The finalists for the North East Scotland Food & Drinks Awards were announced on Friday 10th March. A total of 27 businesses were selected for the finals of the North East Scotland Food & Drinks Awards for 2017. These awards saw 76 entries across all categories with 64 new products also being submitted. The applicants celebrate the success of the food and drink industry in the area as well as giving businesses chance to show their latest innovations.
The awards are being delivered by Aberdeenshire Council and Opportunity North East. The contest was open to all food and drinks producers based within Aberdeen, Aberdeenshire and Moray. The intention of the competition is to support all food and drinks businesses in the area, by giving smaller establishments a chance to advertise their products through the competition. The competition also has potential to offer innovation and a strengthening of the supply chain as well as market and skills development. There were 11 categories for the contest, these include Best Young Business, Innovation Award, North East Scotland Food & Drink Entrepreneur and Best New Retail Product.
The North East of Scotland’s access to primary produce as well as new businesses provides a solid base for growth within the food, drink, agriculture and seafood sectors. These industries are vital for the economic wellbeing of the North East of Scotland, so increasing publicity will help it to flourish. With more than 22,000 people employed within the above sectors, it contributes an estimated 20% of the industry output. This figure is excluding whisky sector.
The judging panel included Cate Devine, the Food Writer and Columnist as well as Kev Shand the Braehead Foods North Sales Manager and Angus Bell, the Category Manager for Morrisons in Scotland.
Businesses reaching the finals include Amity Fish Co Limited, Angus & Oink, Castleton Farm Shop, Cocoa Ooze Chocolates, Fierce Beer, Mackintosh of Glendaveny, Porter’s Gin and The Good Granola Company.
