When we set out to revamp Best Brands this year, we didn’t take the decision lightly.
The conversation descended into semantics, and we found ourselves questioning the very premise of it. What makes a brand ‘the best’? Is it commercial appeal? Reliability? Quality? A really nice-looking logo?
We’ve always left that up to interpretation in the magazine, but we kept things separate. In one section, we had our retailers’ survey, focusing on their best-selling products over the course of the year. Then there were the award-winners, celebrating everything from regional food & drink through to the best cheese, marmalade or tea in the world.
In other sections, the FFD team and retailers from across the UK would highlight products, brands and discuss general trends that had caught our attention.
Our new and (hopefully) improved format, which has a selection of all of the above on each page, according to its category, lets our readers decide what their priorities are when they’re making buying decisions.
The survey is still the cornerstone, with our own research leading every category section to give you a clear idea of what your fellow retailers are selling the most of.
And as well as the categories, readers of Best Brands are familiar with, we’ve delved into entirely new ones, with an expanded survey, award-winners and with more insights from the wider industry.
We want this issue to be something you can return to, when you think a shelf or corner of your shop looks like it needs a bit of TLC. So if you’re looking to refresh your ice cream selection, skip to p.55. If it’s charcuterie you’re after, head to p.10. We’ve tried to cover most, if not all, of what independents stock – from every angle.
Assembling this issue has been a reminder of all the hard work that goes into every aspect of our industry: producers grafting away every day; the organisations spending months of the year organising awards (including our own colleagues at the Guild of Fine Food) to support and promote those producers; the wholesalers and distributors who stock, store, transport and champion products until they make it onto the shop floor. And then there’s you, dear retailer, the gatekeeper, whose choices define what your customers spend their money on for their special occasion – or just for their tea. But it’s never ‘just tea’, is it?
We know that none of this happens on a whim, because it’s important – and that’s why we’ve done our best to make this Best Brands the best one yet. We hope you like it.
Every brand ranked in our survey is there because independent retailers put it here.
We asked buyers in delis, farm shops and food halls around the country to name their top-selling lines in more than a dozen categories. The survey was conducted by email and telephone during September, October and November 2024. The top-scoring brands in each category – in other words, those mentioned by FFD readers most frequently – are revealed throughout this publication. Where brands achieved very similar scores we have given them a joint position.
This year, people are loving anything charcoal or sourdough. Miller’s Damsels Charcoal Wafers and Peter’s Yard’s Sourdough Crackers are both selling well on the back of this. I think this is also an indication that the classics have changed. Sourdough has become more mainstream and replaced other traditional savoury biscuits as the standard.
Fine Cheese Co. has returned to the top spot this year – though it has has never dropped from the top three.
It’s worth remembering that the popularity of its sister brand, Miller’s, has been a constant theme in previous surveys too.
Sourdough cracker brand Peter's Yard straddles the space
between the big multiples and independents – and clearly continues to enjoy popularity in both channels.
Hebridean Stag Bakeries is still broadening its reach across the UK, while relative newcomer Cradoc's stands out on shelves with bold designs and unconventional flavours – which include Pear & Earl Grey; Szechuan Peppercorn, Fennel & Red Onion and Leek & Caerphilli Cheese.
We are also seeing growth in gluten-free crackers and biscuits, which are starting to taste much better, and therefore sell much better too. A good example of this is Olina’s Bakehouse, whose crackers have really started to take off for us. What doesn’t tend to do well is any kind of variation on a classic recipe - a flavoured water biscuit, for example. People seem to prefer tried and tested originals.
One of the challenges with crackers and biscuits is that there aren’t as many small, local producers as in categories like jam and chutney, probably because it’s not that easy to start making crackers at home in your kitchen. This means that we don’t get approached by many new producers and tend to stock larger, more established brands.
However, one smaller brand we have discovered recently is Cornish Bakehouse, which does a nice range of Thins, in Rosemary, Sea Salt and Parmesan varieties, as well as producing Fionagh’s Sourdough and Buttermilk Crackers. The packaging is beautiful too, which is important as people shop with their eyes.
dugardanddaughters.co.uk
survey surveyresults results survey results
1st Farmhouse Biscuits
2nd Border Joint 3rd Island Bakery / Moores
4th Botham’s of Whitby
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Farmhouse Biscuits’ position is no surprise. Even last year, when we asked retailers to tell us what their best-sellers were across sweet and savoury biscuits, the Lancashire producer stood on top of the podium.
Other usual suspects return this year, such as Border Biscuits, with its famous Dark Chocolate Gingers, and Island Bakery. The Hebrides-based producer, whose 2-star Great Taste Lemon Melts dipped in chocolate also won the Soil Association’s Best
award award award
sweet sweet sweet
biscuits biscuits biscuits
of Organic Market Awards two years in a row, has become a staple on independent retailers’ shelves.
Often mentioned in surveys gone by, Yorkshire favourite Botham’s of Whitby and Moores from Dorset appear in the ranking for the first time, because they’re no longer competing with savouries.
While there are few surprises in these results, its good to see plenty of retailers stocking smaller, locally-made biscuits, not to mention the plethora of different speciality biscuit producers named in the data.
winners winners winners
GREAT TASTE
Lemon Macarons
Macarons Franck Deville
‘Artisan Macaronier’ Franck
Deville made quite an impact with these 3-star
lemon macarons, described as “bright, fresh, citrussy, and honest in every way.” Their texture was a further point in their favour, as was their subtle sweetness which judges said reached “perfection”. franckdeville. fr
FREE FROM FOOD AWARDS
Sussex Gingerbread Thins Horsham Gingerbread
These gluten-free biscuits are made with butter, raw cane sugars and linseed meal from Sussex. They won a Gold in the Tea Time – Cookies & Biscuits category this year. horshamgingerbread.co.uk
Frankie Dyer, owner, Barbakan Deli
We are quite a traditional delibakery and that is reflected in the biscuits we stock.
In the run-up to Christmas, our most popular lines are gingerbread, lebkuchen and shortbread. Walker’s Shortbread has got some cute products this year, such as Scottie Dogs. We have also tried Farmhouse Biscuits’ Christmas tins for the first time. These went down really well and were sold out by the first week in December. Throughout the year we sell a lot of Italian biscuits. Mulino Bianco Pan di Stelle cocoa biscuits, biscotti from Tenuta Marmorelle, Cantuccini by Biscottificio Belli and amaretti biscuits from Lazzaroni and Matilde Vicenzi are some of the best sellers – anything with amaretto flies off the shelves. We also list a Swedish brand called Anna’s that makes ‘pepparkaka’ thins. We stock the Cappuccino, Ginger, Orange and Almond varieties. They do really well year-round because they taste lovely.
In terms of British biscuits, Farmhouse oatie biscuits are always popular, and Cartwright & Butler’s selection does well for us - they are very English and elegantly packaged.
Top quality ingredients are important to us and our customers.
When we bake we use real butter, Madagascan vanilla and other premium ingredients, and when we buy biscuits in we try to stick to that ethos.
barbakan-deli.co.uk
analysis analysis analysis
Over the years, Fen Farm Dairy’s flagship cheese, Baron Bigod, has become a mainstay in independents. The British take on Brie de Meaux often sits beside – or instead of –its French muse on cheese counters.
dominates the market with its wax-coated truckles – the Black Bomber, especially – balancing artisanal quality and mass appeal that makes it a reliable best-seller.
In all of the years of Best Brands’ surveys separating British cheese from the Continentals, Colston Bassett has always been in the running. A classic choice at Christmas and a staple for the rest of the year, it would be hard to picture a British cheese counter without it.
By using its own milk to make a range of cheeses – including the popular Blacksticks Blue – Butlers Farmhouse Cheeses ensures its product is made exactly to its specs, and the cheesemaker, which recently acquired Tunworth, has made a name for itself by balancing traditional values and innovative styles.
In joint fifth position we have Cropwell Bishop, known for its traditional Blue Stilton and Shropshire Blue, both
highly popular premium blue cheeses; Montgomery’s Cheddar, among the most celebrated examples of artisan cheddar; and 2015 World Cheese Awards Champion, Lynher Dairies, for its nettlewrapped, semi-hard flagship Cornish Yarg.
Cornish Yarg has a singular appearance and flavour profile, yet is increasingly recognised among British cheese enthusiasts.
awardwinners awardwinners awardwinners
WORLD CHEESE AWARDS
Stoney Cross
Lyburn Farmhouse Cheesemakers
FARM SHOP & DELI PRODUCT AWARDS
Lord London
Alsop & Walker
It’s been a good year for Lyburn, whose Tomme de Savoie-like Stoney Cross first won the Golden Fork for England in Great Taste 2024 and was then named Best British Cheese in the World Cheese Awards. Made on the Smales’ family farm in Hampshire with unpasteurised cows’ milk, Stoney Cross is a semi-soft mould-ripened cheese with a pale natural rind and golden hue. It is said to be at its best at eight weeks when the ivory paste is creamy and buttery in texture, and subtly sweet with a distinctly earthy finish. It is named after an old World War II airfield located nearby. lyburnfarm.co.uk
GREAT TASTE
The Wee Comrie Strathearn Cheese Co.
