The Food Manufacture Excellence Awards has unveiled its impressive shortlist for the 2026 ceremony, with eight notable partnerships contending for the coveted Collaboration and Partnership Award. The event, a highlight in the UK food and drink sector calendar, will culminate in a gala evening at the London Hilton Bankside on 5 February 2026.
Among the finalists is the collaboration between AAK BD Foods and Dawsongroup tcs, which tackled the challenge of expanding production capacity without compromising its skilled 100-strong workforce or its ambitious sustainability targets. This partnership resulted in a purpose-built cold storage and blast freezing facility utilising low-GWP CO₂ refrigeration technology. The collaboration has yielded significant benefits including the saving of over 820 operational hours annually, enhanced efficiency and safety measures, and a projected reduction of 860 tonnes of carbon emissions over the next decade.
Greenyard’s longstanding partnership with FareShare is also recognised, with their innovative Food Life Extension (FLEX) programme that freezes surplus fresh carrots to extend shelf life by up to two years. This initiative has repurposed more than 224 tonnes of surplus food into meals such as Chicken & Vegetable and Cauliflower Cheese soups, producing over 266,000 tins with extended shelf lives. Beyond food redistribution, Greenyard’s workforce actively supports FareShare through fundraising and volunteer efforts, exemplifying a holistic approach to social responsibility.
Kirsty’s partnership with Myprotein marks a strategic innovation in the chilled ready-meal market, blending Kirsty’s expertise in wholesome meals with Myprotein’s focus on sports nutrition. Their high-protein lunch pots deliver up to 32g of protein with under 400 calories per serving and have rapidly become a leading chilled ready-meal brand in the UK, generating sales exceeding £7 million since their launch.
In the realm of workforce development, Meat Business Women and Kepak have launched a programme to empower women on factory floors to ascend into leadership roles. This initiative addresses industry gender disparities by providing mentorship and workshops, with 94% of participants reporting increased awareness of their strengths and 82% greater confidence in pursuing career ambitions. The project supports goals aligned with the Food Business Charter, which aims for 40% female representation in leadership by 2035.
Müller UK & Ireland’s collaboration with Myprotein has resulted in a new range of high-protein dairy products that meet consumer demand for convenient, tasty, and healthy options. The product range is compliant with HFSS regulations, allowing for extensive marketing efforts including a notable experiential activation with ‘The NO RESTaurant’ pop-up.
Sustainability also features prominently, with Pilgrim’s Europe partnering PureTec Separations to significantly cut mains water use by recovering and reusing water from softener regeneration, saving over 26 million litres across three years. This initiative complements Pilgrim’s broader environmental strategy, including solar installations at multiple sites, advancing their carbon reduction commitments.
QualityApp’s partnership with Symprove represents a leap forward in factory digitisation, converting manual paper-based processes into a seamless, paperless system. This transformation has enhanced traceability, workflow efficiency, and real-time compliance, laying groundwork for sustained organisational growth.
Lastly, The Food Incubator and ChicP’s collaboration brought to market the UK’s first ambient, unacidified hummus, providing a preservative-free option that extends availability and reduces food waste. Their product innovation—a twin compartment pot pairing hummus with breadsticks—is now widely distributed, reflecting the power of collaboration in sustainable food innovation.
The Food Manufacture Excellence Awards continue to celebrate the innovation, sustainability, and human resource development emerging from partnerships across the UK's food sector. With 14 different accolades recognising achievements from sustainability to innovation, the awards highlight the dynamic efforts shaping the future of food manufacturing. The 2026 winners will be revealed at the highly anticipated awards ceremony next February, set to be a definitive moment for the industry's top performers.
Source: Noah Wire Services