The Food and Drink Federation (FDF) Awards 2018, which took place last night at The Royal Lancaster, London, brought together over 500 guests to celebrate the food and drink manufacturing industry's contribution to the UK.

The FDF Awards 2018 winners are as follows:

Apprentice of the Year
Sophie Paveling, Electrical and Mechanical Engineering Apprentice at Coca-Cola European Partners, has made a noticeable impact within the business, driven by her proactive attitude to taking on responsibility and new tasks to further develop her professional skill-set.

Brand Launch of the Year
The Birds Eye Relaunch 2017 focused on its core hero platforms such as Captain Birds Eye, Garden Peas, and Chicken and included brand investment, packaging redesign, product quality improvements, new campaigns, and a transformation of media support.

Campaign of the Year
Unilever's Marmite Gene Project found that Marmite taste preference is genetic and created Gene Test Kits, launched by a campaign that reached 31% of UK adults within 24 hours.

Community Partner
NEMI is a London-based tea company operating as a social enterprise offering a variety of loose whole leaf tea blends and a Chai Syrup, which provides employment to refugees to help them better integrate in the UK.

Diet & Health
apetito's Mini Meals Extra product range was designed to offer a nutritious meal in a manageable portion size to individuals at risk of malnutrition, improving health and reducing food waste.

Education Initiative
Nestlé UK's Nestlé Academy Campus Team Initiative involves their apprentices and graduates in designing, planning, and leading engagement activity with schools, colleges, and universities to help inspire the next generation of talent for their business and industry.

Environmental Leadership
Cocoa Life, Mondelez International's sustainable cocoa sourcing programme, is an industry- leading, independently verified programme that aims to support sustainable cocoa farming, securing a positive future for cocoa farmers, their families, and their communities.

Exporter of the Year
Premier Foods products can be found in 40 countries, with over 800 SKUs available internationally. One guiding principal has helped Premier Foods continue to deliver on its ambitious growth trajectory: it partners with local retailers, building long-lasting, insight driven relationships.

Food and Drink Engineer of the Year
Chris Quarmby, Control Systems Specialist at Lincoln Manufacturing, PepsiCo, has been involved with and led numerous successful projects, receiving praise and recognition for his work from colleagues and through various company-wide award schemes.

Food and Drink Scientist of the Year
Simon Flanagan, Research Principal at RSSL, leads the Food Safety and Quality Division and provides specialist advice on allergen risk assessment and management, the largest single cause of product recalls globally.

HR Initiative
ABP UK has made a strong commitment to act against the critical issue of modern slavery within the UK food processing industry with its Stop Modern Slavery campaign.

Innovation
Environmentally-friendly secondary packaging company TrakRap designs and creates 100% recyclable packaging solutions for the food and drink industry in order to help minimise waste with The TrakRap Packaging System.

Rising Star
Katherine Cook, Innovation Manager at Premier Foods, has a strategic, consumer-centric, and collaborative approach which has led to the agile development of three long-term innovation pipelines. She has also taken on a range of ambassadorial roles to inspire future talent.

Emerging Business
STICKSOLOGY's tea infuser sticks have won innovation awards and their unusual business strategy has seen them set up a branch office in Shanghai and help other UK brands to enter the Chinese market.

Special Recognition
Independent ingredients manufacturer Macphie has developed a product range with 30% less sugar, measured against its current standard products, while keeping the same high quality and great taste.