
Meet Our Sponsors
Who are our Sponsors?
Our sponsors are vital to the ongoing success of the Awards. They allow us to collectively recognise that food and drink producers are not the only players in the industry but a whole host of other services play key and increasingly important roles – such as the allergen testing labs, ingredients suppliers, distribution companies, B2C webshops and many many others.
Each year we are proud to welcome organisations that have been with us from the very beginning, as well as new companies, eager to get involved in the free from world. Find out more about becoming a sponsor.
We choose our sponsors with care – and they all have something to offer you whether you are a business or a consumer:
Asda – Save Money : Live Better
Asda Free From is our range of truly delicious food that‘s been lovingly made without allergens like gluten, milk, egg and soya, but packed full of flavour! That’s why Asda Free From is good enough to share with the whole family. All of our Asda Free From products are made in a controlled environment, so you can trust they’re safe for you to enjoy. With clear colour coding labelling on pack, its super easy to find exactly what you’re looking for. Some of the range has also been fortified with key vitamins and minerals so you don’t miss out, and keep an eye out for our Live Better icon on relevant Free From products too, so you can make a healthier choice when buying Free From.
Creative Nature Superfoods – Delicious Without Doubt
Creative Nature is one of the UK’s leading Allergy-Friendly brands, focused on cutting out all the 14 most common UK food allergens and manufactured in allergy-safe environments to avoid the need for ‘may contain’ warnings. With multiple industry-leading awards like The Grocer, Quality Food, Great Taste and of course Free From Food Awards, Creative Nature have proven that removing allergenic ingredients doesn’t remove the taste or enjoyment of a product. They are pushing the boundaries when it comes to allergy-safe flavours too with the invention of HazelNOT, a completely nut-safe chocolate/hazelnut flavour, allowing allergy-sufferers the chance to taste this incredible combination. Creative Nature’s products really are delicious without doubt.
FREEE by Doves Farm – Gluten free foods, naturally
Leading gluten free food brand FREEE believe gluten free food should be simple, natural and delicious. They’ve created a range of tasty, award-winning foods for the whole day including flour, bread and cake baking mixes, breakfast cereals, oat bars, cookies, and pasta. Perfected over more than 40 years, the UK’s #1 gluten free flour range includes specialist naturally gluten free flour blends like Self-Raising, Plain, White Bread and Brown Bread as well as popular options like Buckwheat and Rice flour. For those new to gluten free baking or short on time, their mixes range has proved very popular. FREEE’s whole range is certified by Coeliac UK and is suitable for vegans. There are also many organic options available.
Delamere Dairy began in 1985 in Cheshire’s beautiful Delamere Forest, with the purchase of three goats. Today, the company sells an award-winning range of goats’ products (cheeses, yogurts, butters, milks and powder), plain and flavoured cows’ milks, and a growing portfolio of milks for the pet industry. For much of this time, Delamere has supplied plant-based and dairy alternative ‘milks’ as own label brands for retailers across the UK. The knowledge and expertise it has built during this time is extensive. Celebrating 37 years in business, the company has an annual turnover in excess of £29M, with products sold throughout the UK and in over 20 markets around the world.
Delamere has supported the FFFAs since the very first awards in 2008. It was a much smaller affair then! The number of producers, sponsors and retailers involved now is testament to the hard work and dedication of the FFFA team and innovative producers which has led to the breadth of allergen-free options now available in mainstream outlets.
Digital Jen – Inclusive, friendly & flexible – we help organisations thrive
We offer a ‘pick and mix’ blend of creative curiosity and digital services. From hosting, designing, building and maintaining WordPress websites to curating user experiences that truly meet customer needs. We are able to offer a neurodiverse perspective in all our work – especially in our consultancy, training and brand & ideas development sessions. As Eazi-Apps associates we help you turn your brilliant ideas into apps that increase engagement with your customers from the palm of their hand.
IFE – International Food & Drink Event
For more than 40 years IFE has sat at the heart of the food and drink community, welcoming 30,000 retailers, wholesalers, and foodservice professionals to taste, test and source products from a global list of producers. Taking place on 20th – 22nd March 2023 at ExCeL London, IFE, the UK’s largest food and drink trade event, provides producers with the perfect opportunity to showcase their latest products to thousands of buyers who are all sourcing new and innovative products to enhance their businesses. Returning for 2023 is the Free From Pavilion which is situated within the Health & Wellbeing Section. This pavilion will ensure Free From suppliers stand out to relevant category buyers from across the food and drink sector. By exhibiting within the Free From Pavilion, companies will be able to meet face-to-face with new clients, engage with buyers with serious purchasing power, and create brand awareness for their Free From products. Please get in touch with Lucy Blake, Commercial Executive – IFE or call Lucy on +44(0)20 4532 5787 or email to discuss your options further. IFE will be co-located alongside IFE Manufacturing, HRC, Hotel Restaurant & Catering, The Pub Show and the London Produce Show to establish one of the world’s largest events for food, drink, and hospitality professionals.
