The Food Manufacture Excellence Awards has named its shortlist for the 2026 awards, with eight partnerships in the running for its collaboration prize.
A full list of all the finalists for 2026 can be found here.
A total of 14 accolades are up for grabs, with the winners for next year’s awards to be announced at a glitzy event held at the London Hilton Bankside on 5 February 2026. Tickets are available to purchase here.
AAK BD Foods and Dawsongroup tcs
The Hastings-based food manufacturer, AAK BD Foods, produces around 1.5 million units each month, but faced a key challenge: how to expand production capacity while retaining its skilled 100-strong workforce and delivering ambitious sustainability goals.
Partnering with Dawsongroup tcs, the businesses co-developed a strategic solution that consolidated multiple sites into a purpose-built cold storage and blast freezing facility powered through the innovative application of low-GWP CO₂ refrigeration.
The aims were four-fold:
- Secure long-term growth and market expansion
- Reduce carbon emissions and energy use
- Improve health and safety for employees
- Protect local jobs and support the UK economy
The partnership has delivered against all these goals, saving over 820 operational hours annually, improving efficiency and safety, and reducing carbon output by a forecast 860 tonnes over 10 years.
Greenyard and FareShare
Greenyard and FareShare have been working in partnership since 2017, redirecting Greenyard’s surplus frozen produce to FareShare’s nationwide network of charities.
In 2023, the partnership expanded through the FareShare FLEX (Food Life Extension) programme, where surplus fresh carrots were frozen to extend their life by up to two years.
Over the last 18 months, Greenyard has provided 224 tonnes of surplus food to FareShare. Part of this supply was used in the FLEX programme to create meals such as Chicken & Vegetable, Cauliflower Cheese, Potato & Bean, Spring Green, and Sunday Soup. Over 266,000 tins of soup were produced and distributed, each with a three-year shelf life.
Beyond food donations, Greenyards staff actively support FareShare through fundraising. In June, the Greenyards team abseiled down the Northampton lift tower which is over 400 ft.
Other initiatives this year include volunteering in regional centres to prepare surplus stock for charity distribution, and cooking meals from scratch using surplus ingredients at the FareShare regional centre kitchens.
Kirsty’s and Myprotein
Kirsty’s has partnered under license with global sports nutrition leader Myprotein to create a new range of high-protein chilled lunch pots.
This partnership is a strategic move for the business, combining Kirsty’s expertise in creating wholesome, healthy ready meals with Myprotein’s performance-driven approach to nutrition.
Together, they have developed seven bold and balanced flavours designed for busy, health-conscious consumers – geared particularly towards the 18–24-year-old consumers.
The range includes Firecracker Chicken, Japanese Style Chicken Curry, and Chipotle Beef Chilli. Each pot delivers up to 32g of protein and fewer than 400 calories, providing a quick, nutritious, and satisfying meal solution for people on the go.
The range launched in Tesco Ireland in October 2024, followed by Sainsbury’s, Spar, Booker and Co-op in January 2025. It has quickly become one of the fastest growing chilled ready-meal brands in the UK, already generating over £7 million in sales, with many more listings to come.
Meat Business Women and Kepak
Kepak and Meat Business Women came together to design a bespoke programme to support the progression of women working in factory floor roles across the food industry.
The project set out to support more women to progress into first-line leadership roles at the business, while also building a longer-term pipeline of female talent for more senior positions.
Delivered over four months at two Kepak sites, the programme included monthly workshops, inspiring guest speakers from within Kepak, mentor matching, and membership of Meat Business Women to ensure continued learning. It was designed not just as training, but as a visible and practical route for women to take their next step in operations and leadership.
For participants, impact has been transformational: 94% gained greater awareness of their strengths, 82% reported increased confidence to pursue professional ambitions with Kepak, and 85% felt better equipped to build support systems through networking and mentorship.
For Meat Business Women, this collaboration demonstrates a powerful model for closing the “broken rung” and working towards 40% female representation by 2035, as set out in the Food Business Charter.
