Celebrate the best in food and drink manufacturing

The 2015 Food Manufacture Excellence Awards are now open for receipt of entries. So, if your company wants to be recognised for its world-class achievements and join the party at this year’s carnival-themed event, you need to enter these prestigious awards.

Now in their 14th year, the awards celebrate the very best in food and drink manufacturing. They cover all the main sectors: from ambient, bakery and beverages to chilled foods, dairy and fresh produce; and from frozen foods, meat and poultry to seafood. The awards are free to enter.

From the winners of the individual category awards, one company will be selected by our independent panel of expert judges to be crowned Food Manufacture Company of the Year.

Category awards

A series of other awards will be open to those companies that have entered the main category awards. These include: Best new use of food ingredients; Environmental initiative of the year; Supply chain initiative of the year; and Training programme of the year. However, to be eligible for consideration, applicants for these specialist awards must first have entered one of the main category awards.

In addition to the above awards, in only its second year, a Young talent of the year award will be made to the individual the judges assess to be the most promising new apprentice or graduate in food and drink manufacture. Last year this was a particularly strongly contested category with some truly outstanding entries.

An award will also be made for Judges’ star performer, presented to a company selected from all entries, which the judges believe deserves recognition for one particular area of its activities. An SME innovation of the year award will also be made to the best small company whose turnover is less than £10M and employs fewer than 100 staff.

Personality of the year

Come to the carnival

“An annual festival, typically during the week before Lent in Roman Catholic countries, involving processions, music, dancing, and the use of masquerade.”

  • Oxford Dictionaries

Completing the tally of awards, will be Food Manufacture Personality of the year. Now in its ninth year, this award will be presented to the individual who has done most over the past year to raise the profile of the industry.

The winner will be selected by an online poll of our readership from a shortlist of candidates compiled by the Food Manufacture Group editorial team, which will be announced in the June issue of Food Manufacture and online.

The closing date for receipt of entries is Friday July 17. The winners will be revealed at a fun-packed awards evening at the Lancaster Gate Hotel in West London on November 3.

To find out more about entering the awards, visit:www.foodmanawards.co.uk.

Alternatively, call Jane Rollinson on 01293 610439 or email :Jane.Rollinson@wrbm.com.

World’s top 10 carnivals

1 US, New Orleans, Mardi Gras, February – March

2 Italy, Venice, The Carnival of Venice, February – March

3 Canary Islands, Santa Cruz, Tenerife, February – March

4 Germany, Cologne, The Fastnacht in Cologne, February – March

5 Brazil, Rio de Janeiro, Carnival of Rio de Janeiro, February – March

6 India, Goa, March

7 Columbia, Barranquilla, March

8 Trinidad and Tobago, Port of Spain, The Carnival in the Caribbean, March

9 UK, London, Nottinghill Carnival, August

10 Canada, Quebec, The Winter Carnival, January – February

If you missed one of these carnivals, why not treat yourself to a night at the Food Manufacture Group's very own carnival? The celebrations begin at the Lancaster Gate Hotel in West London on November 3.