Best Brands was created in 2011 by the Guild of Fine Food and Fine Food Digest as a way of celebrating the 12 months that had gone before. Internally (and then increasingly externally), it was billed as an ‘end of year’ special – looking back on and celebrating the products that had done well in the independent retail environment.
It was also driven by the fact that data was rather thin on the ground in the deli and farm shop sector – compared to the systemsdriven supermarkets. So, we went out and started gathering it ourselves. The main mission was to establish what exactly is selling in our market and provide the industry with a little bit of a barometer reading in a highly pressured environment.
And, guess what, we’re still doing that – 15 editions in.
Over the years, we’ve sharpened how we do that and then how we present that.
The current incarnation sees us go through independent retailing category by category – and each section is underpinned by our survey, which at the very heart of this publication.
It is tempting to get stuck on what ‘the best’ of anything really means: what takes something from good, to better, to the pinnacle? And specifically, what makes the best food & drink within independent retail?
According to our survey, these are the best-performing products in your shop. At FFD, we fly the flag for small, artisan brands, but often the category leaders in Best Brands have moved beyond that, and are very well established in our sector. They are, after all, the items that keep the doors open and pay the bills – and that is commendable indeed.
Then, there is the work of organisations – including the Guild of Fine Food – applying their resources and pooling their expertise to find the best food & drink out there. One thing I’d say that still baffles me about this industry is the breadth and knowledge about every possible subcategory of edible, drinkable things you can think of that exists – something to consider when you feel a bit cynical about award schemes. People really do know their stuff.
Finally, time for some humility: the best might be the products that we, the FFD team, have come across throughout the year. Whether you take our word for it, or not, is up to you. At the end of the day, the notion of ‘good, better, best‘ is largely subjective, dictated by your identity as a retailer and by your customers. You might choose to treat this magazine as a bit of light reading, or as a buying bible. It’s up to you. We’ve just tried to show you what’s out there.
It is tempting to get stuck on what ‘the best’ of anything really means
By Tanwen Dawn-Hiscox, deputy editor
HOW DOES THE BEST BRANDS SURVEY WORK?
Every brand ranked in our survey results is there because independent retailers put it there.
We asked buyers in delis, farm shops and food halls around the country to name their top-selling lines in a host of key categories.
The survey was conducted by email and telephone during September, October and November 2025.
OTHER AWARDS
As part of our celebration of successful products in 2025, we’ve also gathered a host of products that have won awards. It provides wider context and buying inspiration across the many categories we cover through our survey.
The top-scoring brands in each category – in other words, those mentioned by our retail respondents most frequently – are revealed throughout this publication. Where brands achieved very similar (or often, identical) scores, we have given them a joint position. Sometimes, for a variety of different reasons, there isn’t a clear result in the survey responses. Even in these instances, we have attempted to explain why that has happened and analyse the data.
Speciality & Fine Food Fair has long been a place of sourcing joy for independent retailers, and its own awards aims to help even more by championing businesses that are truly innovating.
Think of any beer, cider or spirit, and you can be pretty sure that the World Drink Awards has found the very best across the globe. These awards celebrate and acknowledge both taste and design excellence in every style and category in alcoholic drinks.
editorial@gff.co.uk
Editor: Michael Lane
Deputy editor: Tanwen Dawn-Hiscox
Art director: Mark Windsor
Contributors: Lynda Searby, Patrick McGuigan, Nick Baines
Taste of the West is one of the longestrunning regional food groups in the UK and its awards remain a guiding light for buyers of any food & drink from Cornwall, Devon, Somerset, Dorset, Gloucestershire and Wiltshire.
Wales Food & Drink Awards is a relatively new scheme, backed by industry, that looks to highlight the good work of businesses, people and producers in the country.
Deliciously Yorkshire Taste Awards are run by the food group of the same name. The region is renowned for both it fresh produce and innovative producers, and these awards highlight the very best of them.
Farm Shop & Deli Product Awards are part of the annual trade show that takes place at Birmingham’s NEC. Entrants are assessed by an independent panel of experts, who scrutinise every aspect from branding to supply chain, ensuring they are very much suited to independent retail.
As the only dedicated scheme of its kind, the Free From Awards have become a ‘go-to’ for consumers with dietary requirements, as well as the retail buyers looking to cater for them.
For the best part of two decades, The Dalemain World Marmalade Awards have been striving to find the best marmalades on the planet. Hosted in Cumbria, this competition has uncovered the talents of both kitchen-table makers in the UK and producers from as far afield as Japan and Australia.
The World Coffee Innovation Awards were launched in 2023 to celebrate the game changers and trendsetters in coffee, with awards for both innovative products and equipment – as well as marketing, business practices and design.
opportunities@gff.co.uk
Sales and publishing director: Sally Coley
Senior sales account manager: Becky Haskett
Sales executive: Henry Coley
Sales support: Tamsin Bullock
Accounts assistant: Julie Coates
Finance director: Ashley Warden
support@gff.co.uk
Managing director: John Farrand
Organised and run by WineGB, the purpose of the WineGB Awards is to spread the word about the quality, consistency, and variety of wines produced in England and Wales.
Run by the Guild of Fine Food, Great Taste puts more than 14,000 food & drink products through their paces every year, and its awards are a benchmark for both trade buyers and consumers. This accreditation scheme’s robust, blind-tasting process is conducted by food professionals from a number of disciplines – which ensures that any product displaying the 1- 2- or 3-star sticker is of the best quality.
Associate managing director: Christabel Cairns
Partner relations director: Tortie Farrand
Chairman: Bob Farrand
Marketing officer: Jenna Morice
Marketing and operations assistant: Frances Coleman
PR & partnerships officer: Claire Fry
Data strategy & insight manager: Lindsay Farrar
Operations coordinators: Chris Farrand, Sepi Rowshanaei, Chloë Warren-Wood
Operations & events coordinator: Zara Williams
The Decanter World Wine Awards have been seeking out the best wines for well over two decades. The competition is respected globally for its rigorous judging process and world-class judges, and the results are trusted by both trade and consumers. We’ve selected a handful of bottles from the ‘Best in Show’ selection, the top 50 wines out of more than 18,000 to have been judged.
In excess of 5,000 cheeses are judged all on one day, in one location by a team of experts. That’s the basic premise of the World Cheese Awards, founded and run by the Guild of Fine Food. Every year, this process identifies hundreds of topquality cheeses, that can proudly display their Bronze, Silver, Gold or Super Gold awards. There are also a number of other accolades, including country-specific trophies, and – of course – the World Champion trophy.
Operations assistants: Thomas Jackson, Jos Holmes
Published by The Guild of Fine Food Ltd Fine Food Digest is published 11 times a year and is available on subscription for £50 p.a.
World Cheese Awards. This year it was awarded a Silver in WCA and a 3-star in Great Taste, praised for its “first class” flavour. erringtoncheese.co.uk
Witheridge in Hay Nettlebed Creamery
This soft-pressed, organic cheese is aged in hay, which lends it grassy aromas and fruity flavour notes. It has a smooth, creamy texture and a rich, sweet paste. In their 3-star assessment, the judges praised its “silky mouthfeel”, savoury notes and balanced acidity. nettlebedcreamery.com
Aged Rutland Red Long Clawson Dairy
This 3-star winning take on the classic Red Leicester is slathered in butter, clothbound and matured for six months, promising to be sweet, with hints of caramel and nuts and a savoury, moreish bite. It won over the judges at the World Cheese Awards, where it was named Best British Cheese and made the Top 14 best cheeses in the world. clawsonfarms.co.uk
The fact that retailers’ bestselling British cheese (Fen Farm Dairy’s Baron Bigod) is inspired by France’s Brie de Meaux says something about how customers’ and trade buyers’ habits have changed, driven in part by supply issues and price increases due to import restrictions (like Lumpy Skin Disease outbreaks on the Continent) and ongoing post-
R E TA I L
PERRY WAKEMAN, owner, Rennet & Rind, Cambridge
It has been an interesting year. Ultraprocessed food has become something people actually talk about now. Customers mention studies they have seen, or how they are trying to tidy up what is in their fridge, and they start asking more direct questions about ingredients.
They are looking for lowintervention food, made from a handful of things they recognise, where they can picture the milk, the maker and the journey.
Once they take that step, something else happens. They realise this is not just a “better for you” choice, it is a better feeling choice.
At our counter, Baron Bigod from Fen Farm Dairy and Sparkenhoe Red Leicester really show it in practice, and our own Duke, a Cambozola/Stiltonstyle we mature ourselves, sells so well for the same reason, people can taste that it is low intervention, see the people behind it, and trust it has been properly looked
Most cheeses like this reach people through independent cheesemongers. The sort of places where someone will ask how you are, remember what you bought last time, and talk you through a new wedge.
Customers like handing their hard-earned cash to a human who can point to a specific farm or maturing room, rather than feeding it into a selfcheckout while staring at a slightly miserable live video of themselves on an anti-theft screen. Lowintervention cheese has reminded people that food is at its best when it comes with a face, a story, and a real person on the other side of the counter.
TASTE OF THE WEST AWARDS
Named Champion Cheese in the Taste of the West product awards 2025, Bath Soft is the signature among five cheeses made using milk from the producer’s herd of 160 Holstein Friesian cows. This mould ripened (you guessed it) soft, yielding cheese balances earthy, mushroom notes with citrus and lactic tang, and is favoured by Brie lovers across the UK. parkfarm.co.uk
FARM SHOP & DELI PRODUCT AWARDS
Brexit border controls.
Snowdonia followed close behind (thanks to its iconic Black Bomber), with Stilton-maker Colston Bassett also frequently named. Although sales boom at Christmas, this shows the blue cheese is still a favourite yearround.
Fewer retailers named Montgomery’s and Isle of Mull Cheddar but it is still uplifting to see farmhouse cheddars namechecked enough times.
shepherdspurse.co.uk
Shepherds Purse cheeses, Harrogate Yorkshire Blue were recognised with a Gold medal at
Chosen by Patrick McGuigan
Rædwald
Fen Farm Dairy
More than 10 years after launching the brie-style Baron Bigod, Suffolk cheesemaker Fen Farm Dairy took inspiration from France once again to create another soft cheese.
Similar to the famous PDOprotected Savoie cheese
Reblochon, Rædwald is only available between January and March when there is a surplus of rich winter milk from the farm’s herd of Montbeliarde cows. The pasteurised cheese, named after a famous Anglo-Saxon king who may have once worn the famous mask found at the Sutton Hoo burial mound in Suffolk, is made in 1.2kg wheels and is washed twice in brine to create a bronze coloured rind over its 4-5 week maturing period.
The paste is runny and buttery with a meaty, smoky flavour from the rind, meaning it can be served on a cheeseboard or in hot dishes. Fen Farm has even developed its own British Tartiflette recipe called Bungayflette, after the town near where the farm is based. fenfarmdairy.co.uk
Eggleston
Primrose Creamery
British raw milk soft cheeses are increasingly rare as regulatory pressures take their toll. So it was refreshing to see Primrose Creamery set up at the School of Artisan Food on the Welbeck Estate in Nottinghamshire, using the same unpasteurised cows’ milk as Stichelton.
