Ten Days To Go Until The Fresh Awards 2026 Celebrates An Industry That Never Stands Still
The countdown is well and truly under way. In just ten days, the fresh produce and floriculture sectors will come together in London for the Fresh Awards 2026 – a night dedicated to recognising the people and businesses that have continued to deliver through another extraordinarily demanding year.
Taking place on Friday 25 September at the JW Marriott Grosvenor House on Park Lane, the Fresh Awards will celebrate outstanding achievement, innovation and determination across every part of the supply chain.
And there has rarely been a more fitting moment to shine a spotlight on the industry’s resilience.
Over the past year, businesses have faced an unrelenting combination of extreme weather, rising labour and production costs, water shortages, shifting consumer demand, regulatory pressures and disruption across international supply chains.
For British growers, prolonged dry conditions and repeated periods of extreme heat have made water security an increasingly urgent concern, affecting crop establishment, yields and harvesting programmes. Recent official horticultural statistics highlighted the effects of drought, high temperatures and irrigation restrictions on vegetable and soft-fruit production.
The same figures showed that the value of UK ornamental production fell by 2% in 2025, with flowers and bulbs recording a 7.5% decline. Labour, energy, transport, growing media and other input costs have continued to squeeze margins, while unpredictable weather and pressure on household spending have complicated demand for plants and flowers.
Importers, exporters, wholesalers, logistics operators, foodservice suppliers and retailers have faced challenges of their own. Geopolitical instability, border bureaucracy, changing plant-health requirements and volatile transport and energy costs have placed further strain on supply chains already operating to exceptionally tight timescales.
Yet throughout it all, this industry has kept going.
Fresh produce has continued to reach supermarket shelves, restaurants, schools and homes every day. Flowers and plants have continued to brighten lives and mark life’s most important moments. Businesses have invested, adapted and innovated, while teams across the supply chain have quietly solved problems before most consumers even knew those problems existed.
That is precisely why the Fresh Awards matters.
The event is more than a presentation of trophies. It is an opportunity to recognise the exceptional people behind the products, applaud businesses raising standards and celebrate an industry whose skill, agility and sheer determination are too often taken for granted.
From rising talent and inspiring workplaces to sustainability, innovation, retail, supply, service and lifetime achievement, the awards will honour excellence across fresh produce, flowers and plants.
With only ten days remaining, excitement is building for an unforgettable evening of celebration, entertainment and industry recognition at one of London’s most prestigious venues.
There is still time to be part of it.
Don’t miss the opportunity to join colleagues, customers and friends at the “Oscars of the Industry” and celebrate the resilience, achievements and remarkable spirit of the fresh produce and floriculture community.
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