FMEAs

FMEA Oscar hopefuls ‘should play to their strengths’

By Matt Atherton

- Last updated on GMT

Related tags Food manufacture Food manufacture company

Entrants to this year’s Food Manufacture Excellence Awards (FMEAs) should use their unique strengths as the basis for their entries, recommended FMEA judge Simon Chattock, ahead of the deadline for entries on Monday July 24.

In this exclusive video interview, Chattock, head of vendor assurance at Compass Group, said the judges will be looking out for what makes each entrant different from the rest. He recommended focusing on a business’s strengths and advised Oscar hopefuls to answer questions that showcase those strengths best.

Chattock said: “Take the key points from your company, and what makes you stand out, and use them as your strengths to answer the questions. If there are questions that you aren’t so good at, then don’t answer the questions.

‘Something that makes companies stand out’

“We’ll be looking for something interesting, something that makes companies stand out and make them unique.”

Also in this video interview, Chattock said he would be looking out for entries that showcased how management practices had improved the business over a number of years.

“A lot of companies have the same processes and systems to meet British Retail Consortium standards, and we’re looking for something that is on top of that,”​ said Chattock.

‘Shows progression’

“Everybody has those basic systems in place, but we want something that would make them a bit different. A lot of businesses have three-year training programmes, for example. We want something that will be completed during this year, so it shows progression during the course of the three years.”

The deadline for FMEA entries is Monday July 24. The FMEAs are judged by an independent panel of industry experts, led by National Skills Academy for Food and Drink chair Paul Wilkinson.

The winners will be revealed at a stellar awards evening at the Hilton, Park Lane in London, on November 1.

To find out more about entering the awards, visit the FMEAs website​, or call Catherine Lyne​ on 01293 610 493. For sponsorship opportunities, contact Katie Tyler​ on 01293 610 493.

The FMEAs 2017 close for entries on Monday July 24. Register here​.

Food Manufacture Excellence Awards: Which categories will you enter?

Manufacturing company of the year category

  • Ambient
  • Bakery
  • Beverages
  • Chilled foods
  • Dairy
  • Fresh produce
  • Frozen foods
  • Meat, poultry and seafood

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

A series of other awards will be presented and these are open to those companies that have entered the main category awards.

Other FMEA awards

  • Best new use of food ingredients
  • Environmental initiative of the year
  • Supply chain initiative of the year
  • Training programme of the year
  • Judges’ star performer: presented to a company selected from all entries, which the judges believe deserves recognition for one particular area of its activities
  • SME innovation of the year award: presented to the best small company whose turnover is less than £10M and employs fewer than 100 staff

FMEAs for individuals

The Me and My Factory – editor’s choice award​ recognises the company from those featured under this regular and popular section within the pages of Food Manufacture over the previous year that our editorial team considers stands out from all the rest.

Young talent of the year award​ will be made to the individual aged 25 years or under, who the judges assess to be the most promising new apprentice or graduate in food and drink manufacture.

The winners will be revealed at a fun-packed awards evening at the Hilton Park Lane in London on November 1.

The awards are free to enter and the winners are selected by an independent panel of leading experts from the sector.

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