Founded by 33-year-old cheesemaker Jake Goldstein, the company makes two raw cows’ milk lactic cheeses, called Lindley and Eggleston. They are both delicious, but it was Eggleston that really took my fancy. Made in 100g buttons with a delicate yeast rind that has been lightly washed in annatto and brine, the cheese is yoghurty and fresh, but with an underlying savoury depth.
The packaging for both cheeses is nicely done too, featuring illustrations that reference their origins. (Eggleston is named after William Eggleston, a Nottinghamshire farmer who lost his life in a cheese riot in 1766).
primrosecreamery.com
1st The Fine Cheese Co.
2nd Peter’s Yard 3rd Miller’s (Artisan Biscuits)
GREAT TASTE
Scandic Seeded Crackers
RÅG Nordic Bakery
Until we launched Best Brands’ new format last year, we grouped sweet and savoury biscuits together, which meant we only got a snapshot of the very best-sellers across both categories.
Regardless of this, the top of the savouries always had visibility. Another change last year was that The Fine Cheese Co. reclaimed the top spot, which it has retained this year. Its Toast for Cheese still gets a fair number of namechecks, but the Extra Virgin Olive Oil & Sea Salt Crackers were actually listed more frequently this year.
Definitively cross-channel producer Peter’s Yard and its Original Sourdough Crackers clearly remain popular among independents.
The Fine Cheese Co.’s sister brand Miller’s (produced like all of its lines by its own bakery Artisan Biscuits), with its Damsel and Toast ranges, had yet another strong year, too.
Nostalgic for the flavours of Sweden, Caroline Daines baked these seeded crackers – which include sesame seeds, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, linseeds, chia seeds and a touch of sea salt, and contain neither gluten, eggs, or dairy – for friends and family. When she decided to turn it into a business, she signed up to sell them at local markets. And the rest, as they say, is history. Winning 3-stars in Great Taste this year, for what the judges said were “stunning crackers” with a rich, inviting smell, a snappy and crisp texture and a long, complex, flavour. “So good. We can’t fault them,” they said. rag-nordicbakery.co.uk
FREE FROM AWARDS
Original Mixed Seed Crackers
Pep and Lekker
Another seeded number – blending linseeds, sunflower seeds and chia seeds with oats, olive oil and chicory – Pep and Lekker scooped a Gold medal at the FreeFrom Awards, and was the Runner Up for the Healthier Choice Snack of the Year. The Original Mixed Seed Crackers were also awarded 3-stars in the Nourish awards – where food & drink is assessed by nutritionists. Beyond the benefits of promoting gut health and being a great source of protein, magnesium and Omega 3, it purports to be a delicious pairing for dips, or indeed cheese. The crackers have received positive reviews for their snap and rich, nutty flavour. pepandlekker.com
New
While these aren’t new, I feel as though they aren’t on enough people’s radars, given how good they are. If you’re looking for something really special to pair your blues, or lactic cheeses with, I would highly recommend that you give these a go. Of course, they’re shortbread, so they taste like butter and they melt in your mouth. The sweetness is well judged, and the rosemary is used delicately, too, but it definitely announces itself. They would just as happily fit into a spread of pre-dinner snacks, or one of those “picky bits” dinners that are all the rage these days. A couple of these and a goblet of Chinon would also go down a treat.
newforestshortbread.co.uk
Chosen by Tanwen Dawn-Hiscox
Rosemary Shortbread
Forest Shortbread
www.rowcliffe.co.uk
1st The Real Cure Joint 2nd Cornish Charcuterie / Trealy Farm
R E TA I L
Farm-based British producers tend to be the preferred option for UK independents.
The fact that The Real Cure offers whole cuts, salamis and pre-packed ranges, covering everything from classic styles to adventurous flavour combinations and pork alternatives, may have contributed to its top placing.
Monmouthshire’s Trealy Farm has been a mainstay of independents across the UK for decades (and always comes up in the survey data).
Cornish Charcuterie is often spotted in shops in the form of soft charcuterie – pâtés and rillettes, which even grace the shelves at Selfridges – but its Bresaola, plus Pink Peppercorn and Seaweed & Cider salamis were all mentioned. It’s worth noting that a number of nods were given across the results to Somerset Charcuterie, Moons Green, Great Glen, Sunday Charcuterie, Brindisa, Negroni and Veroni – showing just how diverse the category is, with some opting for regional producers and others for Continental specialists.
Chosen by Tanwen Dawn-Hiscox
Garlic & Pepper Salami
SaltPig Curing
This salami easily justifies SaltPig’s choice of using heritage pigs that are twice the size and older than typical breeds, and their meat more marbled. The salami is a gorgeous deep pink, and the fat melts in the mouth and combines beautifully with the aromatic peppercorns. saltpigcuring.co.uk
GREAT TASTE
Air Dried Welsh Beef Moch Coch Welsh producer Moch Coch mostly makes pork-based charcuterie, from its herd of Tamworth pigs who live a life of foraging and frolicking in the Carmarthenshire countryside.
This 3-star Bresaola-style cured Welsh beef, however, is topside, cured in sea salt and probiotic cultures, flavoured with red wine, herbs and spices.
The leanness of the result, the judges said, was spot on, complementing the sweetness from the wine and the hint of spice.
“The delicate, fine slices of dry-cured beef are full of flavour, with the herbs all contributing taste, and the skill of the producer ensuring a product that has a melt in the mouth texture.” mochcoch.wales
BILL DOWLING, owner, Compton McRae, Shaftesbury
For us, the main seller is The Real Cure. We sell across the board and we do have both whole muscle that we then slice and pre-packs.
Out of that range, the ones that do really well are the Sloe & Garlic Wild Venison Salami and we slice that; their Coppa also does well. And then the Dorset Blue Vinny & Fig Salami is very popular for canapés. And then in the mixed
is their Sharing Platter, which has three different varieties in it.
It’s an easy “picky bits” dinner option, and they don’t want to chat to me while I’m slicing it.
So people are seeking interesting flavours and flavour combinations. We have some Italian fennel salamis, but people have moved more to The Real Cure because they’ve got more interesting things in there.
And the fact that they have venison as well is good for the nonpork eaters, we often get requests for that. They’ve got a venison chorizo as well, and their beef Bresaola. So the fact that they do different meats is very good.
In terms of pâtés, we make our own chicken liver and we sell heaps of that. We don’t do much cooked ham. We have enough to go in our croissants and dishes, but people don’t come to us for that.
1st Farmhouse Biscuits
2nd Border Biscuits
Joint 3rd Moores / Botham’s of Whitby / Diforti
4th Island Bakery
GREAT TASTE
Cashew Crammed Shortbread
Half Nuts Company
There’s been very little movement in this category, with Lancashire’s Farmhouse Biscuits leading the way, held up by the enduring appeal of its Oat Flips – with the chocolate-dipped variant also singled out a number of times.
The same applies in the reverse for recently rebranded Border Biscuits, with its Dark Chocolate Ginger Biscuits making up the absolute bulk of its own votes, and its chocolate-free counterparts most of the rest.
Moores’ Dorset Gingers were next, on an even keel with Botham’s of Whitby’s Shah Ginger Biscuits. The running theme ends here, as cannolis from Diforti came level with them, too.
Ginger might well be the winner of this survey – Island Bakery’s Chocolate Gingers remain quite popular, too, but so are the producer’s Lemon Melts dipped in white chocolate.
The point of Half Nuts Company, when Louis Holden founded it last year, was to make biscuits with a high (50%) nut content, with the aim of being nutritious without compromising on flavour.
This Cashew Crammed Shortbread has only five ingredients (cashews, sugar, flour, butter and salt), and won over the Great Taste judges, who deemed it worthy of 2-star status.
They called them neatlyformed, with a crumbly bite
“and a delicious flavour of nutty, creamy cashew, rich butter and a welcome pinch of salt”. halfcookies.co.uk
Pecan & Caramel Chocolate Cookie Chocolate Dino Company Rafal Smaszcz started Chocolate Dino Company in lockdown, he says, as the child of two hospitality professionals “who wanted to bring back smiles and happiness, because chocolate is a happiness that can be eaten”.
Great Taste judges who tried his Pecan and Caramel Chocolate Cookie agreed, giving it a 2-star award. They claimed to have to force themselves to stop eating this well-presented cookie, scattered with pecan nuts, crispy on the outside and gooey on the inside.
For the fifth consecutive year, Dutch-owned Tony’s Chocolonely has won this category. Its mass appeal doesn’t detract from its ethical, values-led image, or its strong branding.
Montezuma‘s operates in a similar space, offering accessible luxury via its fun flavours and formats, with mission-led storytelling still at the heart of things.
Aside from Forest Feast, and Monty Bojangles – who have managed to straddle independent and big retail spaces with strong modern branding and a reasonable price point – the other producers on the list do have more independent appeal.
TASTE OF THE WEST AWARDS GREAT TASTE
55% Milk Chocolate, Lachuá Guatemala BeanCraft
Including just cocoa beans, sugar, milk powder, and cocoa butter, this single-origin 55% chocolate is made in micro-batches using beans from Lachuá, Guatemala. The Bradford on Avon producer works with a handful of suppliers, engaging in proper partnerships to ensure transparency, promote ethical working practices, sustainable agriculture and supporting farming communities over time. Awarded 2-stars in Great Taste, the judges lauded its snap and satisfying melt, describing it as having fruity, aromatic complexity. “This is a milk chocolate bar for grown-ups with a distinctly bitter note that contributes interest, combined with the classic creaminess of milk chocolate.”
beancraftchocolate.co.uk
Devon Cottage Organic Chocolate Fudge Ridge & Cottage Taste of the West’s Champion Confectionery for 2025, Ridge & Cottage’s Organic Chocolate Fudge is made in small batches using Cornish organic dairy, fairtrade chocolate and unrefined sugar. It also enjoyed success in Great Taste this year, where judges described it as chewy and crunchy, rich with caramel and cocoa notes, well balanced with the sweetness levels. “We liked the buttery richness and found there was a good savoury note which made for a very moreish product. Rich without being cloying,” they said. ridgeandcottage.co.uk
Caramel Collection
Hollychocs
The Champion Chocolate for 2025, meanwhile, was Devizes chocolatier Hollychocs' handcrafted Caramel Selection. The box of six includes the producer’s all-time best-seller, the Icelandic Lava Salt Caramel – filled with volcanic Icelandic salted caramel and wrapped in 42% cocoa Ecuadorian milk chocolate; a Mango & Passionfruit Caramel; the Caramel Crunch – a Dominican Republic white chocolate shell filled with toasted cereal and caramelised chocolate; the Dark Caramel, encased in a 70% dark chocolate shell; Sea Salt Caramel, coated in rich dark chocolate; and finally, the Peanut Supreme – milk choc coated sea salt caramel mixed with roasted crunchy peanut butter. hollychocs.com
The fact that the majority of the ranked companies all deal in chocolate, not sweets, tells us that massively inflated cocoa prices do not dissuade customers from buying the good stuff when they’re shopping with independents.
Bean-to-bar brands, and highend gifting chocolate makers are frequently mentioned in the survey, but these tend to be smaller, regional players, unlikely to ever contend with the likes of Tony’s in volumes.