Pierre Leger at Strathearn Cheese in Comrie, Perthshire, gave this 3-star cheese its terroir denoting name. The Wee Comrie is a pasteurised cows’ milk cheese made with vegetarian rennet and aged for three weeks. Great Taste judges said it was “mellow, gently buttery and with intense milky tones,” calling it “quietly sophisticated”, with a wellbalanced, rich creamy finish. strathearncheese.co.uk
One of 68 products at the Farm Shop & Deli Product Awards 2024, Lord London is a semi-soft, cows’ milk cheese from Alsop & Walker. The bell-shaped cheese with an edible rind is described as having a clean citrus taste. Since it was developed in honour of the 2012 Olympics, Lord London has received many awards, including in the World Cheese Awards and Great Taste, where it earned 2-star status in 2024. alsopandwalker.co.uk
TASTE OF THE WEST
Savour
Sharpham Dairy
Savour is a semi-hard, washed curd cheese – a process which reduces lactose and lactic acid generation and increases sweetness in the final cheese. It is made with Jersey cows’ milk and a small amount of goats’ milk, making it milder than pure goats’ cheese, but with a different texture and complexity to a cows’ milk cheese, with more tangy, earthy notes. It emulates a young Tomme de Savoie and is similarly smooth with a rich, creamy flavour. sharphamcheese.co.uk
retail retail retailview view view
Hero Hirsch, Pick & Cheese
It’s been interesting to see the impact that the Affineur of the Year competition is having on the narrative around aging processes and the value that can be added through this process. There’s also growing interest from customers in unique processes undertaken by both makers and mongers. From conversations with them, it really seems to hold meaning if a product is exclusive or has been prepared as a one-off. Innovation in this area has resulted in dozens of new cheese variations cropping up overnight, so it feels like there are many new cheeses out there
staff staffpick pick staff pick
Chosen by Patrick McGuigan
Lowfields Lancashire
My love of Kirkham’s Lancashire knows no bounds, but I have flirted with another this year.
Lowfields Lancashire is made by Roger Cowgill in Ingleton, North Yorkshire. He only has 12 Dairy Shorthorn cows so Lancashire is the perfect cheese for his farm, allowing him to make a little curd each day before combining three days’ worth. It’s raw milk, cloth bound and has the flakey, buttery yoghurty flavours that I adore.
Where to Buy: The Courtyard Dairy
to try. It will be fascinating to see which of these experiments endure to find markets in their own right.
When talking to customers we find it can be helpful to cite a shorthand reference point, like Brie-style or Gouda-style, but it’s always much more compelling to actually talk about the producer, their ethos and their operation. We always see this effect most clearly after visiting a producer, when we can really help to connect the customer to the cheese.
In terms of the cheeses and cheesemakers who are setting the bar for innovation and quality at present, David Jowett of King Stone Dairy stands out for me. I’ve always been a big fan of his cheeses and it’s been exciting to follow the work he has been doing using milk from a nearby sheep milk producer in Gloucestershire. He’s producing two new cheeses - Bibury, a hard cheese, and Hidcote, a soft lactic set. Both styles would taste familiar to a French customer but are unique in the context of British cheese.
thecheesebar.com/seven-dials
George & Joseph
This raclette-style cheese from Somerset, often makes its way from my shop counter straight to my home kitchen.
Known for its superb melting qualities, Ogleshield is a bit of a chameleon. It’s the perfect winter comfort food, but also shines in summer dishes like burgers or as a gooey addition to pasta.
It has great depth of flavour, the rich, creamy melt you’d expect from a raclette, and there’s more going on beneath the surface. It has a nutty, earthy flavour that pairs beautifully
It has a nutty, earthy flavour that pairs beautifully.
with a variety of foods. On a cheeseboard, it holds its own, but its true potential is unlocked when melted.
It’s fantastic on grilled meats during summer barbecues or stirred into a cheese sauce to elevate a midweek meal. It’s also a showstopper when draped over roasted vegetables or spread across crusty bread. georgeandjoseph.co.uk
Ogleshield
Chosen by Stephen Fleming Owner,
charcuterie charcuterie charcuterie
analysis analysis analysis
For many years, the Best Brands Survey has included charcuterie as a category but the vote has been so fragmented that no clear result could be declared. Until this year, no particular producer was gaining more than a couple of votes, but in this survey there was something more quantifiable.
As a result, The Real Cure and its broad repertoire has come out on top. Respondents
award award award
winners winners winners
named a variety of products including its Dorset ‘Nduja, White Pepper Salami and classic Chorizo.
The Dorset-based producer came out on top of a pile of largely British brands, as you can see from the joint third position. And there was certainly a lean in the survey data towards British producers rather than the more traditionally embraced Continental brands and varieties.
While it might be premature to declare that British charcuterie is finally coming of age, it seems like more retailers could be embracing it and seeing it sell well.
It’s worth pointing out that most of the ranked producers have a strong, well-branded offering when it comes to pre-sliced packs, which are an easier sale than slicing to order from the counter.
The same could be said of the two Continental representatives.
The presence of both Brindisa and Diforti proves that there is still plenty of consumer appetite for premium Spanish and Italian charcuterie –especially in a grab & go format.
We are seeing a much greater choice with new producers coming through all the time. Customers are showing more interest in the charcuterie category as a whole, wanting to know in particular about the breeds of animal used. Wagyu is a good example of this.
The most popular items continue to be the classic salamis and hams but we do see growing interest in spreadable salamis like 'nduja, as customers become more adventurous.
We still carry some Continental products in our charcuterie ranges, but that has reduced year-on-year and with the growth in range and depth from UK producers, we’re aiming to stock all UK products through 2025 and going forward. This is part of a heightened focus on trying to create some additional USPs by making better links to the breed of animal used in charcuterie production and seeking to offer products that are as local to our markets as possible.
Sustainability is clearly a factor here; we will always ensure that producers can evidence where they have sourced their base meats and that they have been reared in an environment that matches our ethos and values. As with all of these things though, there is a balance to be struck across all the factors that influence our buying decisions.
cobbsfarmshops.co.uk
Tom Newey, owner, Cobbs Farm Shops
DIAMONDS ARE NOT JUST ANY OLD STONES and Miller’s aren’t just any old biscuits and crackers.
extraordinary
Little Doone Sweet Balsamic Dressings
Thank you, thank you, thank you!
Appreciated by our customers, ... enjoyed by yours
Recipe card enclosed for you to keep and share
savoury savoury savoury
Of all the categories that have been documented by the Best Brands Survey, this one has perhaps the most defined story arc.
It still remains dominated by potato crisp producers jostling for position but the names have almost all changed since the very first survey back in 2011.
There has very much been a changing of the guard – a
couple of times – in the last decade. As brands have grown bigger and widened their distribution beyond independent channels, retailers have responded by buying in different emerging brands to maintain a USP in the face of the vast choice on offer in supermarkets’ snacking aisles.
Propelled by a growing range of flavours alongside its flagship Truffle variety, Spanish brand Torres is very much the established choice among delis and farm shops all over the UK.
snacks snacks snacks
Two Farmers and its highly sustainable approach (both to the bags and what’s in them) is the most popular of a crop of outwardly British potato crisp brands, including Brown Bag and Pipers, which has been a stalwart of the market since the very first Best Brands.
It’s interesting to see Bret's, and its distinctly French flavours and identity, coming through like Torres did a few years ago.
As always, this category is a space to watch.
Mexican Style Chilli & Lime Pork Crackling
Mr Filbert’s Chosen by Michael Lane, editor
As someone who finds it hard to resist a pork scratching in most situations, I was always going to dive into a bag of these snacks launched this year by Mr Filbert’s. Add to this my newfound love of the citrussy Mexican seasoning Tajin (if you haven’t tried it, you need to!) and I was anticipating quite a lot from a humble bagged snack. But they delivered. Yes, they had the right level of spice and tang but the texture made them moreish rather than overawing. The apparently Spanish method off “popping” the rind rather than oil-heavy frying creates a light and crunchy crackling that holds seasoning well – and there is just the right level of fat to round it off.
My only criticism is that a 150g bag isn’t enough, if you have to share them with other people.
mrfilberts.com
Wholesale coffee and equipment supply, with curated POS support.
Award Winning, beautifully presented retail coffees.
Barista training school and café consultancy.
Certified B-Corp, giving 2% of turnover to community projects.
Adventurous coffee, hand roasted in the West Yorkshire Pennines.
darkwoodscoffee.co.uk
Holme Mills, Marsden, West Yorkshire, UK, HD7 6LS
Black Hill 3 Star winner 2024
Winner of Great Taste Golden Fork for Better Business 2024
chocolates& chocolates& chocolates&
one of the previous five years.
