"The food industry is a hugely exciting place to be right now. It's about time the brands revolutionising food and drink got their time in the spotlight."
Holly Shackleton, Editor of Speciality Food
Nine businesses have been selected to go through to the grand final at Bread & Jam on 3 October 2019.
On 28 August the co-founders of the Future Food Awards met at the FoodTalk offices in Ashford to judge the shortlisted finalists in each of the nine categories. After much deliberation, due to the high standard of entries, the judges – Speciality Food magazine editor Holly Shackleton, FoodTalk founder Sue Nelson and Bread & Jam founder Jason Gibb – have unveiled the finalists and winners in each category.
These nine winners will now go on to pitch to the full panel of expert judges at the Bread & Jam festival on 3 October 2019 at the Institute of Directors in London’s Pall Mall to be in with the chance of being crowned the Supreme Champion.
FARM TO FORK – CATEGORY WINNER
Dorset Snails
The judges had never tasted snails like this before; juicy with a great texture and a real
‘snail’ and ‘garden’ taste and were impressed by the farming and quality control of the
natural product from hibernation all the way through to despatch. The judges were
impressed by the search for alternative sources of food which is an important part of the
future of food - trying to get the public to consider new alternative protein rich options such
as these oven ready snails baked in garlic butter will be key.
DRINK INNOVATION – CATEGORY WINNER
Luhv Drinks
There are lots of healthy drinks and smoothies on the market, but Luhv Drinks have been
created using scientific research in partnership with King’s College London. The drinks take
one area of bodily health, such as heart, and a drink is created to specifically benefit that
area making it easy for consumers to make healthier decisions. The judges loved the way
the team started from a health issue and designed the product backwards with the help of
scientists at King’s. Perhaps one day all health-based consumables will be made this way.
WILD CARD – (impossible to categorise) – CATEGORY WINNER
Nourish3d
A truly outstanding innovation marrying 3D printing technology which can combine 27
different active ingredients into personalised nutritional snacks. The consumer can choose
their preferred vitamins or supplements (or can complete a health questionnaire for these
to be determined) and the technology creates a small individually packaged snack, which
allows the active ingredients to coexist without destroying each other to enhance body
absorption. Wow!
FOOD TECH INNOVATION – CATEGORY WINNER
Vita Mojo
A foodservice system that allows the vendor to provide a fully customisable experience for
the consumer providing transparency into the ingredients and macro nutrients of a meal.
The judges were impressed by the application of the system to their own food outlets to
prove functionality and usability, before launching into the wider market. The judges believe
this is the future of customised food.
FOOD PACKAGING – CATEGORY WINNER
Little Freddie
Producing fully recyclable ‘pouches’ for baby food purees is still 2 or 3 years away, but the
team at Little Freddie didn’t want to sit back and wait for the technology to improve. They
use the low carbon footprint laminates they can find to give the right barrier properties
for baby food, and work with specialist laminate recycling technology provider Enval to
recycle the used pouches so none of their products go to landfill. Parents use the Little Freddie recycling pack which holds up to 15 empty pouches and these can be sent for recycling for free to Enval via their local postbox. The judges were impressed by the ‘closed loop’ approach to the whole manufacturing and post consumption process.
FOOD INNOVATION – CATEGORY WINNER
Bee Approved (Veganista)
Strict vegans cannot eat honey as it is considered an animal product. Bee Approved have
managed to make something which looks, smells and tastes like honey that unbelievably is
actually made from rice. Yes, just rice. The judging panel thought this was a real game
changer for vegans who cannot eat honey. A highly deserved winner.
YOUNG PRODUCER – CATEGORY WINNER
Oli’s Nectarous
A closely fought category, the judges loved the chocolate and maca lava cake which had a
great texture and taste. It would be almost impossible to tell this was a plant-based
pudding, without refined sugar. A real treat for vegans or those on a gluten-free diet, not
that you would be able to tell!
MISSION DRIVEN – CATEGORY WINNER
Seaweed & Co
The company harvest wild Scottish seaweed using patent pending technology that protects
the environment and allows mass collection of this nutritionally dense super food. The team
have developed seaweed capsules as a health supplement and infused oils for the home.
NEWCOMER – CATEGORY WINNER
Binary Botanical
The judges loved this new take on beer produced by two women who hailed from the
brewery sector. They have produced a new type of beer that uses infusion from hop leaves
to give a prosecco-like flavour to a very refreshing ‘table’ beer giving a tangy rather than
bitter flavour profile. The judges believe this will be a pioneer in the attempt to wean
restaurants off only providing wine pairing options with food.
Here is a link to the finalists in each category: https://www.specialityfoodmagazine.com/news.
The Future Food Awards are the brainchild of Holly Shackleton, editor of Speciality Food – the biggest trade magazine in the fine food sector – and Sue Nelson, founder of The FoodTalk Show – a dedicated podcast enjoyed around the world. They have joined forces to merge the New Producer Awards and The FoodTalk Awards in order to offer the industry a pioneering awards scheme to benefit and promote both the companies at the heart of food and drink innovation and the industry at large:
https://www.specialityfoodmagazine.com/
https://foodtalk.co.uk/blog/2019/01/foodtalk-awards-2019
