New awards launched to celebrate excellence in fine food

Celebrating the best the fine food sector has to offer, the Speciality & Fine Food Awards will debut at this year’s Speciality & Fine Food Fair. The awards will include four categories: Product of the Year, Independent Retailer of the Year, Rising Sustainability Star and Outstanding Industry Champion.

“Each year the Fair brings together the who’s who of the speciality food and drink industry,” said Philippa Christer, event manager for Speciality & Fine Food Fair, “and these new awards will celebrate those who are driving change and innovation in this fantastic community.

“This is a chance for the industry to recognise the colleagues, friends and businesses that have raised the bar, stood out from the crowd and been truly outstanding in their field over the past 12 months,” she added.

Speciality & Fine Food Fair said the Independent Retailer of the Year Award will be presented to a “pioneering retailer at the heart of their community providing exceptional customer service and running new, exciting initiatives to help future-proof the sector”. The Product of the Year Award, meanwhile, will recognise a new product with “creativity and innovation at the heart of its concept”.

The winner of the Rising Sustainability Star Award will be an individual or business who “upholds sustainable values across all aspects of their business and will be a true advocate for driving sustainable change within the fine food and drink sector”.

The final award will be given to an Outstanding Industry Champion who has made a significant contribution to fine food and drink over the last year. “This individual will be recognised for their passion, drive, and commitment to the sector. This may include campaigning for the industry and going above and beyond to support SMEs and the fine food & drink sector,” the group said.

The winners will be announced at the Fair on 6th-7th September 2021.

The deadline for entries is 24th June. After the shortlist has been announced, the results will be opened to both public voting and a panel of industry judges. Find more information here.