Sarah Gant – Arla Foods
Sarah Gant has worked for Arla for nearly nine years, having worked her way through almost every part of the business on her journey to becoming operational support manager in charge of a team of 500 people.
At 27 years’ old, Sarah has achieved both institutional and societal change within Arla through the contributions she has made to the business – from the introduction of a wash lobby standard that is being adopted across all of Arla’s EU sites, to the development of a process to track all inter-site movements in the UK.
Her work in the business has seen €8m of investment into the business over the past 18 months and €10m of savings in the last two years across logistics and production – all while raising a young family and campaigning for gender equality within the industry.
A jack of all trades in the truest meaning of the phrase, Sarah has built on her experiences both in performance and with people to become an ‘authentic leader’ whose work is being widely recognised within Arla and has her eyes set on a director role in the future. Even now, she treats every day as a ‘school day’ full of opportunities to learn and improve herself, the business and the industry.
Freya Leigh Shields – Coca-Cola Europacific Partners
Since joining as a food and drink maintenance engineering apprentice in 2022, Freya has thrown herself into her role and proven to be an exceptional talent with a hunger to learn.
Joining the business straight from her GCSEs, Freya has played a vital role in a number of projects that have showcased here skills in both mechanical engineering during the past 26 months. The 19-year-old was the driving force behind a number of projects that have to boosted productivity at the drinks firm’s Wakefield site.
One such project saw her develop a solution to an issue with fallen cans that were causing frequent jams on the production line. Not only did she design a plan, create a framework for the system and fabricate the parts needed, Freya also took the initiative to brief team leaders on how the system worked to ensure all shifts were properly trained.
Freya has demonstrated a high level of commitment to the role and has set her sights on becoming a T2 maintenance engineer and part of the plant’s growth. As a woman in a male dominated industry, she wants to prove she can succeed, but also other people’s eyes to the possibilities available to women and how beneficial they can be to businesses.
Youssef Hachem – Hovis
Youseff has been recognised by Hovis for its contributions to the engineering department and the Sebon site overall, balancing his independent work with collaborative efforts across a number of different areas in the business.
The only site-based apprentice in his year, he has been praised to his meticulous approach to maintenance which has minimised disruption, leading to smoother production processes and increased overall productivity.
This 20-year-old has shown initiative to identify and tackle potential issues, with one of his most notable accomplishments saving more than £2,000 for the business by designing, creating, testing and implementing a drive roller for check weighers.
As an active member of the site’s commitment team, Youssef has consistently contributed to activities that enhance health and wellbeing. His involvement fosters a positive work environment and encourages collaboration and teamwork, enhancing team morale.
Youssef was recently diagnosed with Dyslexia, which led him to invest time in learning various tools and strategies to ensure that he can stay on top of his responsibilities, further increasing his productivity. He sees things from a different perspective and implements the great ideas that come from this different viewpoint.
Tom Coates – Pilgrim’s Europe
Tom forged a strong foundation in the food and drink industry at an early age, having been brought up in a family of butchers. Climbing his way up from cleaning walls and sweeping floors to managing the family butcher shop, he learned that you have to work hard if you want success.
It was this dedication that led to Tom being selected for Pilgrim’s graduate programme, the first graduate to join the programme without a university degree, choosing instead to gain work experience.
Tom’s innate curiosity set him apart from his peers, constantly seeking to understand the bigger picture, engaging with senior leaders to learn about other projects and asking thoughtful questions.
He has successfully led operational teams, drawing on his ‘squiggly’ career path to impart insights unique to his experiences across four rotations in the business. In particular, his first placement at Pilgrim’s Andover site showcased Tom’s exceptional teamwork despite only having two weeks to learn the position.
Tom has also been recognised externally by Discovery, an external training provider, as ‘learner of the month’ for his continuous improvement mindset and drive and his commitment to honing his skills.
Pilgrim’s technical controller Leona Walsh said: “Tom … has delivered above and beyond; I often forget he is new and learning as he always achieves above my expectations. His proactive approach, problem-solving skills, and commitment to delivering results have left a lasting impact across his placement so far.”
Eleanor Langford, Nestlé
Sine joining Nestlé Tutbury in 2020, Eleanor has demonstrated initiative, leadership, and innovative thinking, consistently tackling complex challenges to deliver impactful results in her role as a detailed production scheduler.
Her career has been marked by several key achievements, including the spearheading of a project that identified inefficiencies in procurement costing. Through her leadership, the team overhauled the process, accounting for real-time market fluctuations, which improved profitability assessments and decision-making early in product development, meaning that any issues that could have arisen further down the line were avoided.
More recently, Eleanor took the lead on optimising the factory’s production scheduling to reduce waste during coffee production. She identified that on some occasions, a customer order would trigger overproduction of coffee beans, leading to unnecessary waste.
Eleanor has shown a strong willingness to take on responsibility, often taking on leadership roles in tandem with her apprenticeship. Her commitment to learning and self improvement saw her pursue additional courses in procurement and communication, areas outside of her comfort zone.
Commenting on Eleanor’s time with the company, Nestlé Tutbury site director David Guest said: “Her energy, drive and enthusiasm has had a positive influence on those around her. She has embedded herself within the production team to develop her knowledge of the portioned coffee process resulting in planning improvements and a reduction in overall planned downtime increasing productivity. She is a very bright, intelligent individual and is an absolute pleasure to work with.”
George Lilley, Pilgrim’s Europe
Graduate trainee George Lilley has been commended for his exceptional leadership, empathy and contributions to the business, successfully leading teams and fostering a culture of inclusivity and respect.
Managing teams of between 10 to 200 people, George has taken the initiative to rotate across our Pilgrim’s Northern Ireland sites, seeking to learn about the cultures across the business and meeting as many people as possible.
Recently, he stepped up to the challenge by leading a nightshift operation for part of the business. Despite the demanding nature of the role, George quickly learned the intricacies of nightshift operations, ensuring the team not only met but exceeded their targets.
When the trial period for the nightshift ended, George took the initiative to organise a celebration, bringing the newly formed team together and ordering pizzas to make their achievements. Pilgrim’s noted how George left people better than how he found them, often sacrificing his time to do so.
At the Craigavon site, George left a lasting legacy – now in this third placement on the programme, he’s seen as a key member of the senior leadership team. Tasked with building a newly formed team to achieve a target of 80,000 packs per week, George exceeded expectations by delivering 150,000 packs, all thanks to the environment he created where everyone around him could thrive.
The winner of the Future Talent Award will be announced at the Food Manufacture Excellence Awards 2025 on Thursday 8 February at London Hilton Bankside. Make sure you book your tickets now to be in the room when the announcement takes place.
Thank you to our headline sponsor Menzies, alongside event sponsors Niras, Quor and Watermill.
Meanwhile, Food Manufacture caught up with last year’s winner Molly Harvey to find out what it meant for her to have taken home the prize and what’s next in her career.