Malted Caramel Popcorn
Mallowdramatic
Mallowdramatic fears it has created a monster with this, and says it sells out wherever it goes. Vanilla marshmallow is studded with malted caramelcoated popcorn, with additional swirls of caramel through it, providing a contrast in textures, light and airy with pockets of chew, and crunch. It won a Deliciously Yorkshire Taste Award for best confectionery this year. mallowdramatic.co.uk
CONTINENTAL
In the history of Best Brands, we’ve never ranked Continental cheese, because retailers tend to name styles of cheeses, but rarely producers or affineurs.
Despite (or perhaps, linked to) the fact that Baron Bigod is the most popular British cheese among our survey respondents, Brie de Meaux PDO is also the top-selling Continental cheese. But that could be Dongé, Rouzaire, Gillard, or any number of other producers.
The same goes for Comté PDO, the second most named cheese, which is produced by more than 150 cooperative dairies in the Jura region in Eastern France.
The third most-sold cheese is the first exception: Montagnolo Affiné, made by Käserei Champignon in Bavaria, Germany. This tied with fellow iconic triple cream cheese, Délice de Bourgogne, made in (you guessed it) Burgundy.
In terms of mentions, Spain’s Manchego was on an even keel with Gorgonzola, from spicy, firm, Piccante to mellow, scoopable Dolce.
For the first time, a notable number of mentions were given to Alp Blossom (also from Bavaria), which does seem to be making an appearance on specialist cheese counters across the UK lately.
WORLD CHEESE AWARDS
WORLD CHAMPION CHEESE
Le Gruyère AOP
Vorderfultigen Spezial – 18 months
Bergkäserei Vorderfultigen
BEST SPANISH CHEESE
Hechizo
Quesería La Zarcillera
BEST FRENCH CHEESE
Crémeux des Aldudes aux Fleurs
BEST GERMAN
CHEESE
Made by Pius Hitz and his small team in the Gantrisch region of Switzerland, this year’s World Champion was described by Super Jury judge Perry Wakeman as being what you might expect a Gruyère to be – brothy and meaty, “dialled up to 13”. He praised its “beautiful texture”, which nonetheless is flinty when you break it apart. berg-kaeserei.ch
This lactic, slow-set goats’ milk cheese is made in Murcia, southeastern Spain, and was the only Spanish cheese to make it into the Top 14 this year. It is described by the producer as silky – due to the high fat and protein content of the milk – and as being like two cheeses in one: intense near the rind, with a creamy inner paste. lazarcillera.com
Etxaldia
Pipped to the World Champion trophy by just one point, this tiny, soft cows’ milk cheese is made in the Basque region in the south west of France. It is described as lactic, gentle and pure, and because it is coated in mountain flowers, imparted with a subtle, herbaceous almost honeyed perfume.
Berta 15 months
Hofkäserei Gut Ogrosen
Made in Spreewald, near Berlin in Germany, this raw cows’ milk cheese is stylistically somewhere between an Alpine hard cheese and a Tomme. The producer describes it as deeply savoury, with the 15 months ageing making it lightly grainy, crystalline and dense, yet yielding and melting in the mouth. It is said to be robust, aromatic, with a caramel depth and a long, warm, full finish. gut-ogrosen.de
R E TA I L
MORGAN MCGLYNN CARR, owner, Cheeses of Muswell Hill, London
more confidently embraced than in previous years. People who once stayed safely with Brie are now asking for something with depth but still approachable, like Reblochon, Taleggio or a gentle Vacherin when it’s at its best. There’s also been a renewed enthusiasm for sweeter blues.
On my counter this year, Continental cheese has felt quietly more deliberate. Customers are still indulgent, but they’re choosing with intent. Rather than loading up indiscriminately, people are asking better questions. Where is it from? What’s the milk? How strong is it, really?
Soft alpine-style cheeses have had a strong moment. Washed rinds in particular feel
Gorgonzola Dolce remains a gateway cheese at this time of year, and continues to outperform sharper, drier blue styles with less experinced buyers.
Price sensitivity is real, but not where flavour and story are clear. Customers seem happier to spend well on one exceptional cheese rather than compromise across the board. Provenance and seasonality increasingly matter, not in a shouty way, but as reassurance. Raw milk remains important to many, though beautifully made pasteurised cheeses are holding their own.
GREAT TASTE
Saint Mont des Alpes Sodiaal
This hard, unpasteurised mountain cheese from Savoie is made with milk either from Tarine or Abondance cattle. Great Taste judges, who awarded it a 3-star, said it was initially sweet, grassy and gentle, with a light acidity, deep nuttiness and well judged salinity “all in balance”. Noting allium and mushroomy notes near the paste and a creaminess indicative of high quality milk, they described it as “truly gorgeous”. sodiaal.co.uk
Igor Nero Piccante
Igor Gorgonzola
Chosen by Patrick McGuigan
L'Étivaz
For various reasons I spent a lot of time in Switzerland this year in search of good cheese. Gruyère and Emmentaler featured heavily, as did lesser known Swiss cheeses, such as
This 3-star winning Gorgonzola Piccante PDO, is made in Cameri Novara in the Piedmont region of Italy, using pasteurised cows’ milk. Due to its minimum 80 days of ageing, it is firm, holding its shape when cut. However, the judges called it “a showpiece cheese”, noting that it came off the knife as one, “without the cream separating from the veining.” “The flavour echoes the nose; fresh pungency that develops into a deep, gently spicy and piquant presence that delivers in balance in complexity on the palate.” igorgorgonzola.com
Alpkäse and Hobelkäse, but it was a visit to see production of the AOP-protected L'Étivaz that has stuck with me the most. Named after a small town in the Swiss Alps, L'Étivaz is made between May and October when the cows graze mountain pastures, and cheesemakers produce 15-35kg wheels in chalets using raw milk in copper cauldrons hung over open fires. Aged for around a year, the cheese’s flavours is complex with intense sweet, smoky and savoury notes.
Due to the small scale of production and its price point, it’s a relatively rare cheese in the UK, historically appearing on a few specialist counters, but it’s a sign of how cheese tastes have changed (and what people are willing to pay) that I also spotted it pre-packed in wedges in my local M&S. etivaz-aop.ch
Le Barriquet
France is not normally known for creating exciting new cheeses, preferring instead to stick to the tried, trusted and traditional. Which is why Le Barriquet (the Barrel), made with raw, organic
goats‘ milk in the Loire, really caught my eye this year.
The brainchild of affineur (and now cheesemaker) Hervé Mons, the 300g barrel-shaped cheese is very different to the soft PDO-protected lactic goats‘ cheeses normally found in the region. The texture is bouncy and springy, like a young Tomme, but is then washed to create a pungent orange rind. It’s finished with two illustrated bands of goats and shepherds printed on the rind in annatto to resemble the hoops of a barrel.
The flavour is sweet, floral and meaty. It’s particularly nice with chilli jam, smoked charcuterie and a glass of Jurançon.
Smoked Haddock
There hasn’t been a big shift in this category since last year, with Torres and its increasingly eclectic range of flavours bedding into the top position, while provenance- and sustainability-led Two Farmers wasn’t far behind.
We wouldn’t be surprised to see Bret’s keep showing up in the results with its trendy French flavours, like Bleu d’Auvergne and Tartiflette.
PepsiCo-owned Pipers is clearly still a popular choice, with its reliable British appeal, while Brown Bag and Eat Real are at the higher end of everyday purchases but scored freely in our poll.
Nuts would make it back into the survey if only a single brand could dominate, but it is quite a divided space.
Perelló olives deserves a mention for multiple appearances in the data – but the hype over the aesthetic tins of juicy Gordals may not translate into sales quite as readily as fancy crisps do.
TASTE OF THE WEST AWARDS
Salt & Pepper Cashew Nuts
The Cornish Olive Oil Stall
Better known for its selection of olives, five of which have been awarded Gold medals in the Taste of the West Awards before, The Cornish Olive Oil Stall is celebrating its Cashew Nuts’ success this year. Jumbo nuts are tossed in a mix of black pepper, cinnamon, yeast extract and Cornish sea salt, resulting in a nut so good it was named Champion Product in the Snacks & Light Eats category this year.
GREAT TASTE FREE-FROM AWARDS
Smoked Seasoned Almonds
PAZ Nuts
thecornisholivestall.com
1st
Prawn Cocktail Crisps
Fairfields Farm
These 2-star nuts are infused with a sweet, savoury and smoky seasoning which won over the Great Taste judging panel. They were fond of the chunky almonds, of the subtlety of the seasoning and smoke, and of their satisfying crunch, noting the quality of the nuts and how versatile they would be as a snack or an ingredient. paznuts.com
The traditional British staple of the prawn cocktail has had a bit of a renaissance, with crisp producers up and down the value chain introducing their own take. This year, East Anglia’s Fairfields Farm did so, making its ingredients list gluten-free and vegan-friendly: hand-cooked, skin-on potatoes are coated in a tomato, vinegar and spiced seasoning – including smoked paprika, dill, caraway and rosemary. fairfieldsfarmcrisps.co.uk
Chosen by Nick Baines
Fried Egg Crisps
Torres
I’ll be surprised if another member of the team hasn’t put this one forward already. It’s being hailed as the flavour no one asked for, but somehow everyone seems head-over-heels for. They bring a wave of richness to the potato crisp alongside all the expected saline activity you’re used to. I don’t want to get all “When Harry Met Sally” over it, but think hash browns meet jammy yolk – still a pretty exciting breakfast, right? Surprising. Super delicious, and perfectly executed. It’s a seriously killer crisp. patatastorres.com
1st
Honest Toil / Seggiano 2nd Yorkshire Rapeseed Oil
Joint 3rd Little Doone / Charlie & Ivy’s / Brindisa
Oils and vinegars are a way for speciality retailers to stand out from the multiples. Price points for these premium items might be higher, but many quality producers operate at a small or medium scale, and choose to steer clear of supermarkets and their margin-squeezing models.
Honest Toil’s cold-pressed, fresh, unfiltered extra virgin olive oil, known for its distinctive designs and supported by refill stations for retailers, has occupied the top spot for three years in a row, sharing it with Yorkshire Rapeseed Oil last year
Seggiano’s Lunaio olive oil, often considered a brand in its own right, has long been a favourite for retailers.
Yorkshire Rapeseed Oil deserves a special mention –especially as until last year, no rapeseed oil producer had even figured in the top five sellers in this survey category – and it’s worth pointing out that Charlie & Ivy’s, beloved for its bread dippers, is its sister company.
Scotland’s Little Doone is the only vinegar listed among the oil producers, and like Seggiano, it has been a staple in independents for many years.
Brindisa’s Arbequina and North & South will be a familiar sight to many, too, because although there are many high quality Spanish olive oils out there, a combination of provenance and branding make it a very safe bet indeed.
&
R E TA I L
Chosen by Tanwen Dawn-Hiscox
Organic British Grass Fed Ghee
GOOD PHATS
I’m not a fan of goose or duck fat to cook roast potatoes in, so I usually opt for beef tallow. Sadly for me (although probably better for a host of ethical and environmental reasons), a number of my friends and relatives are vegetarian, meaning I need an alternative that isn’t just sunflower oil (God forbid!) My solution: ghee. This
Artisan Malt Vinegar
Artisan Vinegar Company
This 3-star malt vinegar is made according to the traditional Orléans method – slow, oak barrel aged over 12 months, with a ‘mother’, leaving it unfiltered and unpasteurised –combining Maris Otter, crystal and chocolate malts. Judges lauded the balance of abundant acidity and gentle sweetness in this vinegar, which they called “deep, dark and interesting, with caramel notes against a sharp edge,” they said.
artisanvinegar.co.uk
oils anymore.
