We want to celebrate the achievement of the individual who has done the most to raise the profile of UK food and drink manufacturing over the past year.
Six candidates, listed below, have been nominated, But who deserves to win?
2011 Food Personality of the Year Candidates are:
- Christine Bense, plant director, Kraft Foods, Banbury.
- Ranjit Boparan, chief executive, Boparan Holdings
- Geoff Eaton, managing director, Uniq
- Joe Franses, head of corporate responsibility and sustainability, Coca-Cola Enterprises
- John Tague, managing director, Seabrook Crisps
- Brian Young, director general, British Frozen Food Federation.
To select your Food Manufacturing Personality of the Year click here .
Bense has guided significant changes and environmental improvements at the firm’s 17-acre site near Banbury, Oxfordshire. Energy use has been cut by 7% and water use reduced by 12%. Kenco's recently-launched refill packs use 97% less packaging and its newly-designed jar uses less glass.
Own-label
Boparan made a successful £342M last-minute, cash bid for the own-label specialist Northern Foods earlier this year.
Eaton has done "remarkably well," in the words of one analyst, to improve the fortunes of the chilled foods firm.
Franses spearheaded and communicated Coca-Cola Enterprises (CCE) corporate responsibility and sustainability (CRS) initiatives. He promotes best practice in sustainability and regularly highlights CCE's track record on CRS at events and conferences.
Tague has overseen a revolution at Seabrook Crisps since his promotion from commercial director to md in February 2009. The firm now has listings with: Tesco, Asda, Sainsbury and Morrisons.
Young has campaigned to revamp frozen food's image in the UK. In the process, he has helped to raise the profile of the entire food manufacturing sector at government level.
Last year’s winner of the Food Manufacture Personality of the Year award was TV presenter and farmer Jimmy Doherty. His BBC TV programme Jimmy's Food Factory did much to raise the profile of the sector at a time when it needs to attract young.
This year’s award ceremony takes place at the Park Plaza, Riverbank, London on the evening of Tuesday, November 8.