GoodFood SME Awards logo

Find out more about the Good Food SME Awards here.

1. The Good Food SME Awards (the “Awards”) are organised by Immediate Media Company London Limited (Company Number 06189487) of Vineyard House, 44 Brook Green, London W6 7BT (“Immediate”).

Who can enter

2. Entry to the Awards is open to the following:

  • Brands who produce and sell consumable food and health products to retail in the UK, who are registered as a company in the UK, and as a food business in the UK (“Brand(s)”); and
  • Advertising agencies (“Agency(cies)”), who must be a registered company in the UK, and who may enter on behalf of an advertising client who fit the requirements above of a Brand (“Client(s)”)

The Brand or Client must be an SME, as defined by the Advertising (Less Healthy Food Definitions and Exemptions) Regulations 2024. Entries received from businesses in the restaurant/hospitality sector will not be considered.

The person submitting the entry on behalf of the Brand or Agency:

  • Must be aged 18 years or older;
  • In the case of a Brand, must have the necessary authority on behalf of their employer to purchase media space on behalf of the Brand; and
  • In the case of an Agency, must be employed by that Agency and have the necessary authority of the Client to enter on the Client’s behalf.

The Awards are not open to Immediate’s employees or contractors, or anyone connected with the Awards or their direct family members. Immediate reserves the right to verify the eligibility of any participant or claimant of the prize.

3. Brands and Clients will also need to fulfil the eligibility requirements for each award category, which are found on the Awards microsite: https://sme-awards-gfo-microsite-test.netlify.app/awards-criteria#section2.

How to Enter

4. The opening date for entries is 00:00 on 21 January 2026 and the closing date for entries is 23:59 on 15 March 2026.

5. The fee payable for participation in the Awards (the “Entry Fee”) shall be:

  1. For entries made from 00:00 on 21 January 2026 to 23:59 on 27 February 2026, the Entry Fee is £149 plus VAT per category.
  2. For entries made from 00:00 on 28 February 2026 to 23:59 on 15 March 2026, the Entry Fee is £249 plus VAT per category.
  3. If a Brand or Agency enters in three categories, any subsequent entries in the same transaction made by that Brand or Agency shall be subject to a 30% discount.

6. Payment must be made online via the Awardsforce platform using one of the following payment methods: Maestro, MasterCard, Visa, Delta, Connect, Visa Debit or Visa Electron only. Entries will not be considered for judging until full payment of the Entry Fee has been made.

7. By entering the Awards, entrants agree:

  1. to be bound by these terms and conditions; and
  2. that should they win an award, or be shortlisted for a category, the Brand, Agency or Client name, and the logo and any supporting images uploaded as part of the entry will be used by Immediate for the purpose of announcing the shortlist or winners, and for promotional purposes, which may include social media posts, promotion in trade publications and one or more case studies.

8. Entrants will enter on behalf of the Agency or Brand they represent via the entry form by:

  1. entering their personal details;
  2. entering the name of the Brand or Agency (and relevant Client);
  3. completing the entry box with their supporting statement, in no more than 500 words (the “Written Submission”); and
  4. uploading the relevant brand logo and product imagery (“Brand Images”); and
  5. paying the relevant Entry Fee.

9. Entrants may also choose to upload:

  1. a video to support the entry (an “Entry Video”); and
  2. supporting materials such as images or documents, which are publicly available and do not contain any confidential information, in a zip file of a maximum size of 10MB (the “Supporting Documents”).

10. Entries received after the closing date of the Awards will not be considered. Entries which do not include all of the information required in clause 8 will be deemed as invalid. Entries which, in Immediate’s opinion, may be deemed offensive, discriminatory, inappropriate, defamatory or which are unlawful will not be accepted and will be disqualified.

11. Entries which do not meet the eligibility criteria at Immediate’s sole discretion, including but not limited to companies in the restaurant and hospitality sectors, will not be considered for the Awards. Entry Fee(s) will only be refunded at the sole discretion of Immediate.

12. Immediate will use entrants’ personal details in accordance with the Immediate Privacy Policy (https://policies.immediate.co.uk/privacy/).

Judging

13. Entries will be judged per category on the criteria found on the Awards microsite: https://sme-awards-gfo-microsite-test.netlify.app/awards-criteria#section2

14. Only one entry will be permitted per Brand per category or, in the case of entries by an Agency, only one entry per Client per category will be permitted. Bulk entries made by third parties will not be permitted. It will be the responsibility of Agencies to verify that a Client has not made a separate entry in the same category. Participants who seek to enter more than once in a category may be disqualified.

15. The decision of the judges as to the shortlist and all category winners is final, and no correspondence relating to the decisions will be entered into.

The Awards

16. All eligible entries will be reviewed by the judging panel, and a shortlist of entries for each awards category will be announced via Good Food social media channels in May 2026.

17. The winner of each category (one per category), plus the recipient of the Highly Commended accolade in each category (one per category), except the category ‘Overall Winner’, will be announced in the edition of Good Food Magazine on sale from 21 May 2026.

18. The winner of the ‘Overall Winner’ category will be announced at the Good Food Summer Show, taking place on 18 – 21 June 2026.

19. Any entry which has been either shortlisted, or wins an award, will be also notified by the contact details in their entry submission. Immediate shall not cover any expenses for the winner of the ‘Overall Winner’ category to attend the live announcement.

