Food and drink manufacturing champions – the contenders

The competition staged by William Reed Business Media – publisher of FoodManufacture.co.uk, our sister title Food Manufacture​ and organiser of Foodex aims to celebrate the success of food and drink firms that are bouncing back from economic recession to deliver success out of adversity.

Our aim is to fly the flag for the British food and drink manufacturing sector by showcasing firms that have a compelling story to tell about their business. In contention for the top award are 18 food and drink manufacturers, machinery producers and logistics firms. See details below.

Each visitor to Foodex 2012 – which takes place from March 25–27 at the National Exhibition Centre, Birmingham – will be able to vote once for the entry he or she thinks demonstrates the greatest contribution to the future of the food and drink industry. Vote for your favourite champion on stand D310.

The winner will be featured online at FoodManufacture.co.uk and in Food Manufacture.

Congratulations to all the contenders for the crown Great British Bounce Back Champion:

The Fabulous Bakin' Boys​
“Innovation is at the heart of everything we do. Last year we launched the world's first portion of fruit bakery snack.This year we launched the first ever range of individually wrapped mini cupcakes and muffins after a £3M investment in a fully automated packing line.”​ www.bakinboys.co.uk​

Brook Food Processing Equipment​
“Brook Food Processing Equipment has re-launched Bell Perkins, an historic British brand as Reach Food Systems.  The range of confectionery machinery has been redesigned and is manufactured in the UK at our Somerset manufacturing facility. With so much machinery being imported we are proud to be manufacturing our products on home soil.”​ www.brookfood.co.uk​

Clipper Teas​
“Clipper Teas of Beaminster, Dorset saw international sales grow in excess of 90% in the past two years (+28% in 2010 and +30% in 2011) and are on track to deliver a further +25% this year. Clipper Teas is a pioneer in producing high-quality Fairtrade and organic teas and these can now be found in over 45 international markets.”​ www.clipper-teas.com​

Taywell Ice Creams​
“Taywell Ice Creams grew 70% last year and is approaching 100% growth for 2012. Just listed @costco and supplies the OXO Tower, RAC Club, Globe Theatre and Villandry. We are a member of the Sustainable Restaurant Association, have won 10 Great Taste Awards plus a ‘Q’ Award and launched the first doggie ice cream.”​ www.taywell.com​

Artisan Bread Organic​
“Last year we invested in new equipment and rolled out a range of longer life organic bread which was an instant hit with struggling retailers. Our 'breadonline' webshop generated 250% more last month since February 2010. We are small enough to know exactly what our customers are looking for.”​ www.artisanbread-abo.com​

Goody Good Stuff​
“Using revolutionary biogum technology becoming one of the world’s fastest growing confectionery lines. With amazing USPs: allergen free, vegetarian and all natural ingredients. Engaging innovative guerrilla marketing with impressive PR exposure – celeb/Olympian followings we are set to continue exciting growth while investing in apprentices and renewable energy systems onsite.” ​www.goodygoodstuff.com​

Raynor Foods​
“We invest for growth. We’ve improved efficiency with our lean manufacturing and closed loop recycling initiatives, introduced innovative ingredients, such as Verity Grace lettuce, and invested in new people to drive exciting NPD (new product development). Our on-going obsession with quality, reliability and taste has seen our business grow 34% year-on-year.” ​www.raynorfoods.co.uk​

Biocatalysts​
“Biocatalysts, will launch eight new speciality enzyme products in 2012 for the dairy and non-dairy protein sectors, enabling its global customer base (82 countries) to gain unique competitive advantage. Biocatalysts will also invest £850,000 in new plant, generating 11 jobs and will be training next generation food technologists via apprenticeships.” ​www.biocatalysts.com/​

Ecobags​
“We are achieving 85% of our sales from repeat clients within the independent food and drink sector, by helping them increase their sales despite tough trading conditions. Our innovative, bespoke branded custom-made coolbags encourage consumers to buy more per visit and when using the branded bags promote our client too. Win, win.”​ www.custommadecoolbags.co.uk​

The Sea Spice Co​
“We are selling a premium wild harvested native product, which tastes good and grows in abundance. We see this as a scaleable industry which would employ and nurture many. The end game is to sell to Europe and North America and of course, back to the Japanese.”​ www.seaspice.co.uk​

Coldpress Foods​​
“We are the UK’s first manufacturer of high pressure processing (HPP) juices. Launched in September 2011, Coldpress is stocked in over 250 Waitrose stores and was recently awarded the Best Innovator at The Foodbev.com 2011 awards.” ​www.cold-press.co.uk​

Westaway Sausages​
“We bought Westaways in 2008. Great timing as the recession deepened: suppliers increasing raw material costs; customers forcing prices down and endless red tape. But with our motto: Keep fighting, we’ve increased sales (including exports); remained profitable; retained our staff and still use only British pork and make great tasting sausages.”​ www.westawaysausages.com​

Pieminister​
“We now produce more than 15,000 award winning pies a week; a clear sign that we’re giving the Great British public what it wants – Great British pies made using Great British produce. A family-run business, Pieminister produces all its pies in-house using responsibly sourced ingredients, supporting Great British farmers.”​ www.pieminister.co.uk​

Scala Consulting​
“Scala helps organisations invest in people for a stronger future through our innovative development competition. UK youth unemployment is at a record high and the profile of logistics needs to be raised among young-talent. We developed  2012 Young Fresh Connection for schools, introducing the idea of logistics as a future career.” ​www.scalagroup.co.uk​

Joe & Seph's Gourmet Popcorn​
“Transforming the popcorn industry with our innovative gourmet popcorn flavours – our Caramel, Macchiato and Whisky flavour won two Gold Stars at Great Taste Awards. Handmade and produced in our very own production facility, we are growing significantly both in the UK and abroad with 150% growth expected this year.”​ www.joeandsephs.co.uk​

The New Breed Sausage Company​
“We have invested in our BRC accreditation and Red Tractor certificate to produce top quality British pork farm assured sausages.” ​www.simplysausages.co.uk​

Saladworx​
“Investing in a healthy future. A small Highland farm, winner of Scotland Food and Drink Excellence Award for Overall Product of the Year, 2011, we plan to formally open our new packing and bottling plant for our artisan produce. Labour intensive, we are helping Highland Scotland employment.” ​www.saladworx.co.uk

Electrical Installation Solutions​
“We have been working with major food processing and distribution businesses installing state of the art lighting systems that significantly reduce energy consumption by up to 50% and 50,000 hours plus lamp life. Our clients can expect to see a return on investment in less than two years quite commonly.”​ www.eisltd.co.uk​