For many years, the confectionery results in the survey were bordering on unpredictable, with first place often changing hands and brands dropping in and out of the rankings.
But since 2020, Dutch brand Tony’s Chocolonely has held onto the top spot – in spite of its wide availability across bigger retailing channels. And Summerdown (and its famous alternative after dinner Thins) have ranked second for all but
In that sense, you could say there’s now a degree of stability in this category, both in terms of retailers’ preferences and buyers’ choices.
Chocolate brands Guppy’s and Montezuma’s and bagged sweet specialist Bon Bons are all regulars in the upper echelons of the survey results but there was a new entrant this year –Ooh! Chocolata.
It seems that – as in previous years – chocolate with clear and vibrant branding is a recipe for success in independent retailers’ confectionery sections.
Jonathan Day, buyer, Bayley & Sage
Customers are liking saltier options more, like dark chocolate with sea salt, and are looking for chocolate and confectionery products with shorter ingredient lists. On the confectionery front, chewier products like Scandinavian salty liquorice and dehydrated marshmallows have become popular.
Bean-to-bar chocolate and single-origin varieties have always performed well in our stores as our customers are looking for quality chocolate with distinct flavour profiles. We stock Pump Street, a British producer of craft bean-to-bar chocolate.
Ethical certifications like Fairtrade, Rainforest Alliance, and B-Corp play a big role in our ranging decisions as we want to work with suppliers who help farmers and workers, and are also considerate of the environment.
As traditional cheesemakers for over 100 years, we have been bringing our heritage & craftmanship credentials to life. Making exceptional, award-winning cheese requires three key ingredients - tradition, time and taste.
Clawson Farms is a British farming cooperative, we take pride in representing the passion of our 30 member farmers & master cheese-makers and the brilliant work we do here at Clawson from farm to fork.
To find out more, contact our sales team on enquiries@clawson.co.uk or call +44 (0) 1664 822332 www.clawson.co.uk
DISCOVER OUR FANTASTIC RANGE OF AWARD WINNING BRITISH CHEESE
Introducing Clawson Farms deliciously characterful cheeses. A flavour packed range of six truckles each made from premium ingredients and represented by a unique personality. Now available for order, contact our sales team to find out more enquiries@clawson.co.uk
+44 (0) 1664 822332
analysis analysis analysis
When it comes to tea and coffee, Somerset’s Miles is never far away from the Best Brands rankings and this year it has retained its top spot – driven by responses not just from its native West Country but from as far away as Brighton, Warwickshire and Lancashire.
Despite its size and retail coverage, Taylors is another regular in the survey results for coffee and you’ll still find bags of its popular Lazy Sunday and Rich Italian blends on independent retailers’ shelves all over the UK.
It’s important at this point to highlight that the survey is looking at purely retail coffee rather than the beans and cups served to-go or on the premises. This meant a lot of respondents didn’t fill in an answer
for this category.
That said, making a name in retail coffee takes geographical reach, strong branding, and eyecatching bags. This explains the presence of Grumpy Mule and Origin in the rankings and, of course, Dark Woods, which has possibly the most striking bags of the lot (even though it does a great deal of business on the foodservice and hospitality side too).
award award award winners winners winners
GREAT TASTE
2024
Captain’s Grog - Rum Marinated Coffee Beans
Bean Brothers Coffee Company
Exploding with exotic flavours, this 3-star Guatemalan coffee has been marinated in Vintage Ron Los Valientes 20-Year-Old Rum before being barrelled. It was billed by judges as “winey, umami and full-on”. beanbrothers.co.uk
Kenya Kaiguri Nyeri AA
The Lost Barn Coffee Roasters
Judges said of this Kenyan coffee from the Kaiguri washing station that it has both initial impact and a lot of subtleties to explore, deeming it worthy of 3-stars. They added: “It is well-balanced with enough refreshing acidity to complement the sweeter, fruity elements.” lostbarncoffee.co.uk
WINNING PRODUCTS FROM THE WORLD COFFEE INNOVATION AWARDS
The World Coffee Innovation Awards were established in 2023 to highlight coffee professionals making waves in the sector. The awards encompass beans, pods, equipment and speciality drinks like RTD coffee cans and cold brew.
The judging panel is made up of coffee experts from around the world, who assess products on the basis of novelty, sustainability, and how they might affect the market.
Ethiopian Rocko Mountain Monsoon Estates Coffee Co
This 3-star Ethiopian Yirgacheffe coffee has undergone natural processing. “It has flavours of sweet, sticky ginger, lengthened by pitch-perfect acidity, with back notes of caramel,” said the GT judges. monsoonestates.co.uk
The 2024 World Coffee Innovation Awards had three main category areas. The Best Product awards, for items like coffee machines, barista tools, capsules, flavorings, cold brew, functional and low/ no caffeine products, milk alternatives, and readyto-drink coffee; the Best Innovation awards, to shine a light on advancements in brewing, packaging, roasting, technology, and water filtration. Finally, the Best Business awards recognise achievements in ethics and sustainability. foodbevawards.com/coffee-innovation-awards
Colombia El Placer - Red Fruits (Carbonic)
Dark Woods Coffee
Chosen by Michael Lane, editor
I could tell you about the very specific scientific treatment that this smallbatch Colombian coffee goes through to create the finished product. (If you must know, it’s a 120-hour carbonic honey fermentation at 18°C, plus another three days of fermentation with dehydrated red fruits).
LOW/NO CAFFEINE PRODUCT
Atlas Decaf Coffee
Origin Coffee origincoffee.co.uk
I could also tell you that this coffee is a premium product, even by Dark Woods’ own exemplary standards, and it comes in a very attractive tin priced at just shy of £15.
Really, all you need to know is that this coffee tastes like strawberries. From the minute you open the tin, through the grinding of the beans and the brewing, until the last drop leaves your palate, there is always a sweetness and tanginess there. And even then that flavour goes on.
Making coffee taste like fruit sounds like alchemy and possibly unpleasant, but this is the stuff of genius because it still tastes of actual coffee too.
Bold, complex and utter magic. No wonder it picked up a Deliciously Yorkshire Taste Award this year, and I dare say it’ll be picking up some more over the years.
darkwoodscoffee.co.uk
Proper tasty coffee
2025 Product Launch Events
survey surveyresults results survey results
1st Teapigs
2nd Taylors of Harrogate
Joint 3rd Dorset Tea / Miles
Joint 4th Cornish Tea / Pukka/ English Tea Shop/ Clipper
analysis analysis analysis
tea
tea tea
Teapigs’ whole-leaf tea is obviously a firm favourite for customers looking for a premium, ethically sourced and environmentally sound cuppa without breaking the bank. The brand sits comfortably in both independents and supermarkets without affecting its high-end appeal.
Taylors of Harrogate’s Yorkshire Tea is iconic and a favourite in many British households – the perception is that it is reliable, consistent and yet has a regional identity too. Heritage-focused Dorset Tea sits alongside Somerset-based Miles, both offering local appeal. Equally proudly regional, and jostling for the fourth spot, is Cornish Tea Co alongside survey regulars Pukka
English Tea Shop and Clipper. Sales in this category are clearly divided according to broad preferences for traditional black tea, herbal blends and niche categories like matcha, and cocoa tea. It is possibly because independent retailers lean toward local or ethical brands that regional and producers of particular styles do well alongside national names.
tea award award award winners winners winners tea tea
THE LEAFIES
The Leafies International Tea Awards, organised by the UK Tea Academy in partnership with Fortnum & Mason, are the only dedicated tea awards in the UK. With categories for both teas and retailers, tea categories include Best Green Tea, Best Black Tea, Best Oolong Tea, Best Flavored Tea, Best Herbal Infusion, and Best Single Estate Tea. Entries are judged on the basis of flavour, aroma, appearance, and balance, but also account for sustainability credentials and ethical sourcing. Awarded ‘Best in Show’ this year was Yame Tea Kumaen, Matcha Saemidori – a matcha from Japan’s Fukuoka region, praised for its vibrant green colour and creamy, umami-rich flavour. Sinharaja Wiry Tips from The Lumbini Tea Valley, a Sri Lankan producer, took the title for ‘Best Black Tea’ due to its complex flavour profile with notes of malt and subtle sweetness. Meanwhile, Birchall Tea’s Great Rift Breakfast Blend from Kenya received a Gold Award, praised for its robust flavour and malty notes. leafies.co.uk
INSECTS DELIVER GOLDEN FORK
The winner of the Golden Fork for The Rest of the World in 2024 – placing it among the crème de la crème of Great Taste 3-star products – is Junjie Lin Tea Garden’s Smaller Green Leafhopper Honey Flavour Black Tea.
