The Food and Drink Federation publishes shortlist for the FDF Awards 2021

The Food and Drink Federation (FDF) has announced the shortlist for the Food and Drink Federation Awards 2021, which takes place in person on Thursday 16 September 2021 at The Royal Lancaster, London. The annual awards honour the dedication and commitment of those working in the food and drink industry, including the efforts which have ensured the country has been fed during the pandemic. It is a celebration of the way the food and drink supply chain - from farm to fork - has responded to the challenges of the past 18 months.

The wide range of nominees, which includes noteworthy individuals and both renowned and rising brands from across the country, were chosen by an expert panel of judges who helped decide the shortlist for each category.

This year, the FDF has introduced two new awards. The Digital Transformation Award acknowledges how pivotal digital transformation projects have been for manufacturing operations, while the Business Resilience Award recognises companies that weathered the considerable storms of 2020.

This esteemed event brings together around 500 guests to celebrate the success of the winners and the strength of the food and drink industry. Jay Rayner, British journalist, writer, broadcaster and celebrity restaurant critic, returns to host the ceremony.

This year's category sponsors include the Institute of Food Science and Technology and PepsiCo UK.

Ian Wright CBE, Chief Executive of the Food and Drink Federation, said: "With over 200 nominees across 18 categories, these are the biggest ever FDF Awards. Those nominated exhibit the extraordinary vibrancy and resourcefulness of the food and drink industry as it faced the twin challenges of Covid-19 and the UK's EU exit. All of those nominated are heroes. The judges have a herculean task to decide the winners."

FDF Awards 2021 Shortlist:

Apprentice of the Year: Amelia Cockran - Coca-Cola European Partners; April Streeton - Britvic PLC; Chi Lei Chan - Unilever UK & Ireland; Emily Chater - Pilgrim's UK; Laura Foster-Stockill – Asda; Mobin Ahmad - Unilever UK & Ireland; Richard Laursen - Unilever UK & Ireland.

Brand Launch of the Year: Jason's Sourdough; Macphie - Simply clever food; Old El Paso™ - Tortilla Pockets™; pladis UK&I - McVitie's V.I.Bs; The Naked Collective Ltd – Mude; Walkers - Walkers MAX Brand Re-Stage, including: New MAX Double Crunch and New KFC Flavours.

Business Resilience: Beckleberry's; Britvic PLC; Kanes Foods Limited; KP Snacks; Made for Drink; Princes.

Campaign of the Year: Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board - AHDB's We Eat Balanced; Aunt Bessie's (Nomad Foods) - 'Caring is the hardest thing we do' Campaign; Coca-Cola Great Britain - Coca-Cola: Open Like Never Before; FareShare - FareShare and Marcus Rashford combine forces to tackle childhood holiday hunger; EMILY Lockdown Posters OOH Campaign; Quaker Oats, PepsiCo - Quaker Oats. Stay Home. Go Forridge.

Community Partner: Coca-Cola Great Britain and Cola-Cola European Partners - Coca-Cola: Make A Difference; Community Shop - Healthy Holidays; FareShare; Ferrero UK - Joy of Moving; Macphie - From sauces to sanitiser; NEMI Teas; The Bread and Butter Thing.

Diet and Health: Eurest (Compass Group UK & I) - Food to take you further; Goodfella's Pizza - Goodfella's non-HFSS innovation and optimisation; Graze (Unilever) – Flapjack Sugar Reduction; Knorr - Zero Salt Stock Cubes; OptiBiotix - GoFigure® Blueberry & Raspberry Flapjacks; Radnor Hills - Radnor Vits.

Digital Transformation: Addo Food Group; Compass Group UK & Ireland; Food Standards Agency; KP Snacks; Red Tractor Assurance; Scottish Sea Farms.

Education Initiative: Britvic PLC - Encouraging the next generation to pursue careers in STEM; Chartwells Independents - The Adventurous Food Book; Chilled Food Association - Chilled Education; Coca-Cola European Partners and UK Youth – Reach Up programme; REHIS / FSS Secondary Schools Initiative; Rhug Estate - Organic Farm Tours.

Emerging Business: Holy Lama Naturals; Moorish; NEMI Teas; Sedamyl; The Basic Ingredients Ltd.; We Love Purely.

Environmental Leadership: Accolade Wines Europe - Carbon neutrality across Accolade Wines Europe’s UK-packaged core branded portfolio; Arbikie Distillery - Nadar – distilling the world's first climate-positive gin; Cranswick Milton Keynes - Mission Zero; FareShare - FareShare’s Surplus with Purpose scheme; Muntons - Bioenergy Plant; Nestlé UK&I - Podback – the UK’s first cross-industry collaboration to recycle coffee pods.

Exporter of the Year: British Corner Shop; Nairn’s Oatcakes Ltd; Princes Limited; Ramsden International; Symington's Ltd; Taylors of Harrogate.

Food and Drink Engineer of the Year: Amy White - Coca-Cola European Partners; Andrew Bosman - Campden BRI; Bayan Al Balushi - British Sugar; David Lipcsey - Scottish Sea Farms; Duncan Gordon - The Greater Good Fresh Brewing Co.; Robert Jabangwe - Jordans Dorset Ryvita (part of Associated British Foods).

Food and Drink Technologist/Scientist of the Year (sponsored by the Institute of Food Science and Technology): Debora Saibene – PepsiCo; Johnny Durant - Nomad Foods; Lucas Westphal - Campden BRI; Mark Auty – RSSL; Muriel Vanoli - St. Pierre Groupe; Stella Cochrane - Unilever UK & Ireland.

HR Initiative: ABP UK - Winter Health Campaign; Coca Cola European Partners - GB Equity programme; Coca-Cola European Partners' Career Builder Programme; KP Snacks; Moy Park Ltd - Moy Park’s Commercial Academy; Premier Foods - Big enough to feed the nation, small enough to care; Princes - 'Our Princes – Our People'.

Innovation: Aunt Bessie's (Nomad Foods) - 10 Glorious Golden Yorkshire Puddings; Company Shop Group - The Luminary Programme; Knorr - Zero Salt Stock Cubes; LettUs Grow in Partnership with Octopus Energy for Business - Powering vertical farming with 100% green energy; Slightly Different Foods - A food solution to improve gut health and IBS symptoms; The Greater Good Fresh Brewing Co. - The Pinter.

Registered Nutritionist/Dietitian of the Year: Claire Baseley - Ella's Kitchen; Holly Roper - Quorn Foods; James Collier – Huel; Julie Foster - Cereal Partners UK; Luxey Dayanandan - Restaurant Associates Group; Rees Bramwell - Eurest (Compass Group UK & Ireland).

Rising Star (sponsored by PepsiCo UK & Ireland): Alex Brown - Goodfella's Pizza (Birds Eye UK); Beulah Davies - Premier Foods; Daniel Clarke – Huel; Georgia Knight – Unilever; Mandy Chambers – apetito; Tess Kelly - Quorn Foods.

Sustainable Packaging Initiative: Britvic PLC - Britvic's long-term commitment to recycled plastic and the circular economy; Ernie; Macphie - Macphie moves to plant-based packaging; Piccolo Foods - Piccolo's 100% recyclable Yellow & Go pouches; Suntory Beverage and Food GB&I - SBF GB&I rolls up its sleeves to drive bottle-to-bottle recycling; TrakRap Ltd – Wrapping Retailers into Sustainability.