Best of the West – Early launch for Taste of the West Awards 2012

Jan. 20, 2012 - PRLog -- The food and drink product awards for this year’s Taste of the West Awards have been launched this week at the Giving & Living Trade Show in Exeter, shifting the whole awards programme forward by three months to give producers an opportunity to maximise their awards over the key summer season.

Producers across the South West region are now being encouraged to enter their products, with the coveted award winners’ logo being a recognised sign of quality and provenance across the country, helping to boost both awareness and sales for the winners.

John Sheaves, Chief Executive of Taste of the West, said, “We are delighted to launch the 2012 food and drink product awards at the Giving and Living Show 2012. Throughout the spring we will be actively encouraging all producers to enter their products into the programme, and we have brought forward the judging week to June as part of a planned initiative so that producers will get their awards results in time for the summer fairs and food festivals.”

The awards are open to Taste of the West members and non-members, with members being entitled to enter a number of products free of charge. Judging will take place in June and the bronze, silver and gold winners will be announced soon afterwards. The 2012 awards ceremony will then take place in the early autumn, where the Best of Category winners will be announced.

The Dartmoor Farmers Association scooped a number of awards at the Taste of the West Awards 2011, including the two top awards – the Carol Trewin South West Producer of the Year award and the Champion Product award. Chairman Phil Coaker said, “Winning both the Taste of the West ‘Carol Trewin Producer of the Year’ award and the ‘Champion Product Award’ has brought the Dartmoor Farmers Association not only recognition for the high quality ‘Real Beef and Lamb’ produced on our hills, but also a string of new business enquiries from retailers wanting to know more about our produce. The awards are the essential marketing tool that gives us a true quality endorsement of our efforts, and this in turn raises awareness of our unique product. The awards have also helped our existing retail partners to gain even more of the market share of red meat, bringing us the benefit of increased sales, plus we have seen an uplift in sales through our meat box internet sales at www.dartmoorfarmers.co.uk.

“There is now a real buzz amongst our farmer producers, who see the fruits of their hard work finally being rewarded. We have experienced firsthand just how much profile can be gained from entering the Taste of the West Awards and we would recommend other quality West Country food producers to do the same.  For us, the taste of success is almost as good as the taste of our Real Beef and Lamb!"

Established in 1991, the Taste of the West Awards showcase the cream of food and drink produced in the region, as well as those retailers and chefs dedicated to providing regional produce and excellence in hospitality for their customers. Further information can be found on the Taste of the West website, www.tasteofthewest.co.uk.