The environment in which it grows and the care that goes into growing it doubtless play a role in its success, but its distinctive flavour derives from a curious phenomenon caused by some unlikely little helpers.
feeds on the leaves’ sap, harming the plant in the process. But when the insects attack the tea leaves, the plants react defensively, producing chemical compounds
The smaller green leafhopper, a tiny insect widely regarded as a nuisance – it is primarily a grapevine pest that
GREAT TASTE
En The Matcha - Konjo Ikomiki
“This is a connoisseur’s tea,” said judges of this 100% Matcha green tea from Japan. They awarded it 3-stars for its intense savoury note, with hints of toasted rice, and were impressed with its “delightful, lingering finish”. ikomiki.uk
that resulting in flavours of honey and flowers, producing a naturally perfumed tea. Currently, Junjie Lin Tea Garden cultivates two varieties of tea.
There is large-leaf oolong,
Single-Origin Peruvian
Wholebean Cocoa Tea
Barbers bean to bar
“The level of chocolate flavour is fascinating,” said the panel of this 3-star chocolate tea made from 100%
Peruvian cocoa beans. “The taste is exciting”, they said, both clean and indulgent. barberscocoa. co.uk
Ian
Evans, owner, Broad Bean Deli
We offer 47 different types of loose-leaf tea as well as teabags. Black teas, like the Ceylons and Assams, are selling well this year – and Earl Grey is a massive seller. We do an Earl Grey with bergamot oil rather than essence, which makes for a higher quality tea, and people come back for that again and again.
which is prized for its premium quality but which is also more susceptible to leafhopper damage, and the hardier jhinhsuan, which imparts a milky character.
Both are used in the Smaller Green Leafhopper Honey Flavour Black Tea (Floral and Fruity Notes). None of this is to suggest that the smaller green leafhoppers deserve sole credit for the tea’s quality.
After their intervention, it is the master tea-maker who takes over, managing the variables of fermentation and creating consistency from seasonal variability.
TASTE OF KENT
Decaf Earl Grey
Bergamia Bergamia Tea’s scented loose leaf black tea is a decaffeinated version of the producer’s Real Earl Grey Tea, made with Italian bergamot oil and blue cornflowers. It won a Gold medal and was crowned and Nonalcoholic Drink of the Year 2024 in the Taste of Kent Awards. bergamiatea.co.uk
Customers who are newer to tea are enjoying the Russian Earl Grey we have source from Jenier Tea. Naturally dried Thai lemongrass and dried orange peel add a different dimension to this tea.
Loose-leaf teas are very prominent in our shop, right behind the tills, so we don’t have to do anything to promote them – they sell themselves –other than price them keenly. On the tea bag front, Miles’ tea is our biggest seller.
Green tea experienced a spike in sales towards the middle of the year, connected to the ZOE Diet, which advocates green tea for its effect on blood sugar levels, but this has since trailed off.
Herbals are tricky for us, mainly because there is a Holland & Barrett store virtually opposite, but we have seen lemon & ginger enjoying a bit of a resurgence, with younger health-conscious consumers driving demand. Liquorice and chai are the other popular herbal varieties, and Yogi and Clipper are our best-selling brands.
A newer product we've been having success with is our own Russian Caravan tea. It’s a blend of oolong, keemun and lapsang souchong varieties. So, it’s smoky and great with a full English. broad-bean.com
PROMOTIONAL FEATURE
Comté: A cheese with a rich history
Whether it’s the history, terroir or technique behind it, Comté’s backstory is as rich and complex as its flavour. That means that this French classic is bound to be a conversation starter – and a top seller – on cheese counters and boards across the UK.
HOW MUCH DO you know about Comté and its rich heritage? There are so many fascinating stories to share with your customers, giving them a glimpse into its wonderful world that they can be a part of, with a cheese tasting experience like no other.
For more than 10 centuries, farmers, fruitières and affineurs of the Jura Massif region of Eastern France have been producing the internationally popular Comté cheese every single day of the year. It has been awarded AOC status, which means that it must be made following the traditional rules that generations have been using to create the cheese exclusively in this region that has integrated Comté into every aspect of the community life.
Its delicious flavour originates from the raw milk of the Montbéliarde and French Simmental cows of the Jura Massif, each of which has its own hectare of land to graze on. The cows eat grass and a wide range of plants and flowers out on the
pasture in the summer, and locally harvested hay in the winter, producing high-quality milk and giving Comté its very special taste, scent, colour and texture.
Every single day, the milk is brought in from a collection of the nearest local farms and transformed into large 40kg wheels of Comté cheese by small village dairies, known as fruitières. These dairies use the refined skills and expertise passed down from generation to generation, to make sure each batch of the cheese is at its most perfect for consumption.
The wheels are then moved to local ageing caves and cellars, where ‘affineurs’ take care of the wheels of Comté during the ageing process, regularly turning, salting and rubbing each one with brine solution for up to 24 months. It is down to their experience and expertise to decide when the cheese is ready for consumption.
As a result, one piece of Comté might have a firmer texture with a nuttier taste and another
might be smoother with a more floral flavour, dependent on several factors such as the altitude the cows were grazing at, the time of year and the skills of the affineur during ageing. Each wheel and bite of Comté is therefore completely unique. No fewer than 83 different flavour profiles in six flavour ‘families’ have been identified in Comté. These flavour profiles are as diverse as walnut, buttered toast, artichoke, leather and vanilla.
By stocking multiple different ages of Comté, your customers can experience this first-hand for themselves, encouraging them to decide which age of the cheese they prefer, including whether their palate preference leans more towards a winter or a summer flavour.
Comté is a firm favourite of chefs and home cooks all over the world. With its array of delicious flavours, it is a perfect addition to many mouth-watering dishes, from gratins and risottos to seasonal salads and soups. Its ability to melt easily means it can be added to all kinds of recipes, giving each one of them a different flavour.
If you would like to stock Comté and enjoy a slice of the potential profits of this wonderfully unique cheese, head to www. comtecheese.co.uk/are-you-a-cheesereseller/ to contact us, as well as downloading promotional materials to support your sales.
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This category is a hard one to rank, because retailers tend to favour a style of cheese rooted to a particular region, rather than a brand.
That said, Montagnolo Affiné was named the most times here. The very mild blue from Germany, made with triple cream, is not only approachable but versatile, so it’s no surprise. Nor is the fact that
gorgonzola, specifically gorgonzola dolce, garnered almost as many votes, as an equally creamy, soft blue cheese. Comté, the iconic hard, unpasteurised cow’s milk alpine cheese, was in a similar spot.
Then we have Brie de Meaux, which might have done better in the past because it didn’t have to contend with its English rival from Fen Farm Dairy, Baron Bigod, in
overall cheese sales. It shares its spot with Parmigiano Reggiano, the aged Italian cheese known to most.
The lack of surprises in this category continues until the end, with triple cream Délice de Bourgogne jostling for the fourth spot with Spain’s most famous sheep’s milk cheese, Manchego.
What I’m seeing in general is that seasonality is coming up a lot and a number of our retail customers are introducing rotating slots, particularly as they plan for 2025. It’s a great way of increasing shopper engagement by offering more variety from the same square-footage or total SKU count.
In terms of broader styles, the ‘rahm käse’, cream-added low-mountain cheeses are flying. They’re easy to love and very sessionable while also offering tremendous complexity. It feels like there’s a lot more road to travel in watching that category grow and it’s simply an inimitable style as far as UK cheese goes.
In my experience, a balanced range is split 80:20 between everyday price point, versatile cheeses and some super fancy alpage or single-dairy styles that’ll really shine on a cheeseboard. The other tip is to lean into that seasonal preference trend.
I’d advise retailers to start by thinking where the cheese can do the work for you; if the cheese has eyes (holes) or a flowery rind, maybe a larger piece can sit in the counter to really draw the eye. Make it obvious to new customers that tasting is encouraged by keeping some version of a tasting cut / stock within eyesight. We’re running a programme whereby we loan a Rosomat, which is a mechanised version of the girolle, for key partners of our Tete de Moine producer, enabling retailers to offer cheese flowers for tasting, cheese platters or more.” europeanfinecheese.com
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Chosen by Patrick McGuigan
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Hornkäse I’ve been exploring a lot of lesserknown cheeses from Europe this year. This raw, organic cows’ milk cheese from Bavaria, Germany, is a particular favourite. Made with milk from the last 600 horned Allgäuer Brown Swiss cows in the world by Hofkäserei Kraus, it’s a unique Alpine cheese. The rind is washed in elderflower cordial and burnt hay ash as it matures over seven months to create a cheese that is meaty, smoky and creamy.
