The award, part of the BBC Food and Farming Awards, celebrates pioneering innovation along the food chain. The judges are looking for ground-breaking initiatives that could inform how food will be grown, distributed or sold in future. It could be innovation focusing on lean and green manufacturing techniques, improving health, cutting waste or energy consumption, reducing carbon emissions or reducing food and drink packaging.
The judges are looking for astonishingly good ideas, which are scalable, commercially viable and applicable to food production and distribution in the UK.
Astonishingly good ideas
In addition to food and drink manufacturers, the award category is open to national retailers, farmers, growers and distribution companies.
Entries for this year’s award close on Sunday January 29.
Last year’s finalists included fast-food giant McDonalds and London-based GrowUp Urban Farms.
McDonalds won a place of the BBC Future Food 2016 shortlist for its Beef Carbon Project, which aimed to cut the carbon footprint in its beef supply chain.
‘Sustainability of beef production’
Commenting on being shortlisted last year, a McDonalds spokesman told FoodManufacture.co.uk: “Being a finalist in this award was a great accolade. It is testament to the valuable work our farmers and suppliers are doing to improve sustainability of beef production.”
How to win an award
“Tell the story of your business and what makes it different. Do a really good job of explaining what you are doing.”
- Ed Andrew, Our Cow Molly
GrowUp Urban Farms impressed the judges with its hydroponic salad growing operation in central London.
Winner of the award was diversified Sheffield-based dairy Our Cow Molly. Its pioneering deal to supply fresh milk to Sheffield University avoided university having to transport to and from London for processing.
The BBC Food and Farming Awards span nine categories this year. Included in the 2017 awards are awards for Best Food Producer, Best Food Retailer and the You and Yours Best Takeaway or Street Food category.
Previous winners included: bakers, butchers, cheesemakers, dairy farmers, farmers’ markets, fish smokers, food writers, dinner ladies, chip shops, broadcasters and campaigners, community food shops and hospital caterers.
What they say about the BBC Future Food Award
Our Cow Molly’s Ed Andrew (winner)
“We found winning the Future Food Award really shifted our business up a gear and opened doors in all kinds of places. The biggest difference the award made to our business was receiving a phone call from the Co¬op supermarket to ask if we would be interested in them stocking our milk. Even if you don’t win, becoming an awards finalist gives your business fantastic exposure.”
McDonalds’ spokeswoman (finalist)
“Being a finalist in this award was a great accolade. It is testament to the valuable work our farmers and suppliers are doing to improve sustainability of beef production. McDonald's are proud to support British and Irish farmers and we hope the findings from this report [on its carbon reduction initiative] can help all farmers to proactively tackle carbon emissions and boost efficiency from beef production.”