Prizes

20. The prizes will be awarded as follows.

Overall Winner

The winner of the ‘Overall Winner’ award will receive the following:

  • An exhibition stand at the Good Food Show Winter, taking place on 26-29 November 2026 at the NEC in Birmingham, worth approximately £15,000. The stand will either be up to 12m² (including carpet, fascia and name board), or a 36m² space only site. Location of the exhibition stand will be based on availability and product. The exhibition stand must reflect the winner’s standard product offering, and the content is subject to approval of Immediate Live (the trading name of Upper Street Events Limited/River Street Events Limited). This prize is subject to the recipient entering into Immediate Live’s standard terms and conditions for exhibitors, and any venue-applicable health and safety agreements.
  • A media campaign across the Good Food brand up to the value of £25,000. This campaign may include assets across print, digital or podcast and must be redeemed by the winner by 31 December 2026. The winner must supply their own assets and all advertising activity is subject to Immediate’s editorial discretion, and entry into Immediate’s standard advertising terms and conditions. This prize will not be redeemable against any other brand, initiative, product or service that is not representative of the winning entry.

Category Winners

The winners of an award in the other categories will receive the following prizes:

  • Inclusion in 2 (two) advertorials announcing the winners, alongside all the category winners. One advertorial will appear in Good Food Magazine, and one will appear digitally on bbcgoodfood.com; and
  • The opportunity to licence a “Good Food SME Awards 2026” accreditation badge (at an additional fee), for use across package and marketing materials. Such accreditation badge will be subject to entering into a licence agreement with Immediate and making payment for the badge.
  • A 10% (ten percent) discount if they book a digital advertising campaign with Immediate, for placement across the Good Food brand, before 31 December 2026.

Highly Commended

The winners of the “Highly Commended” accolade in every category, will receive a 10% (ten percent) discount if they book a digital advertising campaign with Immediate, for placement across the Good Food brand, before 31 December 2026.

Shortlist

Any “shortlisted” entry in every category, will receive a 5% (five percent) discount if they book a digital advertising campaign with Immediate, for placement across the Good Food brand, before 31 December 2026.

21. Redemption of a discount on a digital advertising campaign with Immediate is at all times subject to Immediate editorial discretion, and subject to

  1. completion and satisfaction of Immediate’s client credit checks;
  2. agreement to any of Immediate’s applicable advertising terms and conditions; and
  3. all assets must be compliant with The UK Code of Non-broadcast Advertising and Direct & Promotional Marketing, and all relevant legislation, codes and guidance.

Intellectual Property

22. All Written Submissions must not infringe the rights of any third parties, including copyright, trade marks, trade secrets, privacy, personal or proprietary rights. By submitting your entry, you confirm that you own the copyright in your Written Submission.

23. All Brand Images supplied in your entry must not infringe the rights of any third parties, including copyright, trade marks, trade secrets, privacy, personal or proprietary rights, and by submitting your Brand Images, you confirm that you are the copyright or trade mark owner, or have obtained all the necessary permissions and licences from the copyright owner or trade mark ownerr to grant the licence in clause 24.

24. You hereby grant Immediate a perpetual, royalty-free, non-exclusive licence to use your Written Submission and Brand Images throughout the world and in all media, including its publications, websites and social media channels in connection with the Awards, and for the promotion or publicity of future iterations of the Awards.

25. You confirm that your Supporting Documents do not contain any confidential information and are publicly available.

26. By submitting your Video, you warrant that all persons featured in your entry have given you their express consent for their image to be used and, in the case of vulnerable adults or persons under 18 years of age, you warrant that you have obtained express consent from their parent(s) or legal guardian(s).

27. Immediate retains ownership of all intellectual property rights in the Good Food brand and trade marks, including any accreditation logos incorporating the Good Food brand (“Immediate IPR”), and nothing in these terms and conditions shall be construed as granting you any licence to use the Immediate IPR.

General

28. The name of the winning brands will be available upon request by sending a self-addressed envelope to Good Food SME Awards 2026, Immediate Media, 44 Brook Green, London, W6 7BT within two months of the closing date of the Awards. Immediate will contact the brand before releasing this information and provide the winner the opportunity to object or limit the amount of information shared.

29. There is no cash alternative and the prizes will not be transferable. The prizes must be taken as stated and cannot be deferred.

30. Immediate reserves the right to amend these terms and conditions or to cancel, alter or amend the Awards at any stage, if deemed necessary in its opinion, or if circumstances arise outside of its control.

31. Immediate reserves the right to refuse any entry, claim or award of prizes and/or refuse further participation in the Awards and disqualify a participant where it believes there has been a breach of these terms and conditions, the spirit of the Awards, any instructions forming part of this promotion's entry requirements or otherwise where a participant has gained unfair advantage in participating or claimed using fraudulent means.

32. Immediate does not accept any responsibility for lost, delayed or fraudulent entries.

33. Immediate excludes liability to the full extent permitted by law for any loss, damage or injury occurring to the entrant, Brand, Agency or Client arising from their entry into the Awards or occurring to any shortlisted entry, or category winner arising from their acceptance of a prize.

34. If there is a conflict between these terms and conditions and any other terms whatsoever attached to any advertising material in respect of the Awards, these terms and conditions will take precedence.

35. These terms and conditions are subject to the laws of England and by entering the Awards the participants submit to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of England.