Where to buy: The Fine Cheese Co
Graviera Kritis PDO
Greece is another cheese making nation that is underrepresented on cheese counters. There’s plenty more to Greece than Feta, as I discovered thanks to a 24-month aged Cretan Graviera from Manousos Tsitsiridis. Made with raw milk from sheep that roam the wild mountains of Sfakia in the West, it’s got a pleasing grainy texture and sweet, herbaceous, buttery flavour that lasts and lasts. Where to buy: Maltby & Greek
GREAT TASTE
Epiros Organic Feta PDO
Cheese
Epirus
This 3-star organic feta, made with milk from Greek ewes and goats' milk, was described as “clean, sharp, crumbly and refreshing”. Judges said: “Soft and crumbly, yet melting on the tongue.” epiros.eu
WORLD CHEESE AWARDS
WORLD CHAMPION CHEESE
Queijo de Ovelha Amanteigado Quinta do Pomar
A soft, spoonable sheep’s milk cheese made by a Spanish cheesemaker in Portugal was named the best cheese on the planet at the 2024 World Cheese Awards.
Made with raw sheeps’ milk and vegetarian thistle rennet
BEST FRENCH CHEESE PDO Ossau Iraty raw sheep’s milk cheese Agour agour.com
BEST ITALIAN CHEESE
Pecorino Bislacco al Rum e Tabacco F.lli Petrucci caseificiostoricoamatrice.com
Csíz Sajtműhely Baracskai Öreg
Best of Hungary
This traditional Hungarian cows milk cheese is “nicely matured and gently crumbly,” said the judges, noting a “gorgeous aftertaste that borders on fruity.”
The 3-star Great Taste cheese has great complexity and length, they said. “It's exquisite.” bestofhungary.co.uk
(known as cardoon), the winning cheese is normally eaten by cutting off the top and spooning out its almost liquid paste As well as its World Champion sheeps’ milk cheese (whose name translates roughly as Buttery Sheep), the producer also makes varieties with goats’ milk and mixed milk cheeses, as well as Portuguese PDO cheeses like Queijo da Beira Baixa D.O.P Castelo Branco.
BEST SPANISH CHEESE
La Cava Barus García-Baquero Lacteas Garcia Baquero garciabaquero.com
BEST GERMAN CHEESE Meisterstück Alpkäse Baldauf 1862 baldauf-kaese.de
Caprice des Dieux
Savencia Fromage & Dairy UK
Judges were surprised by this soft cows’ milk cheese, reminiscent of Brie, and awarded it 3-stars. “The oozy soft centre is so luxurious but cleverly very light. A really thrilling experience of developing flavours”. savencia-fromagedairy.com
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As one of the most established producers in the artisan condiments category, Tracklements has earned that position (and the top spot in the Best Brands survey) over the course of 50 years in business.
The Fresh Chilli Jam gets the most namechecks in the survey, but the Fig Relish, Onion Marmalade and Spiced Plum Chutney are strong favourites too.
Cumbria-based Hawkshead Relish draws on local flavours and creative combinations – as well as success in Great Taste
Handmade Picallili JR’s Kitchen jrskitchen.co.uk
Kimchi with Turmeric & Seaweed Naked Kimchi Co nakedkimchi.co
Meanwhile the trustworthy appeal of Mrs Darlington’s Farmhouse Chutney and Ploughman’s Pickle, and crossover sales for retailers stocking its sweet preserves, give it a foothold in this category too. It shares the third spot with a newcomer to the Best Brands survey, From Dorset With Love – a family-run business with a focus on hyperlocalism.
As in the sweet preserves category, the results also mention many smaller producers and own-label products.
Habanero Chilli Jam
Mr Vikki’s mrvikkis. co.uk
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Bread & Butter Pickles, Drivers Benjamin Clark, owner and head baker, The Pantry at Baythorne Hall
Drivers products are some of the best sellers in our shop, so much so that we frequently need to reorder them to keep up with demand. The Bread & Butter pickles are my personal favourite as they offer a perfect balance of sweet and tangy flavours. They also make a fantastic pairing for sandwiches, burgers, or charcuterie boards.
They offer a perfect balance of sweet and tangy flavours
I believe their name hails from the 1920s, when they became a popular and affordable snack, often served alongside simple “bread and butter” meals. They are a staple in my kitchen. I always keep a jar in the fridge, using them frequently at lunchtime as an accompaniment to toasted cheese sandwiches or chopped up and tossed into a salad. I also love using the vinegar from the jar in dressings or to make mayonnaise, as it imparts a rich depth of flavours.
Our award-winning flour is produced from the finest ancient grains which are sustainably grown in the beautiful British countryside.
Our entire range carry the highly sought after Great Taste 2 and 3 star awards, in recognition of outstanding quality and flavour.
Available in 1kg and 20kg bags. Minimum order 2 boxes of 10 × 1 kg bags. No delivery charges. Call or email today for a trade price list
Mrs Darlington’s jams and preserves, particularly its signature lemon curd, continue to keep it at the top of this category’s results (the Yorkshire-based producer is also in the top three pickles & chutneys).
Jostling for the top spot in joint second, are household brand Tiptree and the smaller-
but-decidedly-artisanal Rosebud Preserves.
The Bay Tree usually appears in the pickles & chutneys rankings (and reliably did on this occasion), but has done the double this year.
Founded in 2016, Single Variety only made it onto the Best Brands podium two years ago, but its minimalist approach to flavours has seen it appear on many retailers’ shelves in a relatively short space of time. Finally, despite
being an international brand, Bonne Maman’s French origin and signature gingham jar tops give it an artisanal feel, and it is a dependably popular product in both supermarkets and indies.
Not on the leaderboard, of course, are the reams of smaller regional suppliers and own label jams, which make up a large proportion of responses in this category.
The Dalemain World Marmalade Awards are held annually at Dalemain Mansion in Cumbria. They celebrate the best marmalade makers from around the world, be they amateur or professional. The aim is to give winners the recognition and opportunity to open up new markets. The winning marmalade is sold exclusively at Fortnum & Mason’s Piccadilly outlet for a year. A portion of the sales from these marmalades goes towards funding a hospice care charity.
Lemon & Horseradish Marmalade
The Proper Marmalade Company
Admittedly unusual, The Proper Marmalade Company has won a string of awards for this sweet and savoury number, and received a Double Gold medal in the Dalemain Marmalade Awards’ artisan maker category this year. Described by the North Devon producer as clean with fresh lemon and earthy with fresh horseradish, it recommends pairing this one with with fish, cheeses or toast. thepropermarmalade company.co.uk
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Aber Falls Whisky Salted Caramel Crwst
Chosen by Tanwen Dawn-Hiscox
Lemon & Gin Marmalade
Woodcrest Kitchen
County Durham producer Woodcrest Kitchen makes products using surplus fruit from local allotments and gardens, or purchases them at local markets via community projects. Made with Durham Cask Aged Gin, a classic London Dry gin aged in bourbon and sherry casks for 18 months. Its flavours of honey, and vanilla and juniper sit alongside medium cut lemons in this Double Gold award-winning marmalade. woodcrestkitchen.co.uk
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TASTE OF KENT
Rosemary’s No Added Sugar Blackcurrant
The Wooden Spoon Made with Blackcurrants and unsweetened apple concentrate, celebrated chef and TV presenter Rosemary Shrager’s high fruit jam earned it a Gold Medal in the Taste of Kent awards this year, and was named Sweet Pantry Product of the Year. The Strawberry & Raspberry version of the new line, which the producer says excludes unnecessary sugar without compromising on flavour, won a Bronze medal, too. thewoodenspoon.co.uk
GREAT TASTE
The Pandan Kaya Hungry Tapir
This 3-star “velvety and indulgent” kaya is made with pandan, coconut, a blend of three sugars and egg yolks. Hand-made in small batches, the curd-like product was considered “a truly impressive product” that blew tasters away. hungrytapirldn.com
Hear me out – this isn’t a jam in the classical sense, but it is a variation of milk jam – with added butter and cream. As the craze for salted caramel (to which I have never subscribed), Crwst’s interpretations are usually boozy, and take what can often be a one-note sugar-bomb to more grownup heights. The addition of Aber Falls Single Malt Whisky introduces warm, smoky, and slightly oaky undertones, adding complexity to the sweetness. The whisky doesn’t overpower but lends a sophisticated depth. It is velvety smooth and decadently thick, and makes a lovely topping for crumpets, waffles and ice cream. crwst.cymru
FARM SHOP & DELI PRODUCT AWARDS
The Strawberry Conserve Boddington’s Boddington’s must know its audience, for the Cornish familyowned enterprise’s Gold Medal winning jam is touted as being perfect for a cream tea. The high fruit content, small-batch jam is made with just strawberries, sugar and lemon juice, and has also enjoyed success in Great Taste, Taste of the West and the Great British Food Awards. boddingtonspreserves.co.uk
Sweet Orange Passion Fruit Marmalade
The Artisan Kitchen
Made with sweet Valencia oranges and blood oranges, this mixed fruit marmalade uses passion fruit to deliver flavours that “explode on the palate”. Judges said this vibrant marmalade was “full to the brim with citrus highlights”, and it was, as many of The Artisan Kitchen’s products, achieved 3-star status in Great Taste 2024. theartisankitchen.co.uk
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There are two conflicting forces at play in the oil category at the moment: people are becoming more price-aware because of rising olive oil prices, but at the same time they are becoming increasingly conscious of the health benefits of olive oil.
