Food Manufacture Excellence Awards winners photogallery

It was a 1920s-themed evening at the Food Manufacture Excellence Awards (FMEAs) last month, as hundreds of guests put on their glad rags to celebrate the leading lights of the food and drink manufacturing sector.

The awards, which were held at London’s Hilton on Park Lane on November 1 and hosted by former England Rugby Union World Cup winner and TV personality Matt Dawson, were a glittering array of 1920s elegance and sophistication, worthy of this dynamic sector.

Each of the six category awards presented celebrated excellence in its many forms: from product and process innovation, to category management, staff development and sustainability initiatives.

Celebrated excellence​

In addition to the main category awards, there were awards for the Environment Initiative of the Year, Supply Chain Initiative of the Year and Training Programme of the Year.

For the second year, The Me and My Factory Editor’s Choice award was made to a manager from a shortlist of companies interviewed and published within the magazine over the previous year as part of the Me and My Factory series of articles. And, to identify the stars of tomorrow, there was a Young Talent of the Year award.

Chosen from across all entries, the Judges’ Star Performer award was given to the company that, in the judges’ opinion, has been involved in an activity that deserved particular recognition – be it in the field of manufacturing, marketing or staff development.

Greatest innovation over the past year​

A Small/Medium-sized Enterprise Innovation of the Year award, meanwhile, was presented to the company (typically with less than £10M turnover and fewer than 100 employees) that the judges believed had shown the greatest innovation over the past year through new product development, process innovation or marketing.

The night came to a climax with an overall winner being crowned Food Manufacture Company of the Year.

Attendees at the awards were encouraged to offer their congratulations via the dedicated Twitter hashtag #FoodManAwards.

Further extensive coverage, including video interviews with a selection of the winners, is available at foodmanufacture.co.uk videos. Or visit the FMEA website​ to read the full list of shortlisted candidates and winners.

To find out more about this year's winners, click the next image in this photogallery.

Meanwhile, Ethnic snacks manufacturer SK Chilled Foods md Jeremy Faulkner said his workforce would be “thrilled to bits”​ to win the Food Manufacture Company of the Year trophy​ in the industry’s Oscars – the Food Manufacture Excellence Awards (FMEAs).