Müller UK & Ireland and Myprotein (THG)
Müller, a leading dairy brand, partnered with sports nutrition specialist Myprotein to launch a new range of high-protein yogurts, drinks, and desserts.
This strategic collaboration was designed to meet the growing consumer demand for protein-rich, convenient food options that support active lifestyles, but also making sure the products on offer were tasty and exciting – something which was lacking from the category.
The partnership leverages Müller’s expertise in taste and dairy innovation with Myprotein’s credibility in sports nutrition, creating a product which appeals to both existing protein consumers and new shoppers previously deterred by taste or brand perceptions.
Products are HFSS compliant, ensuring unrestricted marketing and accessibility. Supported by a robust marketing campaign including digital, in-store, and experiential activations like ‘The NO RESTaurant’ pop-up, the initiative has successfully driven consumer engagement.
This collaboration not only introduces a fresh approach to the protein segment but also aligns with broader health and wellness trends, offering a delicious, nutritious, and convenient solution for modern consumers.
Pilgrim’s Europe and PureTec
Pilgrim’s Europe partnered with sustainable water treatment specialist PureTec Separations to cut mains water use across its Spalding operations.
By jointly developing a simple, low-cost system to recover and reuse water from softener regeneration, the partnership has saved more than 26 million litres in three years, strengthening water security, reducing environmental impact and demonstrating the power of practical innovation in food manufacturing.
The partnership directly supports Pilgrim’s Europe’s sustainability strategy, which prioritises responsible use of water and energy as a pathway towards net zero.
The innovation sits alongside major investments such as on-site solar installations at multiple manufacturing sites, all helping Pilgrim’s Europe cut its carbon footprint and deliver on its ambitious sustainability goals.
Beyond the numbers, this collaboration has created a blueprint for practical, scalable sustainability in food manufacturing. It shows how cross-industry partnerships can unlock hidden efficiencies, reduce pressure on shared resources, and protect long-term supply chain resilience. The project has also kick-started additional water saving projects across Pilgrim’s Europe including rainwater harvesting.
QualityApp and Symprove
Symprove partnered with QualityApp to digitise its entire factory, moving from manual, paper-based processes to a fully paperless system.
The collaboration aimed to give Symprove instant traceability, streamline inter-departmental workflows, and provide live production data across all teams, supporting their rapid growth.
QualityApp implemented its ‘Paperless Factory’ module across production, laboratory, HSE and maintenance processes. Crucially, the platform was configured to fit Symprove’s existing operations, rather than forcing the business to change established processes to suit the software.
The collaboration’s primary goals were:
- Full digital record capture, ensuring compliance in real-time without process change
- Creating a scalable, self-service system that could evolve with Symprove’s growth
- Empowering Symprove’s team with live insights for faster decision-making
By working in close partnership, the two companies delivered a successful transition to a modern, connected factory environment, unlocking efficiencies and laying the foundation for sustainable growth.
In addition to the primary goals, significant levels of automation have been implemented, further benefitting Symprove and the QualityApp platform.
The Food Incubator and ChicP
In 2022, ChicP partnered with The Food Incubator to bring an ambitious idea to life and create the UK’s first ambient, unacidified hummus.
The collaboration united two businesses with shared values around sustainability, innovation and food quality.
Founded by chef and sustainability advocate Hannah McCollum, ChicP was created to tackle food waste and make healthy, ready-to-eat food that inspires change across the sector.
With a successful chilled range already on the market, ChicP wanted to reduce waste further and reach new markets with an ambient, preservative-free option. The Food Incubator, specialists in thermal processing and product development, led the technical development, running multiple trials and advising on formulation improvements after early recipes failed under sterilisation.
The twin compartment pot pairing hummus with breadsticks added further complexity, requiring careful refinement of the pressure profile and extensive testing.
Together, the teams created a preservative-free ambient hummus range in Standard, Truffle, Basil and Harissa flavours.
Now available through Delicious Ideas Food Group, Graddon Vending on the National Rail Network, Ocado, and specialist retailers, the project demonstrates how collaboration, technical expertise and shared purpose can turn a sustainable idea into a market-ready innovation that reduces food waste and opens new commercial opportunities.