This means they are still willing to pay for quality olive oil, but they want to know exactly where it has come from and how it has been produced. Our bestseller, Two Fields Zakros, answers this call for quality and provenance. The fact that the olives are regeneratively farmed carries a lot of weight with customers.
The other interesting trend we are seeing is that chilli oil has become a big thing. This is linked to pizza sales, which have gone through the roof.
The price of olive oil has risen dramatically in the past decade – more than any other ingredient sold in the UK, according to the ONS.
Whether that is why Honest Toil is sharing the Best Brands throne with
Yorkshire Rapeseed Oil this year, or whether it’s the result of people buying more food locally, isn’t clear. Most likely it is a combination of factors.
It does say something about how popular the cold-pressed oil from Yorkshire has become that it made it straight to the top of the pops this year, though.
Meanwhile, organic Italian brand Seggiano’s oils and
vinegars have been in the running for almost as long as the Best Brands survey itself.
Belazu, a well-established name in independent retail, high-end multiples and foodservice, has crept up the rankings over the years, while flavoured balsamic dressing brand Little Doone has become an indie staple far beyond its Scottish base.
Flavoured oils are always in demand at Christmas for gifting, but I think that from a retail strategy perspective, you have to be careful not to get carried away the rest of the time; truffle and chilli oil are popular yearround, so they are a safe bet.
Vinegar sales are quite flat at the moment except for apple cider vinegar, which is trading well on its health story. theeaststreetdeli.co.uk
Stokes has been a stalwart in independents for some time now. Its flagship tomato ketchup, an artisan take on the classic condiment, accounts for the majority of sales in this category for lots of retailers. With Italian food a favourite in almost half of all British households, * seeing Seggiano, Tenuta Marmorelle and Mutti highlighted for their pasta sauces and pestos is no surprise.
Dine with Atkins and Potts
has carved a space for itself in the kitchens of keen cooks who favour convenience. The hollandaise, gravy and finishing sauces all got a namecheck.
White Mausu’s ranking doesn’t come as a shock, because chilli crisps have become very popular in recent years. It was not only one of the first in a new wave of producers selling it in the UK, but it has successfully made it into Michelin-starred kitchen and, earlier this year, M&S.
*YouGov research dated to July 2024
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1st Stokes
Joint 2nd Seggiano / Tenuta Marmorelle
Joint 3rd Dine with Atkins & Potts / Mutti
Joint 4th White Mausu / Tracklements
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By Tanwen Dawn-Hiscox
Yep Kitchen
Sichuan Chili Crisp Oil
This is by far my favourite condiment from 2024. It's made with fresh chillies and rapeseed oil from the UK to make this flavour bomb in a jar. I drizzle it on dumplings rice, pizza and even in sandwiches to give my meals a spicy, umami, mouth-numbing tingle. yepkitchen.com
surpriseproduct
We asked our retailers to single out any best-selling, surprise products this year –and hot honey came out as one. By combining sweet and spicy flavours, the balance of the two enhances a variety of foods, without being overwhelmingly hot. It is popular with fried chicken, pizza, and cheese, but it has started making an appearance on dessert, and cocktail menus, too. Think ice cream, and spicy margaritas. Increasingly, the trend is catering for a range of tastes and occasions, and with single chilli honeys like Scotch Bonnet, or with the fashionable fermented chilli condiment, Gochujang.
As discussed at the Speciality & Fine Food Fair by Lizzie Haywood, the innovations manager at Waitrose, searches for hot honey are up 55% year-on-year on social media, and hot honey fried chicken is trending. The supermarket chain’s ‘pepperoni with hot honey drizzle’ Urban Pizza is one of its most popular. Haywood said she expects a trend for spiced caramels to follow, mainly used as sweets but likely to cross over into the savoury side of things, too.
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GREAT TASTE
Ghost Chilli & Black Lime Ketchup
Blackfire Food
Made with Armagh Bramley apple cider vinegar, Ghost chillies and black limes, this 3-star ketchup impressed with the complex flavours and the “perfectly pitched” heat. blackfirefood.com
DELICIOUSLY YORKSHIRE
TASTE AWARDS 2024
Best Pantry Product
Charlie & Ivy’s –Honey & Mustard
Dressing
Yorkshire Wolds farmers use their own cold pressed British oil, British honey and mustard to make this dressing. They recommend drizzling it over salads and cold meats, or using it as a marinade for chicken. charlieandivys.co.uk
Chipotle Ketchup
Posh Sauce
Judges referred to this chipotle & tomato ketchup as very superior and grownup. They deemed it worthy of 3-stars, with its excellent seasoning level allowing the chipotle to bring “delight” to the product. poshsauce.uk.com
DYB Naturally
Brewed Brown
Soybean Soy Sauce
(citrus infused)
DoYouBo
This 3-star Great Taste award-winning citrus infused soy sauce uses juice from lemons grown in the agricultural hot spot of Pingtung, Taiwan and brown bean soy sauce to deliver a product that the judges said has “a beautiful balance of flavours”. doyoubo.com
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As much as I like getting stuck into a new recipe, it’s also comforting to look in the cupboard and grab something that you know will be quick and easy to cook, but still tastes great. I always have a jar or two of Peppup pasta sauce in the cupboard.
The recent press focus on ultra-processed foods (UPF) has really made me think more about what I eat, and while it’s difficult to cut UPF out of your diet completely I think reducing it can only be beneficial.
I always have a jar or two of this sauce in the cupboard.
Before I came across this sauce I would always try and make my own from scratch because the supermarket alternatives are too sweet and full of preservatives. What makes Peppup stand out is that it’s striking how few ingredients there are in a jar. They’re gluten-free, free of allergens and have no added sugar, which is a major bonus for our customers.
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Another new category for this year, plant-based food has showed no signs of its rapid growth slowing. Embraced by both mainstream retailers and plenty of those in the independent market, it’s a category that seemingly no shopkeeper can ignore – because it’s also become incredibly popular with the most important people in the retailing world: the customers.
Whether it’s for dietary, ethical or environmental reasons, consumers have all been trying and buying a bit more of the products that
fall under this rather broad category.
All of that said, the market is still developing and there are no brands appearing frequently enough across the board to declare a result from our survey data. While there were some familiar names in there (like organic stalwarts Biona and free-from confectioners Booja-Booja), there were also a handful of mentions for vegan chese brands Kinda Co and I AM NUT OK.
It’s important to mention that, given that this is very much still an emerging category, a lot of retailers surveyed did not stock items under this category.
Who knows? Perhaps in a few years’ time there will be more responses and some more interpretable results for this one.
The significance of flour in the independent retail market was really changed by the Covid lockdowns, first when consumers were panicking and scrambling to buy up the basics. Distributors that had flour could shift a whole pallet in hours.
Then came a new wave of sourdough hobbyists and pizzamaking that has created a few longer-term enthusiasts.
It’s not a category we had ever explored in the survey but there is a very clear winner.
Wessex Mill has the range, the branding and a reputation for quality that saw it win the most votes by some distance. Doves Farm (which is actually the winning brand’s parent company) garnered the next best portion of the votes, thanks in part to its free-from credentials.
The other brands in the rankings will be familiar to most but even if you combined their votes, it would not exceed the number of responses that were ‘n/a’ or blank. Flour doesn’t work for every retail offer but, if you do choose to stock it, it is clear what will serve you well.
Buck Russian Great Taste Golden Fork for Sustainability in 2024.
Handcrafted double strength seabuckthorn nectar with fresh organic ginger, Buck Russian offers a uniquely invigorating taste experience. Sustainably harvested wild seabuckthorn ensures each bottle is a celebration of nature’s finest.
This live and vibrant burst of tart seabuckthorn, balanced with warming ginger, also supports a healthy immune system.
Contact us also for our delicious Great Taste 1-Star winning raw Pure Seabuckthorn Juice (cold pressed to order), frozen berries and any other seabuckthorn products. Available online at: www.seabuckthornscotland.com
Pure Seabuckthorn Juice
Emma Mosey, FRA Chair and coowner of Minskip Farm Shop and Yolk Farm
www.rowcliffe.co.uk
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1st COOK
2nd Fieldfare
Joint 3rd FieldGoods / Chapman’s Seafoods
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Although we’ve long thought about asking retailers what frozen food they sell, it’s only recently that they would’ve been able to name more than two brands – that is, if they stocked any at all.
It's no surprise to see COOK, followed by loose produce provider Fieldfare in the top two positions, as their freezers are so often found in farm shops around the country. In the third spot, however, is FieldGoods, a farm-to-freezer ready meal brand founded just four years
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ago. It has clearly won the hearts of many an independent retailer, at a time when customers increasingly prioritise convenience and quality.
Grimsby-based seafood specialist Chapmans’ gourmet fishcakes, gratins and Wellingtons are a popular fixture in indie freezers, too.
