Popular since the awards first started, gluten-free beer can match any beer in style and quality. Gluten-free beers entered can be made from barley or any other grains. Cider is always a favourite for those looking for gluten-free or vegan drinks

• Gluten-free beer made from barley or other grains
• Cider

Low & No is the fastest-growing area in Drinks, and full of tremendous innovation. Our category covers all types of alcohol-free and low-alcohol products under 1.2% ABV.

• Spirits
• Beers
• Cider
• Mocktails
• Sparkling wines and elixirs
• Cordials and syrups

A category that covers a range of free-from drinks, whether vegan or free from all or any of the top 14 allergens. Kombucha and functional drinks fit here, as do sugar-free and sweetener-free drinks, and mixers.

• Vegan wines and champagnes
• Cocktails
• Spirits
• Seltzers
• Functional drinks
• Botanicals
• Flavoured waters
• Juices
• Kombucha
• Mixers
  

Any store cupboard item, ambient, dried, or frozen, excluding pasta and pizza bases but including bread and cake mixes.

• Home baking
• Condiments and sauces
• Savoury biscuits, rice cakes, crackers, oatcakes
• Meal kits
• Cooking ingredients
• Tins, cans and packets
  

A massively growing area thanks to the explosion in plant based and vegan foods. A catch-all category for lactose-free/low-lactose animal milks and plant-based milk-alternatives including:

• Milk Drink Alternatives
• Spreads/Butter Alternatives
• Yoghurt Alternatives
• Cream Alternatives
  

Some would argue the most important meal of the day, setting you up for the day ahead. Whether actually intended for breakfast, mid morning snacks or elevenses, this hotly-contested category covers anything that you would fancy eating between 6am and midday!

• Breakfast cereals: cereals, porridge pots, granolas
• Breakfast baked goods: croissants, muffins, crumpets, breakfast bars 

A cross between a snack and a full meal, filling soups and bowl meals are a rapidly growing category both in mainstream and in free from.

Whether for convenience, price or nutrition, this is a category expected to grow and grow.

Entries can include:

• Soups
• Salads
• Stews
• Seafood dishes
• Rice dishes
• Noodle dishes
• Pasta meals
• Curries
• Any other products available in bowls
  

Ranging from everyday to gourmet meals; specific cultural cuisine to organic and vegetarian options. All of those meals which only require popping in the microwave (or oven) to be ready for the latest box set, TV drama, or packing for holidays!

• Vegan
• Vegetarian
• Fish and Chicken
• Beef, Lamb and Pork
  

The most staple of the staple products. Whole loaves and sliced breads, rolls, buns.... This is the category that few households can be without. Be it breakfast, lunch, afternoon tea or dinner, bread can form part of every meal. Thanks to innovation in this area everyone can enjoy a tasty bite.

We sub-categorise all bread entries by type and product methods: eg supermarket sliced and artisan breads and everything in between.

Breakfast breads, croissants etc will be put into Breakfast & Morning Goods; sweet breads, tea breads etc into Tea Time Treats.

A very popular category in free from, and a vital part of modern eating habits! Slinging a pizza in the oven, or cooking up bowls of pasta and adding a jar of sauce fills stomachs in a quick and satisfying way. An easy fix for young and old and a convenient quick meal, an all round favourite!

• Dried and fresh, filled and traditional pasta
• Ready to eat pizzas and pizza bases
  

This category has been given its own identity following the huge number of entries and evolution of the sector. Whether artisan or mainstream manufactured products, it is sure to be another hotly contested category.

• Lactose reduced cow’s milk cheese
• Goat, sheep, buffalo & camel milk cheeses
• Plant Based Cheeses
  

Always a very successful category, including crisps, snacks and nuts - or anything else that judges might fancy as a savoury snack. Single bags, multipacks and sharing/large bags.

Crackers and oatcake-style products go into Grocery.

A fast growing area in both the main aisles and free from aisles. Can include individual portions, sides and centre of plate items such as a vegetable mash (side) or a chicken kiev (centre).

Whether an after-school treat, afternoon tea, family gathering or cheeky indulgence, Tea Time Treats is a longstanding and popular category with entrants, judges and consumers.

• Cakes
• Crumpets
• Biscuits
• Scones

High quality, bespoke tea time entries should go into the Speciality Foods category.

Christmas products should be entered into the Free From Christmas Awards, opening June 2022.

The evolution of snacking and grazing eating habits has given rise to a massive market. So large is the category today that we have now opened the category to include not only snack bars but all other sweet snack products, to give these delights their own platform to shine.

• Snack bars
• Energy balls
• Sweet goodies

Chocolate bars should be entered in the Confectionery category.

Innovation in free from confectionery means that so many people, old and young, can enjoy these tasty treats.

A childhood memory created or moment shared with friends and family, confectionery brings a smile.This category includes:

• Traditional corner shop sweets
• Chocolate and candy bars
• Luxury confectionery
• Low sugar/sugar free confectionery.

Christmas products should be entered into the Free From Christmas Awards, opening June 2022.

The perfect way to end a meal is with an indulgent treat. Every kind of free from dessert from Roly Poly and Sticky Toffee pudding to Tiramisu and exotic ice creams - each richer and more luscious than the last! Every year sees new and exciting flavours and treats emerge - another very popular category with entrants, judges and consumers.

• Traditional desserts
• Mousses
• Ice cream
• Tarts
• Sweet Pies

Christmas products should be entered into the Free From Christmas Awards, opening June 2022.