Nairn’s – Delicious oats, endless possibilities
Nairn’s have been baking in Scotland with pride and imagination since 1896 and believe the simple natural goodness of oats is for everyone to enjoy. We lovingly bring together the finest quality gluten free oats with real, natural ingredients and over a century of expertise. Whether it’s a quick snack or something more substantial, our deliciously simple range has something for the whole family – they taste so good you’d never know they were gluten free.
Natasha Allergy Research Foundation
Nadim and Tanya Ednan-Laperouse launched The Natasha Allergy Research Foundation following the death of their 15 year old daughter from a food allergy in 2016. The foundation is dedicated to funding medical research; it aims to identify the underlying causes of why increasing numbers of people are being diagnosed with food allergies and also to researching new and viable treatments to improve the lives of those who are diagnosed. It’s focus is also to highlight and lobby for necessary law and/or policy changes that are necessary in order to protect the allergic population and to raise allergy education and awareness across society. Natasha’s Law is now a fully enforceable UK law and a testament to her parents’ hard campaigning; it is the closure of a food-law loophole that was directly endangering allergic people’s lives. The foundation’s mission is to protect and highlight the needs of our food allergic population and to offer hope to the 2 million plus people living in the UK with a diagnosed food allergy.
Nutfreeliving Marketplace – All of our products: nut free & peanut free no exceptions
Nutfreeliving Marketplace was born out of the desire to provide an inclusive shopping experience for those living with Nut & Peanut Allergy. Angela Waters who owns the business has lived with nut allergy in her family for 9 years following the diagnosis of a nut & peanut allergy for the eldest of her three daughters. Angela explained how she found it incredibly frustrating that nut & peanut free was not included in ‘ free from’ food and how frustrating it was trying to find products free from the dreaded May Contain Nut warnings. With Nutfreeliving Marketplace she realised her dream to open a Nut free shop and is regularly sourcing confirmed nut and peanut free products and growing the online business with new premises in January 2022.
Nutraceuticals Group Europe – Ingredients for Life
Our Business is Ingredients: we source them, supply them, and develop them across all industries and for all markets. When it comes to nutritional and health ingredients, we are known by many, as the experts in our field. Our global network of manufacturers, together with our inexhaustible product knowledge allows us to constantly offer an extensive range of both new and existing raw materials. With warehouses and offices across Europe, we have the skills, experience, and infrastructure necessary to fulfil any request however innovative your ingredients need
Oakland International – Working together to deliver solutions that make a difference
Oakland’s reputation is built on delivering the best customer focused, reliable, and flexible multi temperature storage and logistics service, designed to help suppliers and manufacturers cope with peak seasonal demands, taking the pressure well and truly out of the whole supply chain process. Sustainability is at the core of our business offering Innovative sustainable supply chain solutions. Oakland customers know they are in good hands, choosing our business time, and time again, as their preferred supply chain and logistics partner. Our depots are strategically located within the UK and Ireland, Redditch, Corby, Bardon in UK, Dublin in Ireland. We offer a range of value-added services encompassing Contract Packing, Food tempering, Direct to Consumer (D2C), Distress Load Management, food and drink brand development support via Acorns Trade Partnership and Border and Customs support through Eori at Folkestone and Worksop.
Romer Labs – Making the World’s Food Safer.
Romer Labs is a leading global supplier of diagnostic solutions for food and feed safety. They offer a broad range of innovative testing solutions and services covering mycotoxins, food pathogens, food allergens, gluten, GMO, veterinary drug residues, and other food contaminants.
SGS – Our value to society is enabling a better, safer and more interconnected world.
We are SGS. We are recognised as the global benchmark for quality and integrity. Our 93,000 employees operate a network of 2,600 offices and laboratories, working together to enable a better, safer and more interconnected world. Wherever you are, whatever your industry, our experts worldwide provide specialised solutions to make your business faster, simpler and more efficient. The global food supply chain is growing fast, and changing quickly, driven by consumer demand for healthier foods, clean label products, and ethically sourced food. This requires the smooth coordination of an increasingly complex supply chain, while dealing with a regulatory system of checks and balances at every stage. SGS provides a wide array of services spanning the entire supply chain. We help organisations operating within the food supply chain to ensure the safety, quality and sustainability of their food products and build consumer trust and confidence.