The survey results also show that lots of retailers will stock locally-produced ready meals and frozen food instead of national brands – whether that’s own label pies, or ready-meal brands like game-focused Girl Gone Wild and restaurant spinoff, Namaste by Delhi Darbar.
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GREAT TASTE
Organic Chicken, Leek & Tarragon Pie
Brassica Dorset
“Stylishly home-made”, remarked judges of this 3-star pie filled with organic West Country chicken, leeks and tarragon. The judicious use of estragon impressed the
panel, who said it was sumptuous, “with flaky layers a-plenty”. brassica.uk
This handmade puff pastry is filled with a sweet potato and coconut curry. Deemed worthy of a 3-star by the Great Taste judges, they said the spice level was just the right level of feisty. sueperliciousbakery.co.uk
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Assorted patties
The Vegan Patty Lady Chosen by Tanwen Dawn-Hiscox
I live in Brixton, so I can easily get my hands on a good patty on the fly when I’m out and about. But let’s face it, sometimes leaving the house to find sustenance is a bore.
Enter these wonderful little curry parcels from The Vegan Patty Lady. An outer body of flakey pastry encases ‘Beof’, ‘Chik’n’ and ‘Salt-ish’ fillings, all made with ingredients I know and recognise like mushrooms, lentils and chickpeas.
I wouldn’t say they quite emulate their meaty muses, but they’re so flavoursome that they don’t feel like a compromise. They deliver a satisfyingly substantial bite and the seasoning is spot on. I’d happily munch on these of an evening and forego interacting with other humans. theveganpattylady.co.uk
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The absence of a clear hierarchy of brands reflects the diversity and regionalism inherent to this category.
Brands like Marshfield Farm, Brickell’s, Purbeck, Salcombe,
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Brickell’s Ice Cream
Chosen by Tanwen DawnHiscox
Earlier this year, I interviewed Rob and Iona Gore, the founders of Brickell’s ice cream.
Rob’s mum owns Westcombe Dairy, a name that Tom Calver and his father have made synonymous with awardwinning cheddar. When it came to diversifying the dairy, Rob and Iona realised two things: there was a growing trend for “real” ingredient ice cream, especially in the US, and secondly, not many producers in the UK were making any.
Their custard-based ice cream is made with eggs, milk, and sugar— no gums
or stabilisers – combined with the best ingredients they can source. Many come from close to home: whey from Westcombe’s cheddar is used for the Ricotta Stracciatella, while the Cinnamon Toast ice cream features sourdough from Landrace, Tom Calver’s bakery. They also use chef favourites Tomlinsons Rhubarb and Boiron strawberries.
Collaborations show that they have a nose for business, too, with Mince Pie & Brown Butter ice cream made with Gail’s Bakery, and a Lavender & Honey flavour created with Freddie’s Flowers.
The quality of the ingredients in this ice cream really makes a difference. They are the kind of producers most independents would want to support – and you should. Stock them if you can. brickellsicecream.co.uk
and Cheshire Farm all do well in their respective regions, but their reach doesn’t necessarily go far beyond them.
Not only is the market fragmented, but due to the seasonality of ice cream sales, it’s hard for retailers to identify a dominant brand – and many of our survey respondents didn’t.
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Nineteen ice creams were awarded a 3-star in Great Taste this year, showing that it is a diverse and innovative category. Most of them however are only sold in gelato shops and not elsewhere.
Among the varieties retailers can stock is Alder Tree’s Devilishly Damson Fruit Ice Cream – the differentiating factors being that it is not sorbet, and that judges placed it among the best products in this year’s awards.
Also available to trade is Baboo Gelato’s 3-star Double Chocolate flavour, made with double cream and Valrhona Chocolate. The name comes from the fact that hard
chocolate ribbons form streaks through the chocolate gelato. Meanwhile, Mama Dolce scooped a Gold in the Tree-nut-&peanut-free category for its Mango Ice Cream – which is also made without dairy, soy, or gluten. Finally, Ryeburn of Helmsley blew the socks off of the Deliciously Yorkshire Taste Awards judges with its Jaffa Cake flavoured ice cream. Named winner in the ice cream and dairy category, it was described as “a standout due to its fantastic texture and delicious, natural flavours” –and this despite a high number of entries in this category.
This isn’t our first rodeo… Or our first Best Brands survey. We know that independent retailers stock spirits based on local demand – which results in a wide variety of brands rather than a handful dominating this category.
The gin boom and the much talked about but mostly unseen rum boom have created a crowded craft spirits market, and retailers tend
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David Josephs, CEO, Panzer’s
The two big trends this year – vegan wines and low or no alcohol spirits – are reflective of broader market dynamics. People want the cocktail experience but without the alcohol and we have expanded our non-alcoholic offering on the back of this. Sipsmith’s FreeGlider isn’t bad at all, and Kaveri Ginger Liqueur is a very nice lower ABV spirit.
regions that often fall under the radar.
to offer local, or regional products. Wales’ Penderyn Whisky, known for its focus on single malts, stood out in this category within a lineup of gins – Mermaid (from the Isle of Wight), Campfire (Hertfordshire) and Tarquins (Cornwall) all received more than one mention, as did consumer brand and RTD cocktail company, Black Lines. Although we’ve included wine in this spread, they will only feature in the awards coverage – because if spirits are fragmented, wine is even more so.
We don’t have much space so we try to choose spirits that are interesting and innovative without too much rubbish in them.
Vermouths are working really well for us at present; there are some fabulous ones coming out of Israel and Greece and, with their combinations of herbs and botanicals, they are the closest thing to natural spirits.
On the wine side, customers are asking for vegan wines that don’t use egg for thinning, as well as zero-sulfite wines. They are also embracing wines from emerging origins and we are actively encouraging them to not default to a French Chablis, for example, by introducing them to other grapes and
We have just had a lovely Georgian wine and some fantastic minerally Greek wines in, for example. We are also championing some of the French Rhônes that are undervalued and don’t get the same coverage, as well as some lesser known German wines. There are some fantastic German Pinot Noirs that cost 25% less than other Pinot Noirs and this year we have sourced some Rieslings that have never been exported, from Willi Schaefer, Keller Hipping and Fritz Haag.”
If I had to pick an emerging product it would be Loveday Distilling Organic Spiced Rum. This Cornish distillery uses local ingredients to produce some lovely gins and rums that make you feel like you are by the sea and I particularly like the spiced rum.
panzers.co.uk
Vermouths are working really well for us at present
wine&spirits wine&spirits wine&spirits
staff staffpick pick staff pick
The Beare Green Winery
Clone 777 Pinot Noir from Pullborough, 2023
Chosen
by
Tanwen Dawn-Hiscox
The Beare Green Winery is a new outfit from wine educators – who as well as running two wine schools, own the Streatham Wine House – Jimmy Smith, Sam Hill and Bethany Paterson, who started making their own wine in 2022. Based in Surrey, they source their grapes from across Southern England and cleverly apply all of their academic knowledge to create a variety of experimental wines. Their clonal range uses Chardonnay and Pinot Noir clones and their spring range makes use of varieties that thrive in cool climates like Pinot Blanc, Pinot Gris and Bacchus – which they subject to various
WORLD DRINKS AWARDS
WORLD’S BEST CLASSIC GIN
Ohoro Gin
Niseko Distillery nisekodistillery.com
WORLD’S BEST PURE NEUTRAL VODKA
Pot Still Vodka iStil38 istil38.com
GREAT TASTE
Lussa Gin
Lussa Drinks Company
Made in small 500 bottle batches, this gin is made with botanicals that are frozen with local spring water before being distilled. Great Taste judges especially loved the “vegetal, savoury, and saline notes, underpinned by the juniper”, deeming it worthy of 3-stars. lussagin.com
techniques like skin contact and amphora aging. I was lucky enough to try the Clone 777 Pinot Noir from Pullborough, 2023. Grown at 80m on freedraining greensand soils, it's hand-harvested and fermented with partial stem inclusion, and aged in both Burgundian oak barrels and stainless steel. It's rich with aromas of black cherries and raspberries, and juicy, bright and racy with fruit on the palate with a touch of violet, subtle spices and earthy undertones. It’s silky smooth, with soft, well integrated tannins and a mineral finish. I’m no somm, but this wine feels like it could hold its own with the Burgundians. bearegreenwinery.com
WORLD’S BEST SUGARCANE SPIRIT
Platinum Cane Spirit
FNQ Rum Co. fnqrum.com
WORLD’S BEST TEQUILA Blanco El Mayor Tequila elmayor.com
Great Glen Premium Scottish Gin
Great Glen Distillery
Cut with filtered Loch Ness water, this 3-star gin’s botanicals include heather, sorrel, cubub pepper and Frankincense resin.