When it comes to vinegars, we have a huge range as it’s one of my obsessions to get people trying exciting vinegars in their kitchens.
number from Good Phats is not only stunning to look at, but it smells like butterscotch, it’s silky smooth, bright – and isn‘t ruined by that oily mouthfeel you get with some ghees.
Don’t be deterred by my sweet dessert references – I can assure you that it is the perfect lubricant to make crispy, fluffy roast potatoes which will satisfy omnivores and vegetarians alike.
goodphats.com
GREAT TASTE
artisanvinegar.co.uk
Blackberry & Thyme infused Balsamic Vinegar of Modena Burren Balsamics
ANDY HARRIS, owner, The Ealing Grocer, London
There are so many great oils out there nowadays, but we tend to stock small artisan singleestate EVOOs, like Trulli from Puglia, Ellouze from Tunisia and Allio from Greece on a permanent basis. Then, we have amazing new season’s oil from Querubi in France and Novo by O-Med from Spain that are proving to be very popular. We also always have some chilli oil, walnut and truffle oil and some interesting flavoured oils like yuzu. We don’t get many calls for avocado or other flavoured
Particularly popular is the La Guinelle range, made in the South of France that includes classic Banyuls vinegar, Chenin, Saffron and Vermeil (a versatile clove and cinnamon-scented vinegar to use when cooking stews and sauces). Conserverie Fleuriet Pineau des Charentes vinegars are also fantastic in sauces and dressings. Throw in some Balsamic vinegars, cider vinegars and flavoured vinegars like prune, sushi ginger, raspberry and dried fig and we’ve got you covered. It’s really exciting to see customers coming in to try new and different vinegars all the time, and I really think it pays off to have an extensive range on your shelves.
Original Ghee
Ghee Appétit
County Armagh’s celebrated artisan vinegar maker has done it again, with this 3-star, rich glossy dark vinegar infused with blackberries and the producer’s own garden thyme. Judges praised the ruby red liquid for its fresh thyme balanced out with the vinegar’s sweet acidity, marrying without overpowering the fruit. “It would be so versatile,” they said, “not just for gravy but to drizzle over salads, as a dip for bread or diluted as a shrub.”
burrenbalsamics.com
When she founded Ghee Appétit in 2020, Vidushi Sharma set out to bring authentic Indian ghee to the Western palate.
And with this 3-star, organic certified ghee, she will no doubt gain some ground.
Great Taste judges described its “glorious golden buttercup appearance” and subtle aroma, which has a hint of high-quality fudge. This followed through on the palate, with nutty, caramel, clotted cream flavours joining the fold. They noted that it is highly complex, and that “the finish is really clean, with a subtle lingering dairy element.” gheeappetit.co.uk
FARM SHOP & DELI PRODUCT AWARDS
Blackberry, Thyme & Balsamic Bread Dipper
Charlie & Ivy’s
This partnership between aforementioned Burren Balsamics and Charlie & Ivy’s was a Farm Shop & Deli Product Award Gold medallist this year. Pairing the fruity, herbaceous, sweet balsamic with cold-pressed Yorkshire Rapeseed Oil in one bottle, this popular Bread Dipper range also includes Great Taste award-winning White Balsamic, Tarragon & White pepper, a Smoked Garlic and Black Peppercorn variant, among others.
charlieandivys.co.uk
Comté Cheese: Over a Century of Craft in Every Wheel
In a retail landscape where customers are seeking authentic, traceable, and premium food experiences, one product continues to outperform expectations in the speciality cheese category: Comté.
A CHEESE WITH CENTURIES OF HISTORY
Hailing from the Jura Massif in Eastern France, Comté is lovingly produced using methods refined over more than 1,000 years. Made exclusively with raw milk from Montbéliarde and French Simmental cows (each of which must have at least a hectare of land to graze on), this PDO-protected cheese guarantees the provenance and exceptional quality increasingly sought by British shoppers.
Every single day, the milk is collected from the nearest local farms and transformed into large 40kg wheels of Comté cheese by small village dairies, the fruitières. The wheels are 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. Their experience and expertise, passed down from generation to generation, dictates when the cheese is ready for consumption.
Comté has been awarded AOP status, following the traditional rules that generations
have been using to create the cheese exclusively in this region of France, that has integrated Comté into every aspect of the community life.
THE TASTE CUSTOMERS RETURN FOR
Comté’s flavour profile is one of its greatest selling points. Every single wheel of Comté is influenced by a number of factors, from the weather and time of year, to what the cows were eating on that particular day. As a result, one wheel of Comté might have a firmer texture with a nuttier taste and another might be smoother with a more floral flavour. 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.
This broad flavour spectrum means Comté appeals to food lovers seeking premium experiences, families wanting a versatile, natural cheese and shoppers trading up from their usual hard cheese.
A VERSATILE CHEESE FROM BOARDS TO BOWLS
By stocking different ages of Comté, you can encourage your customers to decide for themselves which age of the Comté they prefer, including whether their palate preference leans more towards a winter or a summer flavour. It’s a fun and engaging tasting experience to create a cheeseboard made up solely of different ages of Comté, offering a wider range of flavours and textures that simply couldn’t be achieved with another cheese.
And beyond the cheeseboard, 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 mouthwatering 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.
Bring the taste of the Jura Mountains to your cheese offering and let your customers discover why Comté is one of Europe’s most celebrated cheeses.
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-cheese-reseller/ to contact us, as well as downloading promotional materials to support your sales.
Artisan creators of luxury deli products, regularly winning Great Taste awards for our unique products or twists on classic favourites, thanks to the creative passion and talent of our founder, Ralph Wettach. Enjoy products across our collection from savoury items, freshly baked goods, pantry essentials, chilled dishes, and indulgent sweets – all thoughtfully designed and crafted by Ralph himself.
1st Tracklements
2nd Drivers
3rd Mrs Darlington’s
Tracklements, with its iconic Fresh Chilli Jam, Caramelised Onion Marmalade and Sticky Fig Relish, has been a persistent favourite in independents for the past 15 years – holding the top position in this category for as long as we’ve been publishing Best Brands.
Runner-up, Drivers, however, although a staple in independents, has never been on the podium at all – until now. This might be a reflection of just how popular pickles are with the modern consumer. Drivers’ Sweet Cornichons, Bread and Butter Pickles and 1906 Pickled Onions – rather than its relishes and chutneys – received the most mentions.
That said, those who named Mrs Darlington’s did report selling Ploughman’s, Caramelised Onion or Spicy Tomato & Sticky Onion Chutney, the most. So it's probably fair to say consumer habits have remained stable for some retailers while they’ve shifted elsewhere.
GREAT TASTE
Sweet Dill Pickle Chips Pickle Project Pickle Project uses ultrasonic waves to extract the flavours from the mix of herbs and spices into the brine, claiming it infuses the liquid and makes for flavoursome pickles without the usual seeds floating around. These Sweet Dill Pickle Chips won a Great Taste 2-star on the basis of their neat aesthetic, and appealing herbaceous aroma. Judges praised the pickles’ crunch and the balance of sweet and sour, adding: “We thought the dill and aromatics added an interesting but not distracting addition to the overall flavour”. pickleproject.co.uk
King Naga Pickle
Mr Vikki’s
Mr Vikki’s is a serial Great Taste award-winner –and among his 2-star products this year, along with Banana Habanero Chutney and a Phall Curry Sauce, is this King Naga Pickle. It is made using the hot but fruity naga, with roasted spices and cold-pressed rapeseed oil to round off the heat. Admiring its glossy red, luscious texture, visible and fragrant fenugreek, and the freshness of the chilli, the judges said the heat was high, but dissipated quickly. “It takes a real skill to develop a hot relish as wellbalanced as this.” mrvikkis.co.uk
Tomato Kimchi Relish Pinko’s
Turmeric & Ginger Sauerkraut
Bath Culture House
This ferment delivers a whole new frontier of freshness for the humble sauerkraut.
Pinko’s is a Korean street food vendor, whose truck is parked up in Scotland, selling fried chicken, Kimbap, Cupbap, and homemade kimchi. This Great Taste 2-star winning Tomato Kimchi Relish does what it says on the jar, pairing tangy, funky kimchi with sweet ripe tomatoes, balancing heat, acidity and umami. Judges praised its rich tomato aroma, lifting all the ingredients: “Very judicious use of chilli throughout the flavour profile”, and a “clean, lasting finish”, they said. pinkoskstreetfood.com
You’ve probably noticed a succession of decent krauts and kimchis over the past few years, and each new wave seems to get better and better. Bath Culture House might not be bringing the most innovative, or shocking flavour combinations, but they have mastered a product that is often maligned.
This is the kind of sauerkraut you can give to the uninitiated and the nonbelievers. I dare anyone not to fall for the zap of prickly ginger heat that rises against the inherent acidity – which still somehow maintains a sweet edge. It goes with eggs amazingly, but I end up spooning it straight out of the jar as well.
bathculturehouse.co.uk
Chosen by Nick Baines
Chosen by Lynda Searby
Raw & Hot Sauces Olives Et Al
This year, Olives Et Al made a foray into the hot sauce space, with three, naturally fermented sauces.
It’s hard to choose between them but, after several tastings on everything from avocado and crusty bread to chickpeas, prawns and chicken, I have concluded that the Jalapeño variety has the edge.
Distinct layers of flavour wash over you in waves: bright, zesty lemon, followed by fresh jalapeño chilli and then crisp, green heat to finish, with a tangy undertone from the fermentation. This sauce is just so raw, bold and vibrant that it somehow makes you feel alive.
olivesetal.co.uk
We only started covering the sauces category in the 2022 issue of Best Brands, grouping table & cooking sauces, but only really expecting the latter to emerge with a clear ranking.
And for the most part, that theory has borne out with Italian cooking sauces – Seggiano’s Raw Basil Pesto, plus sauces from Mutti and Tenuta Marmorelle.
While not exactly new, Isle of Wight Tomatoes’ sauces – a diversification that has generated core lines – have become a more familiar sight in independents in recent years.
Stokes’ condiments – namely its Tomato Ketchup, which is well-known ‘posh’ ketchup –were bound to do well in this category.
