In a glittering, rock themed event on 13th February 2020, hosted by Scissor Sisters singer, Ana Matronic, and complete with casino, photobooth and live band, some of the most influential people and brands in the food manufacturing industry gathered at The Marriott Hotel on London’s Grosvenor Square, to find out whose trophy cabinet would be swelled by one of the industry’s most prestigious awards. Said ‘influentials’ included our MD Sian Holt and Production Manager Arianne Mills.
“the unsung heroes” of the F&B industry …
Every year the Food Manufacture Excellence Awards, hosted by leading industry title Food Manufacture magazine, invites the best in the business to compete for a category crown.
As Food Manufacture editor Rod Addy explains, “The annual Food Manufacture Excellence Awards were established 20 years ago and are the food industry’s equivalent of the Oscars, awarding 22 separate trophies this year. They are all about highlighting the unsung heroes of food and drink manufacturing – the people and companies who aspire to constant improvement, as well as going above and beyond business as usual.”
And we only went and won one! For the second time. Repeating our 2014 triumph, Fudge Kitchen was honoured with the Best Ambient Manufacturer of the Year Small Company award, beating a worthy finalist line-up to the trophy in Booths, Burts Snacks, Nim’s Fruit Crisps and LJ Fairburn & Sons.
“What a thrill to win such a prestigious award, particularly for the second time and amongst such stiff competition!” said Sian. “The standard and nature of entries this year was a real testament to just how vibrant, trailblazing and exciting a sector the food manufacturing industry is. More so than most, it is a place of incredible creativity, innovation and, increasingly, integrity that we are proud to be a part of.”
“A company punching well above its weight …”
“Winning this award tops off a breathless two years for Fudge Kitchen,” she continued, “which has seen a complete redesign across shops, packaging and branding, an expansion of our own labels across Selfridges, Harrods and Harvey Nichols, amongst others, a development of our vegan range, growth in our export interest, to now include a Canadian distributor, and a complete overhaul of our branded range into concise, targeted lines. That has all taken a great deal of hard work, vision and talent from the entire Fudge Kitchen family; and it is to them that I dedicate this fabulous trophy, with my thanks.”
“Fudge Kitchen is a worthy winner of the Small Ambient Manufacturing Business of The Year award.” continued Addy, “It’s a company that is punching well above its weight and making a big impact not just in the UK, but on the international scene as well.”
The judging panel for the Food Manufacture Excellence Awards particularly praised our radical new product development programme, including the launch of new vegan-friendly products and own-label ranges for Harvey Nichols, Harrods and Fortnum & Mason. With one judge leaving us pumped with pride at their summary of us – because integrity lies at the core of all we do – demonstrating “excellent investment in productivity, while remaining true to the core values of hand finishing”.
Why, thank you!
