The Food Manufacture Excellence Awards 2023 are open for entries

The Pet Food Manufacturing Company of The Year Award is designed to recognise UK manufacturers in that dynamic space, with the category's value passing the £3bn mark in 2021, according to Mintel. As is the case with the other main category awards, to be eligible, candidates for entry must be directly involved in processing pet food in the UK.

Only main category winners can win the overall Food Manufacture Company of The Year Award - a coveted accolade previously won by leading lights in the industry, such as Cranswick, Weetabix and Greencore. Entries are not limited by size, though and smaller companies, such as Mash Direct and Raynor Foods have claimed category awards and the overall title too. This year, Charlie Bighams scooped the top trophy. General manager Richard Bain said staff were 'over the moon to be crowned overall winners'.

In addition to the new award, we have further expanded the Partnership Award, which was previously known as the Service Provider Partnership Award, to include customers such as retailers or foodservice businesses. The award is intended to recognise specialist work between two commercial partners, one of whom must be a named food or drink manufacturer. Either partner can enter and partnerships could cover a range of things, from lean manufacturing or environmental initiatives to forecasting or customer service projects.

Entrants can enter as many categories as they like. More information on all the award categories, last year's winners and how to enter can be found on the dedicated awards website, Foodmanawards.co.uk

The time is now to get the recognition that your company deserves. Food Manufacture is looking to recognise the hard work and successes within the industry throughout the past year through the highest profile set of free-to-enter, independent awards, which focus on manufacturing excellence rather than products.

The awards have been celebrating the latest innovations and greatest achievements within the UK's fast-growing food and drink industry for more than 20 years, and this year we are planning our biggest celebration yet on Thursday 9 February 2023 at London Hilton Bankside.

The Food Manufacture Excellence Awards are the industry's gold-standard, as every year hundreds of industry professionals flock to the ceremony where the winners are announced. Winning an award cements your position as a leader within the industry and can be a significant asset when engaging with prospective clients, along with a vast catalogue of other benefits.

So, what's stopping your company from entering today? Entries are completely free, your company can enter as many main categories as you like, and our entry process is clearer and more straightforward than ever.

Winners don’t have to be perfect, nor do they have to be investing vast sums of cash. They simply have to have a great story to tell.

For example, past winners have swayed the judges by resurrecting factories previously gutted by fire, dramatically increasing production capacity, launching significant product development programmes, successfully implementing major technology upgrades and executing major business turnaround strategies.

The truly independent and rigorous judging process involves a panel of veterans with more than 150 years of collective hands-on experience in all stages of the food and drink supply chain.