Joint 1st Seggiano / Mutti 2nd Tenuta Marmorelle
Joint 3rd Stokes / Isle of Wight Tomatoes
FARM SHOP & DELI PRODUCT AWARDS
Spicy and Nutty Salsa Macha
Chilli Maven
Spicy Mexican sauce specialist
Chili Maven has entered the fore at a time when Britons are understanding the cuisine on a whole different level to anything they knew 10, or even five years ago. One staple condiment is Salsa Macha – a chilli oil made with dried chillies, nuts, seeds and garlic. The ‘Spicy and Nutty’ version was triumphant in the Farm Shop & Deli Product Awards this year, receiving a Gold medal, as well as scooping a star in Great Taste, Drizzle over eggs, tacos, pizza; use as a dip or mix through soups, stews, pasta. The world is your oyster. chilimaven.com
Smoked Garlic Mayonnaise
Charlie & Ivy's
This is a truly collaborative product: it’s actually a proportion of the oil that is oak smoked in Charlie & Ivy’s Smoked Garlic Mayonnaise, another Gold medallist in the Farm Shop & Deli product awards 2025. Yorkshire Rapeseed Oil, in fact – Charlie & Ivy’s sister company, run by the owners Chris and Katy Palmer’s mother, Jennie Palmer – itself smoked by East Yorkshire’s Staal Smokehouse. It is one of a range of Mayonnaises, which also include 2-star Great Taste awardwinning Truffle Mayonnaise, all 1-star Lemon & Dill, Chipotle, Chilli & Lime Flavours, and plant-based Garlic & Thyme; Horseradish’ Smoky Paprika, Chilli & Cumin Mayonnaise. charlieandivys.co.uk
SPECIALITY & FINE FOOD FAIR PRODUCT AWARDS
Kimchi Ketchup
Chimac
This Great Taste 1-star awardwinning ketchup also scooped the Speciality & Fine Food Fair International New Product of the Year Award, for demonstrating creativity and innovation. Blending classic ketchup with a spring onion kimchi, it is said to bring a bit of funk to fries or burgers. Created by eponymous Dublin-based Korean Fried Chicken joint, the sauce range –which also includes a Sriracha Caramel Hot Sauce, a Korean Stirfry Sauce, Sriracha Caramel Ham marinade and a Great Taste 2-star winning K-BBQ Marinade, among others – is yet another example of a foodservice diversification down the product route. chimac.ie
Yellow Curry Paste Payst
Whereas many restaurants’ lockdown era food brand projects have come and gone, Farang’s lines of curry pastes, dipping and stir-fry sauces are still going strong. Perhaps because they simplify a cuisine known for containing lots of specialist ingredients, or simply because they have earned a reputation for being of a high calibre. The producer’s Spicy Burnt Chilli Sauce, Red Curry Paste and Green Curry Paste, all received 2-stars in Great Taste this year, but this Yellow Curry Paste really won the judges over, achieving 3-stars. They complimented its texture and how it hit all the expected notes: fresh, sweet, salty, slightly fishy, with a hint of lemon, bright galangal and young lemongrass. Plus a good burst of heat. payst.co.uk
GREAT TASTE
Kalamata Olive & Harissa Sauce Ottolenghi
Another chef-developed success in Great Taste this year was Ottolenghi’s Kalamata Olive & Harissa Sauce, described by the now very much cross-channel brand as “tomato-sauce, Ottolenghistyle: salty, piquant and spicy, recommending it as a versatile ingredient for things like pasta sauces, or shakshuka. Great Taste judges considered it worthy of 2-star status, calling it vibrant “in both colour and flavour”, bejewelled with plenty of quality olives and perfectly pitched harissa. “The tomatoes tasted fresh and when served with pasta, the sauce really held its own. You could sense that care had been taken in product sourcing.” ottolenghi.co.uk
Miso'Grette 'grette
Anecdotally, the Guild of Fine Food team can’t stop talking about this Miso’Grette dressing, and how addictive it is. Made by the South London producer using the fermented bean paste, sesame oil, honey, rice vinegar and soy sauce, it’s the cleanlabel answer to mayonnaise and thickening agent-laden salad dressings of yore. But here, creativity is encouraged: toss through stir-fries, noodles, drizzle over roasted vegetables, use as a marinade, says the producer. “We could detect all the flavours, which were harmonious and balanced”, said the judges, describing it as “not only versatile but expertly made”. “It really is exquisite”. grette.co
As Britons have moved to a more premium baseline when it comes to their choice of pasta, supermarkets have upped their game in recent years.
Some of the producers listed here are available in the multiples, including Garofalo –but this is nonetheless a quality-led producer, using bronze extrusion and slow drying for that rough texture so desirable for absorbing sauce. And Rummo is in the same camp when it comes to availability.
Seggiano, The Yorkshire Pasta Company, and Tenuta Marmorelle, however, are exclusive to independents, and produced at much lower volumes, so it is heartening to see them listed by so many retailers year after year. 1st
GREAT TASTE
Orecchiette by
Senatore Cappelli
Amore Terra
Made with organic, wholemeal
Cappelli wheat, this orecchiette from Amore Terra is the only dried pasta to have achieved 3-star status in Great Taste 2025. It is stoneground, slow-dried and said by the judges to have a deep flavour that left them with “a delicate aftertaste, almost like oats”. “On the palate, the texture is perfect, resilient yet breaking down readily, while continuing to deliver pleasing flavours throughout. A truly great artisanal product.” amoreterra.com
FREE
Mezze Maniche Maidea
These pasta tubes, made with brown rice instead of wheat flour, are made in Italy, where, unsurprisingly given the volume of pasta consumed per head, the availability and standard of gluten-free options are high. This Free From Awards Gold medallist is bronze drawn and dried slowly to optimise both flavour and texture, and is part of a range that also includes Paccheri, Tagliatelle, and Spaghetti shapes. maideaglutenfree.com
FROM AWARDS FARM SHOP & DELI PRODUCT AWARDS
which it won the Innovation Award at the Free From Awards 2025. Promising the taste and texture of traditional pasta, it is frozen to preserve freshness, and has a shelf life of one year. As well as Tagliatelle, Alpa offers a Penne shape. alpafoods.co.uk
Truffle Macaroni
Cornwall Pasta Company
Cornwall Pasta Company has a proposal for lovers of real truffle. This pasta contains only two ingredients: organic flour and organic black truffle. The producer claims to be the only maker of organic truffle macaroni in the world. We’ll let you seek out an alternative to this Farm Shop & Deli Gold Product Award recipient, if you so choose. cornwallpasta.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, some we have worked with for generations for their commitment to great quality. Milled slowly and in small batches, altogether this makes flour with real heritage and provides excellent baking results for home and professional bakers alike. Stock up now - sales@dovesfarm.co.uk - 01488
1st
Cook 2nd FieldGoods 3rd Fieldfare / Chapman’s
4th
Girl Gone Wild
At the risk of repeating our assessment of the ice cream category (p.53), it is worth noting here that not all retailers have freezers.
More than 40% of the answers to this question were simply N/A. Roughly one out of ten said their own range of frozen items was their best-seller, and a similar proportion named local producers.
That doesn’t leave room for very much else (literally), but all of those ranked are known premium producers, respected within the independent space.
Cook, Chapmans and Fieldfare are mainstays of the independent trade, so their presence and position was expected. But it’s a pleasant surprise to see that relative newcomers FieldGoods and gamebased ready meal maker Girl Gone Wild are already gracing plenty of freezers, too.
GREAT TASTE
Coq au Vin Cook
FARM SHOP & DELI PRODUCT AWARDS
Hog Roast Roll
Cook not only placed at the top of the Best Brands podium this year, but it fared well in Great Taste, too, achieving 3-star status for its take on the French classic, Coq au Vin: high welfare British chicken, cooked on the bone with red wine, pearl onions, mushrooms and streaky bacon. Judges praised its homemade appearance and the depth of flavour in the sauce. “This is a well realised dish that is beyond the expected taste and quality for a ready meal.” they said. cookfood.net
TASTE OF THE WEST AWARDS
Apple Strudel Fieldfare
This light puff pastry filled with chunky apples and raisins cooked with cinnamon earned a Gold medal at the Farm Shop & Deli Product Awards for 2025. The supplier of loose frozen food scooped the same award for its Chocolate Fondant in 2023 – as well as 1-star in Great Taste for its All-Butter and Almond Croissant, and a 2-star rating for its Pain au Chocolat. field-fare.com
The Original Baker wholesale customers have called this an “alltime bestseller”, and claim they’ve had to hide these from their kitchen teams to stop them from getting eaten. British pulled pork and Bramley apples with sage and onion are wrapped in flaky pastry and topped with crackling crumb, resulting in a sausage-roll like concoction deemed worthy of a Gold medal at the Farm Shop & Deli product awards 2025. The producer’s chilli jam pork pie earned the same accolade this year, as well as being awarded a 1-star in Great Taste. theoriginalbaker.co.uk
The Crab Mac + Cheese Salcombe Suppers
Although it didn’t make it into the survey ranking, Salcombe Suppers was mentioned several times in the survey, and we wouldn't be surprised to see it there in the future. Its Crab Mac + Cheese – made with crab bisque and a mix of mozzarella, parmesan, cheddar, topped with a crispy crumb – was the Champion Product in Taste of the West’s Ready Meals category this year. The producer’s Fabulous Fish Pie of smoked haddock, Chalkstream trout and hake, with béchamel, mash and a parmesan crumb, was also awarded 2-stars in Great Taste 2025. salcombesuppers.com
1st Miles / Grumpy Mule
Joint 2nd Dark Woods / Taylors of Harrogate / Little’s
Coffee might be getting more expensive, but independents are increasingly good at championing high-quality, ethical, sustainable, small batch roasted coffee.
Our Best Brands ranking becomes less clear cut every year, as the preponderance of good coffee makes it onto more shelves.
Miles, Grumpy Mule and Taylors are mainstays of the trade and the survey, offering reliable quality within a certain price point.
Dark Woods has only made it onto the podium a handful of times, however, and has done so through sourcing some of the best coffee available, roasting it to perfection.
The presence of Little’s reflects the British lean towards convenience, but also, increasingly, for that morning coffee to be a sweet treat – with flavours like Creamy Caramel and French Vanilla.
R E TA I L
WORLD COFFEE INNOVATION AWARDS
Espresso concentrate Lost Sheep Coffee
DANNY FISHER, operations manager, Gladwell’s, Camberwell, London
Our biggest seller this year has been Wood Street Coffee’s signature House Espresso – a yellow bourbon from the Serra da Mantiqueria region in Brazil. It’s nutty, chocolatey and a real allrounder.
Customers have also been keen to branch out into slightly funkier offerings which change throughout the year as the small
Made with its best-selling ‘Get to the Hopper’ espresso blend, Lost Sheep won the World Coffee Innovation award for 'Best Dilutable' this year with its Espresso Concentrate. It says it makes the perfect iced coffee, offering notes of chocolate and caramel, with no added sugar or sweeteners. It suggests a 50ml of concentrate per drink to 150ml of milk, or water, plus ice. lostsheepcoffee.com
GREAT TASTE
Gaia’s Helping Hand
Gaia Giving Devon-based community coffee shop and roastery pulled it out of the bag with this 3-star blend or three speciality-grade Arabica coffees: eight different beans, naturally processed or washed, from Brazil, Guatemala and Colombia. The judges deemed them surprisingly uniform given their multitude of origins and varietals, praising the coffee’s enticing aroma, bright acidity, red fruit flavours, malty notes and “magnificent length”. gaiagiving.com
We’ve seen a definite upward trend in our customers buying bags of beans this year.
Whether it’s the price of your flat white creeping up, or just working from home, people are clearly brewing more coffee at home but still want a big step up from the more mass produced or instant.
That’s where the independent craft coffee roasters come in, working closely with farmers and delivering ethically sourced delicious coffee to our sectors.