The ultimate free from award for manufacturers who have gone above and beyond, creating foods that are free of all but one of our list of the top 15 major allergens: these are the top 14 UK-recognised allergens plus peas and chickpeas, our own addition, which are a major problem for a growing number of UK allergy reactors.

Products must be free from all but one of our list of 15 allergens (the top 14 UK-listed allergens, plus chickpea/pea) in order to accommodate people with allergies to chickpea and pea, now widely used in plant based foods and as a wheat/gluten alternative. Peas/chickpeas are not on the list of UK-recognised top 14 allergens so we have added them to our list of 15 allergens.

Entries must still be free of 14 allergens, but entrants can choose which 14 they exclude. For instance a peanut puff, which excludes 14 of the allergens in our list of 15, will now be eligible for this category.

With egg hunts, sweet treats and family time together, children and adults alike are often as excited for Easter as they are Christmas. 

And the free from and allergic consumer, whatever their age, has every reason to celebrate given the range now available, recognising the importance of Easter celebrations.

Last year more Easter products than ever before entered the awards: so here is the place to enter Easter Eggs and Hunt Boxes, cookies and baking kits – anything that is specifically designed for Easter

On your marks, get set, GO !!!

Presentation counts when gifting so in this category we will be recognising both quality and free from credentials as well as the visual appeal of both the product and the packaging.

From tins of biscuits, gift packs of beer and pork scratchings and selection boxes of confections to artisan cheese and hampers. There are no hard or fast rules, all products in your range that you envisage will be given as gifts, are ideal entries for this category.

The judging process for this category will be slightly different in that once all entries have been tasted blind, scored and discussed the process will be repeated but this time with the packaging.

Nut and peanut allergic consumers are desperate for safe products yet manufacturers are reluctant to make nut and peanut free claims. This category is for companies manufacturing foods with no may contain statements for traces of nuts and peanuts. It is for companies confident that their allergen control processes are such that they have no need for ‘may contain’ statements of any kind and their products are therefore suitable for those with nut and peanut allergies.

The Free From Food Awards will celebrate extra precautions taken by manufacturers to produce safe nut and peanut free foods and inspire confidence in nut and peanut allergy reactors.

Do you want your products to be used, or are they already used in catering, care homes, cafes, restaurants, hotels, hospitals or schools? This category is for your products that are free from at least one of the top 14 allergens, and either are already available in or could be suitable for the hospitality and catering industry. 

If you can produce enough, we want to see your product entered here!

This category will raise the profile of free from in the hospitality sector, and encourage more companies to innovate and develop products for food service. This is an opportunity for small independent companies to showcase their products alongside the large catering companies in the hospitality arena and bring free from to mainstream in food service.

No matter how large or small you are, you can have great ideas. Innovation can be the lifeblood of an organisation, the driver of long-term growth, bringing in new more consumers and providing more choice. New concepts, innovative use of ingredients or manufacturing techniques, unusual recipes, new ways to deliver health or flavour. We want to know about them.

We make two awards:

• For companies with a turnover of under £100,000 per annum
• For companies with a turnover of over £100,000 per annum

Such an important category for manufacturers looking to secure future loyal customers! We look for entries that will appeal to free from age groups from post toddler to late teens.

From an early age, free from children are very food aware, nutritionally conscious and can have surprisingly sophisticated tastes. The food you make for them needs to meet and surpass their expectations in terms of taste, packaging, nutrition, sustainability, innovation and above all safety.

This award is unique in being judged by the market it serves - children and teens, allowing for genuine and honest feedback direct from the target market. This category will not be judged blind, in order to track changing tastes and trends, and to get feedback on clear and safe packaging design and labelling. All products entered into this category will be purchased and judged in their own homes by families with allergy reactor children and teenagers across all age groups.

For speciality food products of all types, whether made for a smaller market & delicatessens, or wider audiences via the Speciality sections of larger shops, retailers and online markets. This category is for anything considered a ‘speciality food’ - e.g. gourmet foods, artisan products, ethnic items, and those which have protected designation of origin status. Open to all producers of speciality goods.

We make two awards:

• For companies with a turnover of under £100,000 per annum
• For companies with a turnover of over £100,000 per annum

Open to young companies, this category is designed to encourage and make a real difference to a start up food manufacturer poised to accelerate their free from growth ambition.

You enter this category as a company and you will be asked to supply details of up to two products you feel best showcase your brand. You will be required to provide the FFFA with samples of your nominated products.

2022 Sponsors Tesco offer a year’s mentoring to the winner of this category. The category is only open to companies who started trading within two years of the opening date of this year’s awards: not before 20th September 2019. Proof of trading start date will be required upon entering - this can be a Companies House date of incorporation certificate or confirmation from your accountant.

The labelling of free from food – what to include, what to leave out, whether or not to use PAL/may contain warnings – is a minefield. This award is given to a product whose label is not only clear and compliant, but benchmarks excellence in helping the free from consumer identify safe food.

For any free from brand a strong digital presence (website, social media) is essential. This award will celebrate an engaging online presence and a strong, intuitive and positive user experience.

Our judges will be looking to see how the free from consumer is engaged, how easy it is for a customer to buy free from products (either directly or from a third party) and how the cross platform digital presence works together to inform, inspire and educate them in all things free from.

Sustainable packaging is no longer a ‘want’, it is a ‘must have’ - but is not always easy to achieve for food products which may contain liquids, may need to be heated in-pack, and must be safe from cross-contamination with other foods.

The judges will be looking for the most innovative, exciting and sustainable packaging format for a freefrom food - in terms of production method, design and / or materials.