greatglendistillery.co.uk
Maroon Coffee & Cacao
Beckford’s Rum Beckford's Jamaican rum is blended with coffee and cacao. There’s a natural heat to the overproof 65% ABV spirit, yet the judges found it “smooth and sensationally silky”, granting it 3-star status for its “mellow and opulently fruity flavours”. beckfordsrum.com
THE WALES FOOD AND DRINK AWARDS
In its third year, the awards celebrating food and drink producers and suppliers across Wales crowned The Gower Gin Company (or GŴYR, in Welsh) its Small Drinks Producer of the Year, with fewer than five employees on its payroll. Based in Port Enyon on Gower and founded by Siân and Andrew Brooks, the microdistillery produces a range of six gins and a sloe gin, using locally foraged ingredients. They also make a vermouth in collaboration with Glyndwr vineyard. The gins have enjoyed success in other awards including the World Gin Awards, the IWSC and the Global Spirit Masters. GŴYR was also named Sustainable Business of the Year in the Wales Food and Drink Awards 2022. thegowergincompany.wales
WINEGB AWARDS SUPREME CHAMPION 2024
Kit’s Coty Coeur de Cuvée 2016 Chapel Down chapel down. com
TOP STILL WINE (JOINT WINNER) Kit's Coty Chardonnay 2021 Chapel Down chapeldown.com
TOP STILL (JOINT WINNER) Solena NV Vagabond Wines vagabond wines. co.uk
BEST CLASSIC CUVÉE VINTAGE
Hugo 2020 Domaine Hugo domainehugo. co.uk
IWSC WINE TROPHIES BEST RED WINE PRODUCER TROPHY AND OUTSTANDING WINE PRODUCER TROPHY Vilafonté vilafonte.com
Teerenpeli Brewery & Distillery teerenpelidistillery. com
AGAVE PRODUCER TROPHY AND OUTSTANDING SPIRITS PRODUCER TROPHY Del Maguey Single Village Mezcal delmaguey.com
Wessex Mill is an artisan flour brand milled in the heart of the beautiful North Wessex Downs. Family-owned, its milling history in Wessex goes back more than 125 years. All wheat grain for our British flours come from trusted local Wessex farmers, many of which we have worked with for generations for t heir commitment to great quality. Milled slowly in small batches, this makes flour with real heritage and provides excellent baking results for home and professional bakers alike.
survey surveyresults results survey results
1st Garofalo
2nd Seggiano
3rd Yorkshire Pasta
Joint 4th Rummo / Tenuta Marmorelle
analysis analysis analysis
Long mooted by the editorial team as a potential category to ask retailers about, this year sees pasta finally make its debut in the Best Brands Survey. It is, after all, a classic ambient line for delis.
Before drilling down into the data, it’s worth pointing out that there was a noticeable proportion of blanks and “n/a” in the responses, so maybe
GREAT TASTE
Chitarrine with Truffles
La Cerqua Tartufi
The only pasta to win a 3-star in Great Taste 2024, this dried chitarrine pasta is made using semolina flour and is infused with Italian truffles. Judges loved its “delicious gentle, earthy umami note in the mouth that lingers”. lacerqua.com
pasta pasta pasta
pasta isn’t as ubiquitous across the UK’s deli and farm shop estate as you might think.
Nevertheless, the respondents who do stock it gave us a clear enough picture of the market, which is never a guarantee for new categories.
Aside from the odd strozzapreti and bucatini mentioned, the range of popular styles is fairly tight.
Among the products namechecked for the winner Garofalo, rigatoni came up the most. Meanwhile, for Seggiano it
was tagliatelle that propelled the multifaceted Italian brand (which has ranked in two other Survey categories) into second place.
Other styles mentioned frequently, and irrespective of certain brands were linguine, papardelle and (of course) spaghetti.
What is more surprising is the prevalence of gluten-free lines as retailers’ best-sellers, with the aforementioned brands’ ranges being mentioned as well as those from Tenuta Marmorelle and
FREE FROM FOOD AWARDS
Noodles
ZENB
Winner of a Gold in this year’s FFFA, ZENB’s Noodles impressed judges with their texture and robust flavour, which comes from its single ingredient – yellow peas.
Ideal for customers seeking a gluten-free option, without the top 14 allergens, this product was also praised for maintaining its shape during cooking. zenb.co.uk
Rummo. It makes sense that independents would look to this specific sub-category of pasta to establish a point of difference to the supermarkets and it’ll be something to watch in next year’s survey.
As you would expect, the votes were largely shared among well-established Italian suppliers and brands but it’s great to see Yorkshire Pasta – arguably the UK’s most established British-made brand – placing strongly in the results.
soft soft softdrinks drinks drinks
Soft drinks is a category where the names tend to stay the same from year to year – they just shift positions. That’s very much the case this year, as regular FFD readers will see.
The other thing that doesn’t change much is customers’ tastes. Apple juice was a top seller for many of the respondents this year again. Some was supplied by smaller local producers,
others by larger brands. This certainly partially explains the reappearance of Cawston Press, which was absent from last year’s top table.
Kombucha continues to tick boxes for some retailers but not in enough frequency (or with a specific brand) to make the rankings.
The truth seems to be that most people want to buy a classic-but-classy fizzy drink. San Pellegrino returns to top spot this year with its Mediterranean-style
sodas, trading places with Fentimans, whose Ginger Beer and Cola remain staples for many independents.
Long term survey scorers Belvoir Farm and Luscombe also return, driven on by sales of lemonades and elderflower drinks.
Dalston’s is a new entrant this year, perhaps due to its broad range of drink styles providing a credible alternative to the offers of category stalwarts.
There’s a lot of movement in the flavoured fizzy water category, particularly those with all the electrolyte and vitamin tick boxes being met, but they’re not all created equally.
Regular readers of FFD will know that I like a so-called “hop bomb”. I’ll admit I don’t try as many of these as I used to but saw this gem from Cornish outfit Verdant the other day and was so confident it would be good that I bought two.
Without sounding big-headed, I was right. It’s like a boozy, orangeled fruit punch – cloudy and super hoppy.
Like all of Verdant’s beers, it is the full ticket and the best bit is it’s not overly strong at just 5% ABV. verdantbrewing.co
survey survey survey
analysis analysis analysis
As always, this category has failed to produce a conclusive result. The response was highly fragmented, with no single brand gaining more than a couple of votes.
The truth is that most retailers – those with a license, that is – will go with a local option.
This means that unless a brand
emerges that is both staunchly independent and has national distribution, then the result will remain the same. That’s not to say any of this is a negative – it’s the way it should be.
Among the names that cropped up a few times were Rich’s Cider, Jeremy Clarkson’s Hawkstone Brewery and Yorkshire-based Sam Smith’s, but it’s not even possible to distinguish whether beer or cider is the more popular across the data.
awardwinners awardwinners awardwinners
TASTE OF THE WEST –CHAMPION CIDER
The General Sandford Orchards sandfordorchards.co.uk
DELICIOUS LYORKSHIRE – BEST BEER Valkyrie APA Rudgate Brewery rudgatebrewery.co.uk
'Captain's Grog' Rum marinated coffee beans and ‘Derek’ Seasonal Espresso
Smoked Haddock Florentine
Lemon & Pepper Haddock Goujons
survey surveyresults results survey results
1st Cress Co.
2nd Holleys Fine Foods 3rd Cotswold Fayre
FARM SHOP & DELI AWARDS 2024
RETAILER OF THE YEAR
Lovingly Artisan Bakery, Kendal
CHEESEMONGER
Cheese Etc, Reading
DELICATESSEN
The Norfolk Delicatessen, Hunstanton
FARM SHOP – LARGE
Welbeck Farm Shop, Worksop
FARM SHOP – SMALL
Sky Park Farm, West Harting
FOOD HALL
Macknade Food Hall, Faversham
FRA AWARDS
LARGE FARM SHOP OF THE YEAR & PYO OF THE YEAR
Farmer Copleys, Pontefract, West Yorks
SMALL FARM SHOP OF THE YEAR
Alder Carr Farm Shop, Needham Market, Suffolk
FARM CAFÉ/ RESTAURANT OF THE YEAR
& RISING STAR OF THE YEAR
Runcton Farm Café, Chichester, West Sussex
FARM SHOP BUTCHERY OF THE YEAR
Welbeck Farm Shop, Worksop, Nottinghamshire
analysis analysis analysis
The results in this category have been fairly consistent over the years. The top spots tend to be taken by the distributors with broad ambient ranges and national coverage, with the specialists (usually in cheese & deli items) and the odd regional business accounting for smaller clutches of votes.
Cress Co has now stretched its run at 1st place to a seventh year, having held the title since 2017. This, of course, has been helped by the company expanding both its
geographical reach and its range (which now includes chilled items) over the years.
Bristol-based Holleys, which has been a regular in the survey results for many years, has similarly expanded its reach and catalogue over that time.
Cotswold Fayre is the only distributor in the rankings that can say it has appeared in every single Best Brands Survey, since the first in 2011.
The Fine Cheese Co regularly appears in the survey data but this year it has garnered enough votes to make the rankings.
(Above) Farmer Copley's (Left) Cheese Etc.
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