Shop favourites from this year have been Monmouth
Company’s Suke Quto from Ethiopia, Dark Arts Coffee’s Mask of the Mire from Nicaragua, and the really stand-out special Edinson Argote Gesha from Colombia via Wood
It’s really great to see customers embrace these small batch roasts, and long may it continue.
Habesh Moderné
Goods For You
Newcomer to Great Taste in 2025, Goods For You ascended straight up to 3-star glory with this espresso blend of two Ethiopian naturals, grown at high altitudes and lightly roasted, offering a fruit-forward, floral brew. Judges enjoyed it most with milk, where they said it came into its own. “The coffee is restrained in its approach, confident and elegant,” adding: “It is extremely well balanced.“ habesh.sk
Bon Bon espresso blend
Hundred
House Coffee Business and life partners
Anabelle de Gersigny and Matthew Wade moved from East London to Ludlow to open their roastery, bringing great coffee to the area and across the UK.
3-star Bon Bon is a medium roast espresso blend of honey and naturally processed beans, promising boiled sweets, soft macaroons, chocolate, over-ripe strawberries and full-bodied acidity. Great Taste judges likened the experience to “crumpets and jam,” calling it an outstanding coffee. hundredhousecoffee.com
Chosen by Nick Baines
House Espresso: Finca El Carmen Zennor Coffee
Of all the coffee I’ve drunk this year – and it’s been a frightening amount –Glasgow’s Zennor Coffee is the one that’s gained most of my interest.
Founded in 2021, this modern outfit has all the sleek, stylish design and packaging you’d expect, and comes in a bag made using rice paper –which looks great on the shelf.
But while some fancy looking coffees can sometimes leave you feeling underwhelmed, Zennor never fails to deliver big when it comes to flavour.
This espresso is a powerhouse Red Bourbon Arabica from El Salvador. A washed process coffee that gives super smooth, laid-back drinking with the sweet chocolatiness you were looking for, and just the right amount of heft. zennorcoffee.co.uk
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
No major surprises in this category – Teapigs is still firmly planted in the independent space, despite having wider retail presence these days.
Pukka, with its broad range of herbal teas, also has a very strong grounding in the multiples, but has managed to maintain its premium allure.
Taylors of Harrogate's Yorkshire Tea is an everyday black tea, sure, but it does have a reputation for being a quality product, and obviously still has its place in many independents.
Local-focused producers Cornish Tea and Dorset Tea received enough mentions to sit in the top three, but Welsh Brew Tea, Norfolk Tea Co and Essex Tea weren’t too far behind – which tells us there’s regionality to the English Breakfast of choice.
Aside from Pukka, there wasn’t a huge showing of herbal tea – Earl Grey is the second most mentioned style, followed by peppermint.
Matcha was there, but remains a niche product and not often a best-seller.
En The Matcha - Ginka Ikomiki
English Breakfast Chiswick Tea Co.
Touted as the producer’s best leaf blend for lattes, this ceremonial-grade matcha from Japan from Ikomiki – a Londonbased business launched last year to bring the aesthetic and flavours of Japanese culture to the UK –was given 2-star status in Great Taste 2025. The judges noted its intensely vibrant green colour, notes of cocoa nibs and sesame and a similarity to hojicha, with its toasty notes of roasted tea leaves. “Broth-like on the palate, this matcha has a strong umami release and a subtle sweetness that leads to a pleasant bitterness on the finish,” they said. “An excellent base to culinary applications such as ice cream and cakes, as it has the strength to stand up to milk as well as whetting the palate as a standalone matcha.” ikomiki.uk
Loose-leaf tea producer Chiswick Tea Co. tweaked its recipe for its English Breakfast Tea – keeping the old blend, but renaming it All Day Tea – on the basis of Great Taste feedback. This helped it achieve a 2-star award this year, for what it calls a fullbodied, robust and rich traditional blend of rich Assam and aromatic Ceylon teas. The judges found it visually striking, with a bright and tawny colour, glossy and clear. They noted it was rich and fresh on the nose, almost floral, with malty, citrus notes. The fruity, malted notes persisted on tasting, and a smooth, roundedness ensued when milk was added. chiswicktea.com
& DRINK AWARDS
Tetrim Teas
A not-for-profit company established in Kidwelly in 2021, Tetrim Teas is all about putting function into tea, as co-founder Mari Arthur had sold Chinese health and herbal teas in a previous role. She was put in touch with a local rhubarb grower by her local university, and used roots that would otherwise have been discarded as the basis for her first tea blend. Two Lion’s Mane Mushroom teas followed – one with chilli, ginger and cardamom, which was awarded 1-star in Great Taste 2024; the other with apple and cinnamon. The most recent one is a blend of Welsh botanicals herbal called Spring Hedgerow Tea. As well focusing on sustainability, using biodegradable bags and supporting local supply chains, the producer engages in several community projects, including local Welsh-language learning, tea growing initiatives and flavour development pop-ups. tetrimteas.cymru
1st
Mrs Darlington’s
2nd
Tiptree
3rd
The Bay Tree
Joint 4th
Rosebud Preserves / Cottage Delight
Mrs Darlington’s – with its classic Strawberry Jam and its everpopular Lemon Curd – was the clear winner this year, but the others listed are all fixtures of the Best Brands survey.
Tiptree’s Strawberry Jam and The Bay Tree’s Seville Orange Marmalade came up most often, whereas the mentions for Rosebud Preserves and Cottage Delight were more varied.
Irrespective of brand, marmalade was the most frequent response this year, and as always, own-label, homemade and small producers made up the bulk of responses.
Over the years, classic British fruits like raspberry, plum, blackberry and rhubarb have increasingly been joined by more exotic preserves like guava and passionfruit, with added spices, or tipple – and the uber trendy sweet pistachio spread.
Local honey was a best-seller for many independents, showing that the multiples still aren’t offering high-quality, artisan bee nectar in the way independents
GREAT TASTE
Gooseberry & Elderflower Jam
GingerBeard’s Preserves
This sweet and tart gooseberry jam promises a delicate floral finish from the addition of elderflower cordial. Cooked in small batches with whole gooseberries, it was awarded two stars in Great Taste. Judges said the sweetness was well balanced offering an excellent flavour and “a bright, clean finish”. gingerbeardspreserves.co.uk
Peanut Caramel GrubDaily Gourmet
Michelin-trained chef Tom Corley came up with this versatile, Great Taste 2-star spread while developing a recipe for peanut millionaire shortbread. Dark roasted peanuts and an equally deep-coloured caramel are combined with British condensed milk, resulting in a concoction which can be used in baking, spread on crumpets, or eaten straight out of the jar. peanutcaramel. uk
Hungry Squirrel
Aberdeen producer Susan Yule drew on the nut butter trend and ramped it up with the addition of flavours and textures like Hazelnut & Cacao, Maple, and even Cookie Dough. Here, roasted cashew nuts are blended to a smooth paste with a chai spice mix, seasoned with pink Himalayan salt and sweetened with date syrup. Great Taste judges awarded it 2-stars.
feedthesquirrel.co.uk
Sweet Chai Cashew Butter
R E TA I L
Chosen by Tanwen Dawn-Hiscox
Fresh Chilli Jam Peanut Butter
Yumello and Tracklements
Loyal FFD readers will know of my love for PB&J. The Empire Café in Leeds’ chocolate, raspberry & peanut butter hard shell taco, my mum’s peanut butter and banana sandwich, Trader Joe’s peanut butter wafer cigar and jelly snack pots, are all worthy attempts to scratch that itch. Imagine my delight
when Tracklements decided to join forces with Yumello – whose small batch peanut butter is excellent in its own right – blending its celebrated Fresh Chilli Jam into the mix. It has everything you might want from a PB&J: earthy, rich, deeply savoury peanuts and bright, tangy sweetness from the jam, with a light chilli tingle to take it to the next level. I implore you to join my rallying call for this limited edition item to become a permanent fixture. tracklements.co.uk yumello.com
DALEMAIN MARMALADE AWARDS
Amalfi Lemon Marmalade Single Variety Co.
Amalfi lemons are celebrated for a reason, and this marmalade is a showcase of the many sublime concoctions they can be the central element of. The producer is proud of how fragrant, and how balanced the sweet, sour and bitter notes are in this marmalade,
and judges at the world’s biggest marmalade competition agreed, with director Beatrice HasellMcCosh saying this wonderful preserve was very justifiably recognised as the top jar in the competition – winning the highest accolade of Double Gold. singlevariety.co.uk
ASH SINFIELD, co-owner, Teals Farm Shop, Somerset
Recently we’ve seen a real move from customers looking for local and small producers of jams and preserves where heritage and provenance is key. There is a growing trend for traditional and nostalgic flavours with a key focus on using seasonal British fruits. We have been working with Alan Jeffers from Old School House Preserves for a few years now, who makes small batch jams
and chutneys in rural Somerset. Each year Alan brings out limited edition seasonal jams – right now the Damson Jam is proving extremely popular with customers. We’ve also seen some emerging demand for traditional English jellies as an alternative to jams.
We have launched a seasonal blackberry jelly with Monty’s of Somerset which is resonating with customers and highlights the great British seasons and traditional practices of local jam makers. We expect this trend of traditional flavours and techniques to continue into the New Year as we enter marmalade and citrus season.
We are featuring some amazing single fruit marmalades in January, as well as traditional favourites such as St. Clements & Seville marmalades.
Raspberry jam Highfield Preserves Having been in the business for three decades, Devon’s Highfield Preserves knows a thing or two about how to make raspberry jam. Made to the Frasers’ family recipe, this is said to be rich and luscious, and bursting with natural sweetness. It’s made in small batches using traditional open-pan methods, and earned a Gold Medal, and was named Champion in Class in the Sweet Preserve & Honey category. highfieldpreserves.co.uk
Blueberry, Pinot Noir & Liquorice Jam
Rosalind’s Larder
Great Taste awards veteran Rosalind Waugh likely had steep competition in this category, as Yorkshire is home to many an excellent sweet preserve producer. Judges reportedly said this was a grown up preserve “that exudes quality and class”. No wonder it won the trophy for Best Sweet Spreads & Preserves. instagram.com/rosalinds.larder
Pure English Heather Honey
Smoked Salmon Hand Sliced Side
www.acvdrink.com
Made in Devon in small batches, our artisanal marmalades are 100% handmade from fresh fruit, simmered until the peel is soft before boiling to a set with sugar. In our opinion, this is the only way to make a good marmalade. The sharpness and clarity of the fruit shines through.
See Trustpilot for reviews
With over 25 varieties; some of which pair just as well with cheese, smoked fish & cold meats, as they do on toast, our marmalades have gone from strength to strength. This includes winning numerous Gold, Silver & Bronze awards over the years at the Dalemain World Marmalade Awards and a 2024 Double Gold.
info@thepropermarmaladecompany.co.uk
www.thepropermarmaladecompany.co.uk
Seville Marmalade
Lime & Fennel Marmalade Orange & Cardamom
Little Doone Sweet Balsamic Dressings
Appreciated by our customers, ... enjoyed by yours.
A big thanks to all our stockists for their support - it’s a pleasure to work with you! If you would like to join the Little Doone family of stockists, we would love to hear from you. info@LittleDoone.co.uk
Recipe card enclosed for you to keep and share www.LittleDoone.co.uk
Not all retailers sell ice cream. We had a fair share of ‘not applicable’ responses to this question, because freezers are valuable real estate and unless your summer trade is particularly significant you might forego frozen food entirely.
