, who led the event alongside Food Manufacture’s editor Bethan Grylls.

This event saw 15 trophies up for grabs, including a brand-new health award, which was taken home by East Sussex based food business Zebedees for its incredible work in improving child nutrition.

The business uses fresh ingredients, making all stocks and purees in-house where possible and ensuring that its food includes a variety of fruit and veg.

So far, Zebedees has reduced sugar across the board on its range of menus by 67%, with a view to develop menus with zero sugar in the future. It has also reduced its processed meat by 50% and increased its use of beans and pulses by 40% as natural, healthier sources of protein.

A special mention must also be given to Daily Dose which was not only named Emerging Business of the Year but also took home the champion of champion’s accolade, Manufacturer of the Year – a real testament to its operational excellence and hard work.

Meanwhile, it was Sarah Gant of Arla Foods who was awarded the Future Talent prize. At 27 years’ old, Gant has achieved both institutional and societal change within Arla through the contributions she has made to the business – from the introduction of a wash lobby standard that is being adopted across all of Arla’s EU sites, to the development of a process to track all inter-site movements in the UK.

Her work has seen €8m of investment into the business over the past 18 months and €10m of savings in the last two years across logistics and production – all while raising a young family and campaigning for gender equality within the industry.

James Arnold of Sleaford Quality Foods was crowned Business Leader of the Year. Under his leadership, the Sleaford-based manufacturer has seen its turnover grow from £10m to £60m, with the business now among the UK’s leading and most trusted suppliers of ambient ingredients to manufacturing and foodservice industries.

Arnold’s passion for the industry and Sleaford Quality Foods, alongside his admiration for its team were evident in his application, earning him praise from the judges all round.

Commenting, Bethan Grylls, editor of Food Manufacture, said: “I continue to be impressed by the entries we see come in each year. It’s a testament to the high quality, hard work and innovation that goes into our food and drink factories, and I congratulate everyone who put their hat into the ring.

“Running a food factory has never been easy but against today’s challenges it’s a particularly impressive feat. Events like the Food Manufacture Excellence Awards have never been so important, offering a chance for teams to let their hair down (and take their hair nets off!) and come together to honour and celebrate this vital sector and all the incredible people at the heart of it.

“Hard work, innovation and business excellence are all hallmarks of the Food Manufacture Excellence Awards, which has become one of the most respected award programmes in the sector since its inception.

“As always, it was very tough to narrow down the list of finalists and even harder to select our ultimate winners! Our 15 winners have been recognised as a beacon of business excellence by our distinguished panel of industry experts and should be very proud of this grand achievement.”

Richard Singleton, finance & sustainability director for Menzies which has supported the event as headliner for a number of years, agreed the competition was fierce.

Singleton was among the experts on the ESG panel, with Bolton-based pizza specialists Stateside Foods taking home the prize.

“Being a judge for the FMEA Awards in the ESG category has been an absolute pleasure. The quality of the entries this year was off the charts, with so many innovative and impactful projects making a real difference in environmental, social, and governance areas,” he said.

“It was tough to pick a winner because everyone brought their A-game, but the winner truly deserved it for their outstanding commitment and results in pushing ESG principles forward. Hats off to all the participants for their amazing work and a big congrats to the winner for setting a new benchmark!”

Charlotte Langdon, partner audit and assurance at Menzies, added: “Having had the pleasure of judging this year’s entries, I can confidently say that the quality and calibre of submissions just keep rising – the passion, creativity, and commitment shown is incredible. This sector is not just keeping up with change; it’s leading the way and showing other industries how it’s done.

“Congratulations to all the winners, and everyone who made it as a finalist. Every story reflected passion, hard work, determination, and a drive to make a difference. Whether it’s creating amazing products, supporting local communities, or meeting new challenges head-on, these awards continue to showcase this incredible sector.”

“On behalf of Food Manufacture and everyone behind the scenes of the awards, I’d like to extend a huge congratulations to the finalists and our ultimate winners. I look forward to seeing next year’s entries in due course and celebrating with the industry once again in 2026,” concluded Grylls.

The FMEAs would not be possible without the support of our kind sponsors and Food Manufacture would like to take this opportunity to thank headliner Menzies, and events sponsors Niras, Quor, and Watermill Press, as well as Reiser for sponsoring the fabulous drinks reception.

The full list of winners for the Food Manufacture Excellence Awards 2025 are:

Food Integrity Champion

Kirsty’s

Emerging Business of the Year

Daily Dose

Factory Manager

Pilgrim’s Europe, Zaggy Zachariou

International Trade Award

The Anglesey Sea Salt Company

Collaboration & Partnership Award

Raynor Foods and Imaging Software

Manufacturer of the Year

Daily Dose

Site Team of the Year

Proper Cornish – Bodmin

Outstanding Community Engagement

Dunbia UK

Future Talent Award

Sarah Gant – Arla Foods

Health Hero Award

Zebedees

ESG Excellence Award

Stateside Foods

Employer of the Year

Noble Foods

The Innovation Award

Myco – Hooba

Supply Chain Excellence Awards

Cranswick

Business Leader of the Year

James Arnold – Sleaford Quality Foods