The best new frozen food products in both retail and foodservice were recognized at the beginning of June during the British Frozen Food Federation’s (BFFF) Annual Product Awards.
Iceland Foods Ltd and KK Fine Foods Plc took home the prestigious Retail Product of the Year and Foodservice Product of the Year awards respectively. The awards were presented during the glittering Annual Gala Dinner Dance event which was hosted at the London Hilton on Park Lane hotel. The competition received entries from across the industry with the overall winners being selected from 13 categories across both the retail and foodservice categories, which included Best Main Course, Best New Pizza, Best New Meat-Free Product, and Best New Poultry-Based Product.
Winning the Retail Product of the Year award for its Luxury Triple Dipped Salted Caramel Ice Cream Sticks, was Iceland. Consumers adored the combination of flavours and textures and branded it as brilliant “value for money.”
The retail awards are unique in that the winners are judged by panels of independent consumers from across the UK who mark the products for appearance, taste, innovation, packaging, preparation instructions, likelihood of purchase and value for money.
In the foodservice awards, KK Fine Foods Plc’s Gluten Free Butternut Squash, Brie, Beetroot & Truffle Infused Oil Tart was crowned Foodservice Product of the Year. The product, which provided exceptional flavor and texture appealing to gluten-free and non-gluten-free consumers alike, was described as ‘tasty, light, crispy’, ‘well-seasoned’ and with a ‘very good, interesting filling’, earning it this prestigious award.
The Frozen Food Awards are well respected throughout the catering industry as all the entries are impartially judged by representatives of the prestigious Craft Guild of Chefs, who, as executive chefs, catering managers and recipe developers, are expert in their field and uncompromising in their assessments of the entries.
Commenting on the winners, John Hyman, BFFF chief executive, said: “These awards are a real victory for all the winners and their companies and teams should be incredibly proud of their achievements.” He added: “The Product Awards celebrate new product development excellence and innovation that continuously drives the frozen food industry to be the dynamic and developing sector that it is. The standard of entries we received was exceptional and it was really encouraging to see how many companies put products forward, which serves as a sign of the confidence they have in their products. In their 31st year, the Annual Product Awards proves that frozen food is still at the top of its game when it comes to innovation, which will only help the industry grow further and reach the £10bn target we’re aiming for.