Then, among the retailers who do sell ice cream, most said they carry local producers.
But West Country-based Marshfield Farm, Westcombe’s Brickell’s, Booja-Booja and Jude’s are all familiar names, so unsurprisingly named by retailers across the UK.
A number of respondents located in the south west, meanwhile, sell Devon milk-based ice cream from Salcombe Dairy.
GREAT TASTE
Café de Olla Ice Cream iHelado!
As well as a 3-star award for its Mexican Cinnamon Ice Cream, this West Londonbased producer received maximum plaudits for this lightly spiced coffee ice cream. Made with milk infused with Oaxacan coffee and sweetened with an unrefined sugar from Latin America known as Piloncillo, it is then infused with orange peel and Ceylon cinnamon, a combination judges described as “truly inspired”. Also praising its luxurious, silky, texture, they concluded: “it is exquisite.” mexicanhelado.com
Somerset Goat Cheese
La Barceloneta Artisan Ice Cream
Made by combining West Country goats’ cheese with cows’ milk – to avoid making it too ‘goaty’, the producer says, this 2-star awardwinning ice cream is strikingly white and glossy. Judges described it as “a very clean and refreshing product, with a good balance of savouriness and sweetness”. “All in all, a very moreish ice cream which would make a great palate cleanser,” they added. labarcelonetaicecream.co.uk
Mince Pie Ice Cream
Mobberley Ice Cream
Not all mince pie ice creams are created equal. This two-star number has sixweek-aged mincemeat blended into an egg-free sweet cream, with pie crumble stirred through, too. Great Taste judges called this “a fun addition to the Christmas menu”, noting the salt in the pastry pieces, “which retained their structure brilliantly”. “This is Christmas in a bowl,” they added. mobberleyicecream.co.uk
AWARDS
Banana & Lime Ice Cream
Mama Dolce
This plant-based ice cream, made with a coconut base, banana purée and lime juice, is ideal for dietary restrictions and allergies, containing no dairy, soya, wheat, gluten or nuts. This, along with its Coconilla sister product, earned Gold medals at the Free From Awards this year, and it was awarded a star in Great Taste, too. mamadolce.co.uk
Stornoway Black Pudding
Stornoway Haggis
1st Wessex Mill
2nd Doves Farm
&
FREE FROM AWARDS
Ready to Roll Shortcrust Pastry
Gluten-Free Flour
In some ways, the flour & home-baking category is quite straightforward this year: Wessex Mill was far and away the frontrunner as a best-seller in independents – and as a fiercely independent brand, it’s clear why.
Meanwhile, Doves Farm is widely available in supermarkets these days, its quality organic offer make it a safe and reliable specialist option, too.
Two other names to have come up a handful of times were Stoates and Shipton Mill.
Typically a baker’s flour more than a home option, Stoates will only be a top seller where enough serious sourdough bakers shop, while Shipton Mill specialises in heritage grains and specialist flours – so it might well be sold by a lot of retailers, but is unlikely to ever top the Best Brands ranking.
Sue’s Free From Kitchen
Sold in 400g blocks, Sue’s Free From Kitchen’s savoury
Ready to Roll Shortcrust Pastry
was devised to make baking pies, quiches and tarts easy for gluten-free bakers as for those using standard flour. As well as receiving a gold medal at the Free From Awards, reviews for the pastry consistently describe it as being easy to roll and it coming out crisp from the oven. theglutenfreekitchen.co.uk
Mulino Caputo
Naples flour
miller Mulino
Caputo has developed this recipe for Gluten Free Flour which isolates wheat starch using a slow grinding process, and mixes it with maize starch, buckwheat flour, rice starch, psyllium seed fibre and guar gum. The brand says this mixture is perfectly balanced for easy hydration and excellent workability for pizza and bread doughs that retain lightness. caputoflour.com
GREAT TASTE
Organic Puff Pastry
Dorset Pastry
It’s all well and good cooking from scratch, but sometimes baking calls for a bit of assistance – which is where products like Dorset Pastry’s 3-star Organic Puff Pastry come in. It was described by Great Taste judges as “unimprovable”. They remarked on its biscuit aroma, “excellent lamination” and meltin-the-mouth texture. They said it had a flavour that is “clean, pure and full of rich buttery notes.”
“This is an amazing example of quality and great natural taste. Why make your own puff pastry when you can buy this?”
dorsetpastry.com
Joint 1st
San Pellegrino / Fentimans
2nd
Coca-Cola
3rd Belvoir Farm
Joint 4th
Dalston’s Soda Co / Cawston Press
When buying soft drinks, even in the independent space, we’re usually talking about a treat, so it isn’t a major surprise that customers aren’t necessarily after niche, artisan products. Nestléowned, clean(ish) label San Pellegrino does offer attractive flavours and has ‘holiday abroad‘ appeal, both of which likely play a role here. The fact that it shared the top spot with Fentimans is likely a sign of the times, as although the Northumberland producer is more artisanal, its drinks come with the associated price point, and customers are willing to compromise on their choice of soft drink in tougher times.
An important piece of information here is that the remaining drinks are almost level – even though Coca-Cola did pip cordial producer Belvoir, Dalston Soda Co. and Cawston Press, whose cross-channel appeal has persisted over the years, to the post.
It’s also worth noting that lemonade, elderflower and kombucha are the three most mentioned drinks across the board, with apple juice a few points behind – so no matter which brand you carry, it would be wise to stock at least one of each of these. We are holding our breath for a kombucha producer to emerge as a frontrunner, but it still remains in the ‘appealing to a particular customer base’ camp.
GREAT TASTE
Raspberry Shrub
Artisan Vinegar Company
Once used as mixers with spirits or in fruit puches, shrubs are coming back into vogue, partly because of the probiotic benefits we’re still learning about.
Artisan Vinegar Company’s Raspberry Shrub earned top scores in Great Taste, praised for its bright colour, refreshing nature and a balance of sweet and tart fruit flavours.
“Remarkably, this delivers the flavour of the fruit as it just picked off the bush. We can’t fault it,” they said. artisanvinegar.co.uk
Holos’ honourable work helping victims of human trafficking sadly isn't a factor Great Taste judges can account for. Thankfully, they loved this 2-star kombucha, a blend of four loose leaf teas flavoured with raspberry juice and elderflower extract. They remarked on its “lovely blush colour” and “elegant effervescence”, applauding the balance between the subtle tea flavours and the elderflower, bringing out the fruit notes.. holoskombucha.com
Believe me, not all kombuchas are created equal. The worst are flavourless with a sweetener aftertaste, while the best are funky-tangy with complex, bold flavours. New Covent Garden-based brewery MOMO Kombuchas fall into the latter camp, and I have particularly enjoyed its seasonal specials developed with Natoora. The Carmelo’s Blood Orange, made with Sicilian blood oranges, delivers provenance and seasonality through a sensory experience that is both light and complex, effervescent and brimming with bright, sweet citrus acidity. Look out for MOMO’s winter kombucha, made with Green Mandarin – picked eight weeks before fully ripe, to make it extra aromatic and brimming with citrussy zing. momo-kombucha.com
Chosen by Lynda Searby
Enjoy the rich taste and health benefits of sustainable honey! All of our honey is harvested directly from our bees, ensuring its purity and authenticity.
A small chocolatier business bringing the passion and luxury of Brazilian style chocolate truffles to the UK.
Missing Link bagged not one but two 3-star awards in Great Taste this year. The Sussex microbrewery’s New England Pale Ale – the modern take on the IPA, which is characteristically less bitter, hoppier, juicier and a bit hazy, because it is dry hopped – was praised by the judges for its “gorgeous tropical fruits on the nose with a huge, juicy hit of fruit on the palate”. missinglinkbrewing.com
Razma – Barrel Aged Keptinis Beer
Our Brewery @ Get’er Brewed Free rein to experiment with their own technical equipment led Northern Irish home brewing kit provider Get’er Brewed to produce some unique beers, this one being no exception. This Lithuanian farmhouse aleinspired brew has a mash of heritage barley, torrefied oats and malted rye, with Styrian Goldings hops and Kviek farmhouse yeast. It is barrel-aged in rum casks for 18 months. “Fascinating”, “complex and multidimensional”, said the judges, awarding it a 3-star. ourbrewerygeb.com
La Bouche
Seidr Ci Ddu
Pembrokeshire producer Seidr Ci Ddu has only ever entered one product into Great Taste: this 3-star, Chisey Jersey Apple keeved cider. Named after the French cidre style, bouché, this cider is naturally sweet, lightly sparkling and has a low ABV as a result of the keeving process, which interrupts the fermentation process and preserves some of the sugar from being turned into ciddu.co.uk
&Some might take offence at the grouping together of beer and cider into a single category for the purposes of our Best Brands survey.
Especially in the artisan space, producers very much have their own communities.
Perhaps it is a simplistic, slightly old fashioned logic, but from a
consumer’s perspective, these are low ABV, easy-drinking beverages to enjoy at a barbecue or in front of the football.
Yet it is still hard to establish a ranking across beer and cider, because retailers often offer and shoppers will likely choose local beverages.
Jeremy Clarkson’s Hawkstone Brewery defies this logic, and can be found on the shelves of many a rural retailer across the UK. Asahi-
owned lager brand Peroni isn’t far behind.
Popular ciders are decidedly more “craft”: Turners, Sandford Orchard, and Tom Oliver’s widely respected brand received the most namechecks, which is great to see.
Samuel Smith of North Yorkshire, perhaps because it is one of the only traditional breweries around, was a popular choice, too.
&WORLD CIDER AWARDS
WORLD’S BEST SPARKLING CIDER
Hard Otcho Cider
At the strong end of the cider spectrum, clocking in at 8% ABV, this French, 100% apple juice cider is an attempt by a trio of friends from the French gastronomic city of Lyon at breaking the mould of traditional cider. World Cider Award judges described this as having a nose showing rich, “cooked-
WORLD BEER AWARDS
WORLD’S BEST LAGER
Hop Lager
Opa Bier
Hailing from Brazil, this Hoppy Pilsener was described by World Beer Award judges as “very slightly cloudy golden yellow beer with a good, stable head, a medium-low body with relatively low carbonation and smooth texture, with a pronounced hop character yielding soft notes of tropical fruit over honeyed malt, with present but notably low bitterness on the finish.” opabier.com.br
WORLD’S BEST IPA
Wolf Gang
Zum WØL BrauArt
With a perfectly respectable ABV of 6.6%, this IPA from Saarbrücken – the capital of Germany’s southwestern state, Saarland –blends Sabro, Simcoe, Styrian Wolf, and Zappa hops, which the producer says results in a tropical, spicy blend with a wild undertone. Meanwhile, the roasted malt brings coffee, slightly smoky aromas. Judges noted dried fruit on the nose and red berries on tasting, as well as a strong roasted malt bitterness characteristic of this style of beer. woel.art
WORLD’S BEST PORTER
Simcoe Porter
Brouwerij Noordt
What started as an experiment for this Dutch brewery was this year named Best Porter in the World, as well as taking the title of Best Beer in the Netherlands. Judges described this dark brown beer with a reddish hue and a well formed head, as having an aroma dominated by roasted malt, “with raisins and prunes and a touch of malt loaf. Flavour is balanced with some malt sweetness, dried fruit and coffee, with a smooth mouthfeel leading to a bitter finish.” brouwerijnoordt.nl
WORLD’S BEST SPECIALITY CIDER
Ice Cider
Biddenden Cider
R E TA I L
It’s back to Britain –and more precisely, Kent – for the World’s Best Speciality Cider of 2025, where Biddenden’s Ice Cider was crowned the victor. Rather than the traditional process of picking frozen apples on trees, often practiced in Québec, here, Russet and Bramley apples are pressed, cold settled and the juice frozen. When it defrosts, the natural sugars separate from water, and these concentrated juices are what is fermented into cider – which has high acidity, intense flavour, a tannic bite and a sherbet-like sweetness. biddendenvineyards.com
SAM KEMMER, owner, Against the Grain, Edinburgh
German beer continues to be the focus for a lot of our dayto-day sales, with customers bulk-buying their favourite lagers and always willing to try something new from the lesserknown German producers. Oktoberfest was a huge success again this year, and festive specials have sold well. Closer to home, traditional British styles are being embraced by brewers and customers alike, with new bitters, brown ales and milds - plus Scottish styles like 70 or 80 shilling - sure to generate a lot of interest. Brown beers are back!
