More than 900 guests turned out to celebrate the achievements of the wholesale channel at FWD’s Gold Medal awards on Thursday 28 November at Old Billingsgate in London.
This year 25 awards were given to 19 supplier and wholesale businesses and six individual stars that have demonstrated outstanding performance over the last year.
The judging has never been so difficult, with more entries than ever before. FWD is thrilled that the Gold Medal awards continue to be the most sought after in the sector, bringing the wholesale channel together to celebrate.
A raft of FWD members including Asahi, Budweiser, Greene King, Concha Y Toro, Flora, Suntory, Millennium and Halewood Artisanal Spirits provided pop-up bars at the venue.
The big winners of the night were Parfetts, taking home the Best Retail wholesaler award for the second year in a row and Hendersons claiming the Best Foodservice Wholesaler award.
Individual recognition was given to Isabelle Stedman, Budweiser Brewing Group and Joe Oliver, Creed Foodservice as the emerging stars of the sector, a hotly contested award.
Meanwhile Britvic and Bidfood were crowned the sustainable supplier and wholesaler of the year.
Comedian and TV personality Tom Allen hosted the awards while Lady Gaga and Taylor Swift tribute acts wowed the audience with a surprise performance.
Dawood Pervez, MD Bestway Wholesale and FWD Chairman said: “The Gold Medal awards are all about honouring our industry. It’s where we celebrate the remarkable talent, dedication and success from wholesalers and our partners in supply. I’m told that our judges had their hands full with so many high-calibre nominations and I’m proud to see just how high the bar has been raised.”
The raffle raised over £12,000 for FareShare, with 13 high-value prizes donated by FWD supplier members.