Speciality & Fine Food Fair – The UK’s leading showcase of artisanal food and drink
SFFF is the home of fine food & drink discovery for buyers from across the retail, hospitality, foodservice, manufacturing, import & export, and wholesale sectors.
Whether you’re looking for product inspiration for your business, or you’d like to learn the latest trends and insights from top industry experts, you’ll uncover the ideas you’re searching for at the Fair!
Tesco – Freedom to enjoy the foods you love
We want everyone to enjoy the foods they love. That’s why Tesco’s Free From range champions delicious and inspiring foods across a wide range of products to help take the stress out of shopping and preparing so you can enjoy the food not the faff. Our chefs and experts are continually listening to you and innovating to create high-quality award-winning food that is packed with taste. We are passionate about Free From which is why we are delighted to sponsor Start Up of the Year to help other businesses develop Free From products.
The Allergy Table – You are never alone at The Allergy Table
The Allergy Table was born from a desire to create a community of people managing allergies and for us to feel less alone. I have had 28 years experience managing food allergies from awkward first dates where they ordered a seafood platter to having my teacher share a bag of nuts with the class. All my life I felt that I was the only one with multiple anaphylactic food allergies, it was an isolating experience but when I found out I wasn’t alone, my whole world changed – and I want you to feel that too. The Allergy Table is a place for you to read real stories of reactors living their lives managing this condition. You will find reviews of food, restaurants, brands, cities, personal stories from yours truly; Plus recipes that are free from nuts, peanuts, egg, dairy, sugar, shellfish, exotic fruits, gluten, and more…
Thomas Franks Ltd – The Ethical Caterer of Choice
Fresh food using nutritious, local and seasonal produce is the cornerstone of Thomas Franks Catering. As one of the leading independent caterers for both the Education and Corporate sectors we are all too aware of the importance in providing food that meets the needs for all dietary requirements including food allergies.
At Thomas Franks we believe in providing nutritious, seasonal food, using fresh, local ingredients and cooking from scratch. Our food is consistently exceptional, but Thomas Franks is about more than just food: it is about people and community. Good food is life-changing and life-enhancing, it brings people together, it supports local farmers and suppliers. Eating quality food in a well-designed environment has a lasting impact on physical health, nutrition, mental wellbeing and our sense of community or family.
Unismack – The House of Snacks
Unismack has been a producer of great tasting, healthier snacks for over 15 years – all of our products are made with carefully selected, better-for-you ingredients which are perfect for our ever-changing and health-conscious world. We have a dedicated gluten, nut and egg free factory, which offers a wide range of baked snacks to meet all snacking needs. Using ingredients such as lentils, chick peas, cheese and wholegrain rice – we offer a wide range of crackers, chips, crisps and bakes that can have the benefit of offering higher levels of protein, calcium or fibre to suit any dietary requirement. We truly understand that all snack products also need to be really tasty to succeed and that’s why tasty innovation and products are at our core. The strength of our team, controls and food technology experience provides NPD and production excellence, that allows us to maintain and grow long-term customer partnerships across the globe.
What Allergy – Allergies, Anaphylaxis, Eczema, TSW and Asthma
What Allergy is written by Ruth Holroyd who is allergic to many things, including nuts, dairy, soya, wheat, latex, nickel, dust and pollen. Ruth has been blogging now for many years, since she first created What Allergy back in April 2009. Since then her blog was voted in the Top 5 UK allergy blogs and in the Top 10 UK Health Blogs by Vuelio and regularly gets between 20-30,000 unique visits a month with some blog posts getting hundreds of comments each. She won the Free From Hero Award in 2021 and the blog regularly wins awards. Author of ‘Anaphylaxis: The Essential Guide: An Action Plan For Living With Life-Threatening Allergies and The Shape of Skin, poems for eczema, Ruth is passionate about raising awareness of allergies, anaphylaxis, eczema, topical steroid withdrawal and asthma; all life limiting conditions. She wants to help others feel less lonely, normalise people’s views and perceptions and promote positive living. Ruth has been in TV, speaks regularly on the radio and has also cmapaigned at the Houses of Parliament to help raise awareness about allergies, anaphylaxis, asthma, topical steroid withdrawal and eczema.
Yumbles is a curated online marketplace exclusively featuring the very best artisan and independent food & drink producers in the UK. They provide a thriving and growing direct to consumer platform for producers getting their brand and products in front of over 3 million consumers shopping on Yumbles every year. What’s more, they work uniquely with their hand-picked sellers to help them succeed providing extensive support, marketing, seller events and additional.