The winner will be revealed as part of the wider Food Manufacture Excellence Awards, taking place at the London Hilton Bankside on 5 February 2026.
Tickets to the 2026 awards are available to purchase here! Don’t miss out.
This year’s awards are supported by headline sponsor, Menzies, and event sponsors: Domino Printing, Sciences, Reed, Langdon, and Multivac.
Cranswick Convenience Foods Milton Keynes
Acquired in 2006, Cranswick Convenience Foods’ Milton Keynes site forms a vital cog in the nationwide Cranswick machine.
In a concerted effort to expand its convenience foods division, the food manufacturer merged the Buckinghamshire site with its Sutton Fields facility in Hull and its Valley Park facility in Barnsley.
From 2007 to 2016, the Milton Keynes site saw its business double both through organic growth and a series of acquisitions.
The factory specialises in curing, cooking and smoking British meats, with an emphasis on sliced cooked meats, whole hams and corned beef.
In its 20 years of operation, the facility has become renowned for its community outreach programmes, spearheaded by its Winter Night Shelter Sleepover.
Run in partnership with local charity The Winter Night Shelter MK, the initiative sees the firm raise money, give regular food donations, offer employment opportunities to the homeless, and provide staff volunteer hours.
CCF Milton Keynes recently ran its first fundraising Family Fun Day for the community with fairground rides, bouncy castles, food, and sports competitions, forming part of the Winter Night Shelter Sleep Out, where staff were sponsored to sleep outside for one night.
Staff also took part in the Big Sleep Out in support of the local homeless community, with the event raising close to £9,000.
Finnebrogue
County Down-based food producer Finnebrogue prides itself on its distinctly Northern Irish heritage, and labels itself as one of the UK’s “most innovative food producers”.
Set up in 1991, by Denis Lynn, the family-owned outfit is to this day operated by his widow Christine and his daughters, Tara, Ciara, Clare and Kerry.
Under Lynn’s leadership, Finnebrogue grew to become the leading farmer and processor of deer in the UK, supplying Michelin star restaurants, top supermarkets and celebrity chefs.
In the five years from 2015, Lynn was able to open four state-of-the-art factories and grow the business’s turnover to nearly £150 million.
Most notable however, is astonishing amount of good Lynn and his foundation have been able to do throughout the world via a range of philanthropic initiatives.
The Dennis Lynn Foundation helped to eradicate childhood malaria deaths in an entire district of southern Malawi, has supported Cancer Fund for Children and helped to tackle holiday hunger.
Through the foundation, Finnebrogue is able to donate at least 3% of its yearly profits to good causes both at home and abroad.
The firm’s charitable arm also makes a positive impact in its home communities, supporting a range of projects to help to alleviate poverty and improve the life chances of disadvantaged young people, as well as protect and improve the environment with a particular focus on its home county.
Heck! Food Ltd
Marketed as the UK’s ‘favourite sausage brand’, Heck isn’t one to shy away from glitzy promotional campaigns – with its boisterous, colourful image providing a pleasantly vibrant counterpoint to Richmond’s much more straight-laced mannerisms.
Proudly independent, family-run and from Yorkshire, Heck’s philosophy revolves around its stripped-back, down-to-earth production process in which it prioritises the use of ‘proper’ meat (its sausages are 97% pork), with its products all crafted locally.
Passionate about the purity of its ingredients, the brand also produces a range of alternative options, all of which are approved by the Vegan & Vegetarian Society. All of its produce is gluten-free.
Heck is equally engrossed in supporting its local projects, having set up the Heck! Community Fund to strengthen and uplift its community.
According to Heck, the fund embodies the brand’s commitment to giving back, and making a tangible difference in the lives of those around them.
For the last few seasons, the firm has worked with local grassroots football club Bedale AFC, whose kits have been sponsored by Heck to raise funds for Prostate Cancer UK in honour of a friend who passed away from the disease.
The company also donates any surplus stock to homeless shelters and foodbanks in order to minimise food wastage.
The Flava People
Operating out of Manchester, seasoning and sauce specialist, The Flava People produces a wide range of own-label and brand products, working with the likes of Guinness, Baileys, Yo! and Meat Lust.
Founded as a family business over 50 years ago, The Flava People describes itself as a forward-thinking flavour and brand company, which now collaborates with a range of brands, retailers and food manufacturers to ‘transform shelves and menus.’
Behind the scenes, The Flava People produces own-brand bespoke flavours for TGI Fridays, Aldi, HelloFresh, Mitchells & Butlers, and Dr. Oetker.
The manufacturer is involved in various project to improve its local community – with the bulk of its focus on supporting The Community Grocery, a non-profit initiative focused on ending food poverty in the UK by bridging the gap between food banks and discount retailers.
For every unit sold of the brand’s Flava It! sachets, it donates 3p directly to the Community Grocery as part of its ambition to raise up to £30,000 annually, funding the construction of one new Community Grocery store per year.
Community Grocery now has 22 stores, each supporting over 55,000 families living in poverty.
The Flava People is committed to supporting the project through financial and stock donations, to employee fundraising and volunteering.
Brioche Pasquier
The historic French baker is the only non-British finalists to make it into the selection for the Outstanding Community Engagement Award.
An iconic brand in its native market, Pasquier was a key innovator for packaged baked goods created for supermarket sale in 1970s and swiftly became a household name.
Expanding internationally from 1998, the company now has a presence in the UK, Spain, Belgium, Germany, Italy and South Korea.
Looking to build on its success on the British market, Pasquier built its first UK factory in Milton Keynes in 2014.
Going from strength to strength across the English Channel, the firm has since been able to give back to the community in which its produces its British products, investing in a range of Milton Keynes-focused charities and initiatives.
Through its partnership with Roald Dahl’s Marvellous Children’s Charity, Pasquier is able to help make a real difference to children and families living with complex lifelong conditions.
The company is also a key partner of Milton Keynes Dons FC’s community trust, which delivers a variety of programmes centred around education, social inclusion, health and wellbeing, girls and women’s football, football development and community delivery.
Pasquier is also a major supporter of the Milton Keynes Marathon, the Milton Keynes Breakers basketball team and Northamptonshire County Cricket Club.
The brand is also aligned with a selection of local charities including Willen Hospice; Harry’s Rainbow, MK Food Bank, MKFM, Sophie’s Street Food, Shenley Arthur Ellis, and Sofea Fareshare.
