Tickets are live for the 2022 Northern Ireland Food and Drink Awards. The gala awards ceremony, hosted by BBC NI presenter Jo Scott, will take place on Friday 11 March 2022 in the Crowne Plaza Hotel, Shaw’s Bridge, Belfast, with over 350 guests expected to be in attendance. Bringing together key figures from food manufacturing, retail, local and national government, the awards night will celebrate the very best of Northern Ireland food and drink.
Companies of all sizes have entered this year’s awards, across 12 categories including Best New Product for micro, small, medium and large businesses, Best International/GB Product Launch and a new Environmental Sustainability category.
Supported by principal sponsor firmus energy, the awards are recognised by the industry as a key indicator of quality and success for food manufacturers and processors, offering local companies an invaluable opportunity to showcase innovative, quality products in front of key customers and stakeholders.
Other sponsors include retailers Asda, Lidl, Marks and Spencer, Tesco and partner sponsors Food Standards Agency, DAERA, Invest Northern Ireland, Safefood, Food and Drink Sector Skills and Re-Gen Waste.
Michael Bell, Executive Director, Northern Ireland Food and Drink Association (NIFDA) said:
“We look forward to welcoming leaders from industry, government and retail to the 16th Northern Ireland Food and Drink Awards. These awards are among the most important in Northern Ireland’s business calendar, championing one of Northern Ireland’s key strategic economic sectors. The wider food supply chain supports some 113,000 workforce jobs, generating £4.9billion value added in Northern Ireland. That commercial success is built on the passion, ingenuity and hard work of food and drink companies of all sizes right across Northern Ireland.
“As well as being an excellent opportunity for food and drink companies to showcase their world class produce to key retail customers, the awards night is a celebration of our industry and the people that have been key to growing this strong, vibrant sector.
“We have a number of new categories this year including our Environmental Sustainability award, sponsored by Re-Gen Waste, highlighting firms that have initiated projects to reduce their impact on the planet, by making processes and products more sustainable.”
Niall Martindale, Interim Managing Director at firmus energy, principal sponsor for the event said:
“We are very much looking forward to the 2022 Northern Ireland Food and Drink Awards which will recognise and celebrate the dedicated and impassioned work that goes on within our world-renowned food and drink industry.
“It’s an exciting time for the awards to take place, against the backdrop of transformative, pioneering advances in the future of Northern Ireland’s sustainable energy production. The transition to net zero carbon will be achieved by working closely together with the food and drink sector to progress opportunities to recycle unavoidable food waste which can be converted into renewable gas which could be used to decarbonise our local gas network and support Northern Ireland’s journey to net zero.
“We continue to play an important role collaborating to support food and drink processing and manufacturing companies to deliver the very best of Northern Ireland food and drink by connecting them to a gas network which is committed to transitioning to net zero carbon energy and offering energy efficiency solutions to support a more sustainable economy for everyone.”
To secure your ticket for the 2022 Northern Ireland Food and Drink Awards, visit nifdaawards.com/get-tickets/
