Winners of the 2019 Irish Food & Drink Business Awards
The winners of the 2019 Irish Food & Drink Business Awards were announced at special presentation ceremony and gala dinner held on Thursday night, September 5th, at the Citywest Hotel in Dublin.
Established to recognise innovation and excellence across the entire food and drink industry on the island of Ireland, the Awards programme is the first of its kind in celebrating and promoting the best of the Irish food and drink manufacturing industry and the people behind the products.
The Irish Food & Drink Business Awards were first introduced last year by Premier Publishing & Events, the Dublin-based international conference and exhibition organiser and the publisher of Food & Drink Business Europe magazine and the www.fdbusiness.com industry news portal.
The 2019 Awards covered 18 categories across the full spectrum of the Irish food and drink industry including major sectors such as ingredients, fresh produce, dairy, meat/poultry, seafood, beverages, bakery, confectionery, spirits, food service and retailer own label.
Food & Drink Company of the Year
An overall winner – the Gran Prix Company of the Year – was selected from the winners of each of the 18 Awards categories. This accolade was claimed by Freshways Ireland, which won the Food Service Company of the Year category and was then named as the Food & Drink Company of the Year. Freshways Ireland also took Silver in the Food & Drink Innovation of the Year category.
Other award winners included – Java Republic (Beverage Company of the Year); Kerrygold Butter Packaging (Dairy Manufacturing Company of the Year); Manor Farm (Meat/Poultry Company of the Year); Bretzel Trading Company (Bakery/Confectionery Company of the Year); and Great Northern Distillery (Spirits Company of the Year).
Ginos Gelato won the SME Food & Drink Company of the Year Award and Ice Cream Treats was named Health & Wellness Product of the Year. Dunnes Stores retained its title as Own Label Brand of the Year having won this category in 2018.
All of the 2019 Food & Drink Business Awards winners are listed below.
Lifetime Achievement Award
A special Lifetime Achievement Award was presented to Vincent Carton, head of Manor Farm, the largest chicken processor and market leader in the Republic of Ireland. The business can trace its roots back to 1775 when it commenced trading in the Dublin markets area before moving in 1970 to a custom-built factory at Shercock in County Cavan.
Vincent with his brother Justin are the eighth generation of the Carton family to run the business, which was acquired by Sweden-based Scandi Standard, the leading chicken producer in the Nordic region, in €70 million cash and shares deal in 2017.
2019 National Food & Drink Business Conference and Exhibition
The Awards presentation marked a fitting conclusion to the 2019 National Food & Drink Business Conference and Exhibition, Ireland’s premier trade event for the food and drink processing and retailing sectors, which was held in the Convention Centre of the CityWest Hotel earlier the same day. This annual Conference and Exhibition attracted over 2,000 visitors from all over the country
2019 Food & Drink Business Awards Winners
Bakery/Confectionery Company of the Year – sponsored by Weber Packaging Solutions
Bretzel Trading Company – Gold
Lily O’Brien’s – Silver
Thunders Bakery – Bronze
Beverage Company of the Year
Java Republic – Gold
Kinnegar Brewing – Silver
RTM Beverage – Bronze
Craft Beer/Cider Company of the Year – sponsored by MW Control Solutions
Rye River Brewing Company – Gold
Kinnegar Brewing – Silver
PorterHouse Brewing Company – Bronze
Dairy Manufacturing Company of the Year – sponsored by TQS Integration
Kerrygold Butter Packaging – Gold
Glenisk– Silver
North Cork Creameries – Bronze
Food & Drink Innovation of the Year
Nobó – Gold
Freshways – Silver
RTM Beverage – Bronze
Food Service Company of the Year – sponsored by Laydex Sherwin
Freshways – Gold
Freshly Chopped– Silver
Blanco Nino – Bronze
Free From/Vegan Product of the Year
Applegreen – Gold
KBH Nutrition – Silver
Birds Eye Pizza – Bronze
Fresh Produce Company of the Year
Kilbride Classic Cuisine – Gold
The Delicious Food Company – Silver
Hapi Food Co – Bronze
Health & Wellness Product of the Year
Ice Cream Treats – Gold
Freshly Chopped – Silver
The Irish Biltong Company – Bronze
Ingredient Supplier of the Year
NCC – Gold
Oriel Sea Salt – Silver
Rebel Chilli – Bronze
Meat/Poultry Company of the Year – sponsored by GS1 Ireland
Manor Farm – Gold
Dawn Meats – Silver
Hilton Foods – Bronze
Own Label Brand of the Year
Dunnes Stores – Gold
Aldi Ireland – Silver
TS Foods – Bronze
Packaging Company of the Year
Down2Earth – Gold
NevPack – Silver
Seafood Company of the Year – sponsored by O’Toole Transport
Irish Fish Canners – Gold
Keohanes – Silver
Nick Fish – Bronze
SME Food & Drink Company of the Year – sponsored by First Choice ePos
Ginos Gelato – Gold
Ice Cream Treats – Silver
Blanco Nino – Bronze
Spirits Company of the Year – sponsored by Spectac International
Great Northern Distillery – Gold
Ballyvolane House Spirits Company – Silver
The Dingle Whiskey Distillery – Bronze
Supply Chain Company of the Year
Foods Connected – Gold
Versatile Packaging – Silver
Sustainable Factory of the Year – sponsored by REPAK
ABP Ireland – Gold
Java Republic – Silver
Manor Farm – Bronze
Gran Prix – Food & Drink Company of the Year
Freshways Ireland
Lifetime Achievement Award
Vincent Carton, Manor Farm
