Hoxton Farms
Hoxton Farms cultivates real animal fat as a B2B ingredient that looks, cooks and tastes like traditional animal fat but is 60% lower in saturated fat, 6 times higher in omega-3s, and with 90% lower emissions.
The start-up has combined cell biology, AI-driven optimisation and bioprocess engineering to build what it claims is the ‘world’s most cost effective system for making delicious animal fats using cell culture’. Its patented biomanufacturing system is unique in its scalable modularity, 10 times lower capex cost, and the precision to customise fats for customer needs.
In five years, it has scaled from R&D to pilot production to paid customer co-development with leading food companies around the world.
During this time, it built the UK’s first and only cultivated fat facility in London and has scaled production over 1000 times.
From its UK base, it has also built a global customer network and was selected for the UK Food Standards Agency’s sandbox for cell-cultivated products.
Regulatory submissions are underway in the UK, Singapore and the US in 2025, with more to follow in 2026.
Its team of 45 cell biologists, food scientists, chefs, and engineers are now preparing to scale production to supply tonnes of cultivated fats for customer product launches from 2027.
Full list of the 2026 finalists
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.
Nimi Nosh
Nimi Nosh specialises in plant-based sauces, marinades and condiments inspired by founder Nicole Michael’s Jamaican heritage. Her venture was also influenced by her mother, who was a food market trader in Kingston Jamaica.
“Watching her blend spices to create what I call ‘sunshine in a sauce’ sparked my lifelong love of flavour and food,” Michael told judges.
When Michael moved to London, she noted an underrepresentation of Caribbean food and wanted to create a brand that celebrated this region’s flavours in ‘a modern and accessible way’.
In just over a year, the business has grown from a start-up into a nationally distributed brand. Its biggest milestone to date has been securing a nationwide listing with Tesco, with three products from its range of contemporary Caribbean sauces are now stocked.
Alongside retail growth, it has also built a loyal and engaged community through social media and events, helping consumers discover how easy it is to enjoy Caribbean flavours in everyday meals.
Win-Win
Win-Win offers a cocoa-free chocolate alternative that tastes and acts like the real deal.
At the heart of the business is a goal to reduce reliance on cocoa, which has been hit my soaring prices as a result of volatile weather conditions and subsequent dwindling yields.
The company instead produces an alternative using a combination of climate-resilient and abundant cereals and legumes, a patented cocoa-free fermentation process, and integration with existing chocolate manufacturing lines which enables manufacturers to adopt the alternative at scale without retooling.
Its cocoa-free chocolate alternatives are said to use up to 80% less water and emit up to 84% fewer CO₂e emissions than conventional chocolate. By replacing high-carbon cocoa with sustainably sourced cereals and legumes, and maintaining production at scale in the UK, it minimises transport emissions and optimises energy use to its customers across the UK and Europe.
