This year, the World Food Innovation Awards categories celebrated success in all aspects of the global food and beverage industry, including niche segments in finished products. Sponsored by Tetra Pak and organised in association with IFE, this year’s event showcased some of the most ambitious products that came out in the past year, tapping into the most prominent consumer trends in the food and beverage industry, from health and functional benefits to the use of natural and organic ingredients, on-the-go convenience and premium and artisan positioning.
Best children’s food
The health aspect plays a pivotal role in parents’ decisions when shopping for kids. The winner of the best children’s food category was Claudi & Fin’s Minis, a delicious range of natural Greek-style frozen yogurt lollies, available in three flavours – strawberry, mango, and apricot and peach. The brand’s new 100% natural Minis range contains all three flavours in a mixed multipack perfect for small children and dieters. Made with 14% real fruit, creamy Greek-style yogurt and whole milk, Claudi & Fin lollies contain 40% less sugar than other similar products available on the market and the same number of calories as a carrot.
One of the most important trends that is driving the category today is to offer products that help children develop a more sophisticated sense of taste from an early age. A finalist in the category, Coco & Lucas’ Kitchen’s Junior Foodies Frozen Meals, is one such product: a gluten and lactose-free frozen meals brand, all handmade with natural and local ingredients. Following suit, Little Dish Pots & Pies, a new range of nutritionally balanced little meals for toddlers, and Annabel Karmel’s Frozen Kids Meals – complete with brilliant recipes such as fish pie, hidden veggie bolognese or chicken tikka – offer wholesome ranges that are low in salt, free from additives and a source of protein and energy.
Meanwhile, BKD is a children’s baking kits fuel kids’ imaginations in the kitchen. Passionate about inspiring a new generation of Mini Bakers, the product kit encourages children to learn through play, creativity, and food.
Best Great British product
Celebrating the best local produce from the UK, the best Great British product category winner was Hillfarm/Aspall Dress and Dip Set. The combination of these two perfectly matched British artisan products makes a perfect foodie gift as an alternative to the usual bottle of wine. Mr Trotter was selected as a finalist in the category with their brand new range of Great British Pork Sausalami snacks, as well as Salubrious Sauce Co’s British Breakfast Sauce, offering a condiment that combines the must haves of the quintessential English breakfast – the red and brown sauce – in one bottle.
Best frozen food
Once a no-nonsense category borne out of necessity and convenience, the frozen food space is now getting more colourful, more creative and definitely more gourmet thanks to brilliant new food concepts offered by today’s brands. The winner of the category in this year’s awards was Poptails, the perfect combination of a fruit sorbet’s freshness and a cocktail’s guilty pleasure. The fruit of a friendship forged in Paris while the founders, Cecilia and Laura, were studying in France, the range is now available in France and the UK. The ice pops are influenced by that gourmet ‘French touch’ as well as British extravagance and are offered in festival-ready young and colourful packaging. Coco Lucas’ Kitchen’s Junior Foodies frozen meal range and Claudi and Fin’s Minis were also selected as a finalist in this category, standing out with their healthy ingredients and smart packaging designs.
Best artisan product
As the demand for craft products continues its steady growth among consumers, brands respond with premium and artisan products that are healthy, natural, personal and sophisticated. This year’s winner, Something Stronger Than Coffee, is a coffee-based energy beverage by Lily Kerridge, created with added kola nut powder, ginseng and guarana, which gives the drink 3-6 times the normal amount of caffeine obtained from a cup of black coffee. Each serving is packed in a unique biodegradable filter bag, which doesn’t require the use of a coffee machine. The product is crafted, roasted and packed by hand and the cloth bags are individually sewn in England.
The Chocolate Halva spread from Nutural World is a perfect example of fusion of oriental and modern western cuisines. With just three main ingredients – sesame, dates and cacao powder – and a slow and lengthy stone grounding process, the resulting spread carries the sweetness of the dates, the richness of the sesame and the amazing aroma of the highest quality Belgian cacao, all coming together to deliver a multi-layered tasting sensation.
Produced by the Taiwanese Xie family, XIE XIE Formosa Oolong Tea offers more than an experience. Created following the traditional 15 steps of tea making, XIE XIE represents a philosophy and, to reflect that, the selection is offered in an elegant box that looks like a book cover. Finally, joining the finalists in the category as a unique clean label artisan product, Beeyond Water’s honey and cranberry water is created with one thing in mind: if a product can’t be made at home in the kitchen then it probably isn’t something that mother nature would have made herself. Honey and cranberry water contains natural ingredients that ordinary people can relate to. The honey and cranberry give the drink its great taste, whilst cranberry doubles up as a natural preservative.
Set that trend
Have you launched a new product this year? Then the FoodBev Awards are for you! We regularly come across new products and trends, providing them with the platform to get the exposure they deserve. Showcase your latest innovations and set that trend!
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