Now in its fifth year, the Farm Shop & Deli Product Awards return in 2026 to continue to celebrate and shine a light on specialist products and producers. 

Our 2026 judging panel will bring together leading voices from across the industry, including retailers, wholesalers, and specialist retail experts, to carefully assess entries in every category. Meet the full panel of expert judges on our Judges page. 

Please read the following information to understand more about how your products will be judged, when and where they will be judged, and where to deliver them for judging.

Judging criteria

We believe that, whilst taste, smell and appearance are key, there are many other criteria that should also be considered.

As a result, we have enhanced our judging process to include the following questions, with points scored for each question:

- What is your recommended retail price? 

(if the retailers determine the sale price of your product; please enter the cost that, if you were to sell the item yourself, how much you would charge for it.)

- What is the margin for retailers (percentage)?

- Is the packaging recyclable? (not required for deli counter / over the counter items)

In addition to these questions, products will be scored on:

- Visual appearance of packaging and branding

- Visual appearance of product

- Product aroma

- Product texture 

- Product taste (where applicable) 

Judging sessions

Due to the increase in product categories, judging will take place across a range of different dates and locations with all products having been judged prior to the Farm Shop & Deli Show in April 2026.

Winners will be announced in the lead up to the Farm Shop & Deli Show, enabling us to give winners maximum opportunity to promote their achievements at the show.

Each product will be judged by several pre-selected judges made up of a mixture of wholesalers, retailers, industry specialists, branding consultants and specialist food experts.  Judges with specific specialities will be matched to judge products within their particular expertise. 

Product sample delivery

The window to submit your product samples for judging will be announced soon.