Of course IPA will never go entirely out of fashion, but increasing production costs are leading to some eye-watering prices for the hoppy stuff. When I’m looking for ‘joose’, the superbly consistent Beak from Lewes or Manchester’s Track always deliver the goods at a fair
I can’t finish without a shout to some of my favourite Scottish producers. Dundee’s Holy Goat keep banging out mixed fermentation beers with bold flavours but plenty of nuance. Closet Brewing go from strength to strength and have made great use of their new brewing space to up production without sacrificing quality. Finally, Otherworld from Dalkeith keep pleasing their army of fans with great beers across a range of styles - and with their ‘historic pale’ Lamprey, came up with one of my beers of the year. instagram.com/atgbeered
Pistachio Gelato www.krumgelatochester.co.uk
A unique gelato produced in the North West of England using local dairy and only the most delicious Italian ingredients
with cashews, pistachios, pumpkin seeds & orange zest
A vibrant, unique granola handcrafted in small batches in Scotland by @theculinarykiwibird. www.theculinarykiwibird.co.uk
In the same way that grouping beer & cider into one category of our survey, the amalgamation of wine & spirits is a tricky one.
But the fact of the matter is that many retailers don’t sell either – a sixth of respondents answered ‘N/A’ to this question – and others usually only have a handful of bottles on their shelves. This makes the fact that more than 40% of answers named one gin or another all the more striking. Who said the gin boom was over?
As far as brands were concerned, there were multiple mentions for Whitby Gin; North Wales’ Penderyn; ready-to-drink specialist Whitebox Cocktails, and the ubiquitous British staple, Gordon’s.
GREAT TASTE
Alphonso Mango Vodka
Desi Daru
Alphonso mangoes from Ratnigiri in India are distilled with English winter wheat to produce this 3-star, fruit-laden vodka.
Entirely clear in the glass, judges praised its rich, tropical aroma, which they said follows through on the palate “without a hint of artificiality.” It is aromatic, floral, ripe but not overly sweet, they added, and the alcohol is pitched “exactly where it needs to be.” desidaru.com
TASTE OF THE WEST AWARDS &
Landfall Navy Strength Stornoway Distillers Co
Olive Oil Vodka
58 and CO
Dirty martini drinkers, rejoice: 58 and Co has created a vodka perfectly suited to your purposes. Macerating single estate EVOO from Seville in tripledistilled, British wheat vodka, it then cold vacuum distilled the lot. The experiment paid off in the form of a 3-star Great Taste rating, with judges noting that the olive oil’s character – fresh, bright, grassy, and rich –comes through on both the nose and the palate. 58andco.com
Navy Strength gin is having a bit of a moment –perhaps because of its romantic connotations to sailors of old, or because the strength translates to a more intense, botanical concoction. This example is certainly a far cry from mass-market gin, if its assessment by Great Taste judges – who unanimously deemed it worthy of 3-stars – is anything to go by. It is distilled in small batches with wild botanicals foraged on the Isle of Lewis – a very Scottish blend of bog myrtle, heather, meadowsweet, lemon balm and bladderwrack. stornowaydistillers.com
Bison Grass Gin
Tack Room Distillery
You may be familiar with Bison Grass Vodka, but Tack Room Distillery has instead infused and distilled gin with the grass otherwise known as Hierochloe odorata, promising a smooth, delicate liquid with soft aromas of freshly cut grass, jasmine and citrus peel. As well as being named Champion in Class in the Taste of the West product awards, it was given a Great Taste 1-star, 90 points out of 100 by the IWSC, and several other award scheme medals.
The WineGB Awards 2025 Supreme Champion has, unsurprisingly, sold out the first edition of this wine. The second lot will be released in June 2026, and has also been given the solera treatment – blending low-intervention Chardonnay from multiple harvests. Tasting notes from the inaugural release described it as deep and nuanced, with honeyed apricots, fromage frais and clementines on the nose, evolving into dried mushrooms, fennel pollen and honeysuckle. Bright lemon acidity, caramel, ginger, umami and salt follow on the palate, with toasted walnut and sweet myrrh on the finish. langhamwine.co.uk
Martin’s Lane Chardonnay Lyme Bay Devon, 2020
This single vineyard vintage is a classic example of cold climate Chardonnay. Made with Burgundian clones, fermented in cool temperatures using Burgundian yeast strains to enhance fruit and complexity. It underwent full malolactic conversion to make it round and smooth, was aged on lees with frequent bâtonnage for extra weight, promising a complex, textural ode to Bourgogne.
“Full and harmonious, well balanced, fresh but not tart”, said the judges, who named it Best Chardonnay, Best White, Best Regional West, and Best Still. lymebaywinery.co.uk
R E TA I L
BELINDA HARRISON, owner, Harrison’s Wines, Ealing, London
Wine sales have evolved significantly over the past few years, with a notable shift back towards French wines, particularly mid-range Bordeaux and Rhône varieties. Interest in South American wines appears to have declined, while higherend Italian and Spanish wines are garnering increased attention. Sales of White Rioja, Pecorino, Gavi, Red Rioja, Montepulciano, and Primitivo remain steady, and English wine is gaining popularity among consumers seeking options with slightly lower ABV.
Burgundy has experienced
DECANTER WORLD WINE AWARDS
The Trouble With Dreams Sugrue South Downs, Sussex, England
2009
Named after an early attempt at planting grapes that was scuppered by birds, Dermot Sugrue eventually succeeded. The 97-point-scoring magnums, which beat Champagne in this category for the first time in Decanter’s awards history, are already sold out. The multi-vintage The Trouble With Dreams (60% Chardonnay, 40% Pinot Noir, with 60% made up of reserve wines from five vintages) is said to perpetuate Sugrue’s cult-like following. sugruesouthdowns.com
Cabernet Franc, Clos du Val, Stags Leap District, California 2022
One of two Cabernet Franc’s in the top 50 Best in Show this year, this example from Napa Valley is described as “a showstopper”, “opaque black in colour, with a carnival of scene in which spice, flowers and damson mingle with carefully schooled abandon”. Judges praised its depth, width and lightness of touch, smooth tannins and balanced acidity. closduval.com
The Sauvignon appellation from the eastern Loire has the characteristics of the grape – citrus, green apples – as well as the silex soils the area is known for, which impart a flinty, smoky minerality. This is the first of its appellation to feature in the Best in Show selection, described as “subtle, understated and compelling.” Praising its gentle fruit notes of dessert apple and quince, judges added that its “distinctive sap and green wealth” builds in the mouth, lending “dignity and completeness.“ landrat-guyollot.com
substantial price increases, especially regarding white wines; however, this trend has not discouraged dedicated enthusiasts, who continue to purchase premium bottles such as Meursault or Hospices de Beaune. The principle of "drink less, drink better" appears to be resonating, as reflected by increased sales of half bottles.
In contrast, spirits sales have declined markedly in my establishment. Gin has fallen completely out of favour and even rum is experiencing reduced demand. Nevertheless, our premium Cognacs and Armagnacs continue to attract a loyal clientele.
There has also been a distinct rise in demand for high-quality alcohol-free alternatives, evidenced by consistent repeat sales of products such as Wednesdays Domaine alcohol-free wines, REAL sparkling teas, and Botivo.
Côtes de Provence
Château Cavalier, Cuvée Marafiance, Provence, 2024
A blend of Grenache, Syrah, Cinsault, Rolle, Sémillon and Cabernet Sauvignon is said to make an excellent food companion. Its profile is described as complex citrus – bergamot and yuzu – raspberries, with a florality and even a spicy edge. Despite lower alcohol and higher acidity than the other contender for the spot in the top 50, the addition of Vermentino (Rolle) and Sémillion to the typical blend are said to counteract the tartness, making it smooth and elegant. chateau-cavalier.com
1st Cress Co
2nd Cotswold Fayre
3rd
The
Fine Cheese Co. 4th
Holleys Fine Foods
It’s the same clear top 4 as last year, except there has been a bit of jostling for position amongst the wholesalers that serve the independent retail market.
The one thing that hasn’t changed is the winner. Cress Co’s wide-ranging catalogue (covering both ambient and chilled categories) and broad UK coverage proved to be the winning combination again this year, with respondents from all over the country nominating them. It has held this top spot in the Best Brands Survey since 2017.
While it has evolved its offer considerably in the last decade (even adding frozen lines in the last couple of years to its catalogue alongside ambient and fresh goods), Cotswold Fayre is another stalwart of the industry – so much so that it has continued its run of appearing in every Best Brands Survey, which started in 2011.
Headquartered just outside of Bristol, Holleys is another long-serving distributor in the sector, and it has done the business for a number of respondents this year as always.
A number of more specialised companies may not have made the rankings but deserve a mention for multiple votes.
Wholefoods specialist Suma’s increased presence in the data may well reflect the increasing popularity of plant-based items and health-based buying decisions.
While Seggiano usually places in specific food category rankings (see pages 30 and 35), its range and service levels have attracted the praise of some retailers too.
The other wholesalers that stood out in the results were those known primarily for cheese and deli items. Carron Lodge and Harvey & Brockless both picked up multiple mentions in the results, while The Fine Cheese Co. picked up enough votes to make the rankings once again.
BEHOLD THE LEGEND
For generations, the Darlington family has guarded a recipe so treasured it might as well have been etched onto ancient parchment and locked in a stone temple. A recipe whispered from mother to daughter, perfected over time, and revered by those lucky enough to taste it. The result? A lemon curd so luxuriously smooth and gloriously zesty that it has earned a reputation bordering on the divine.
Some say it’s the closest thing the breakfast world has to the Holy Grail. Others simply call it their jar of pure joy. Whatever you believe, one thing is certain: legends aren’t made overnight - but they are made with love. Join the Followers of the
Discover the true taste of Italy with our handcrafted, authentic pastries—made with passion, tradition, and the finest ingredients.
Made from the best, authentic ingredients since 1875.
