Outstanding Food Producer Awards Entry 2026

Outstanding Food Producer Awards entry is $135 + gst per product. Entry is open until 5pm, Friday 20 February 2026 - late entries are not accepted. The email confirmation you receive upon entry payment is also a GST tax receipt, which includes our GST number.

NOTES

  • If an entrant cannot send entries for judging, advise by Friday 27 February 2026. Until this date, 50% of the entry fee will be refunded, after this date no refund is possible.

  • Ensure you read the 2026 entry terms and conditions here.

  • For the Sustainability questions, check out the Sustainability Guidelines and Case Studies; download this guide.

  • Complete one entry per product flavour.

  • Producers may enter multiple flavours/variants of the same product but each flavour or variant requires a separate entry.

  • The main categories are; Earth, Paddock, Dairy, Seafood, Drink, Chocolate Bean-to-Bar, Chocolate Bonbons, Dairy-Free and Free-From. You need to indicate on the entry form which category you want to enter your product in.

  • Products can only be entered into ONE category.

  • To quality for entry into the Free-From Category your product must be produced primarily to meet a specific dietary requirement e.g. Gluten-Free, Meat Free, Sugar Free or lower-calorie product. Aside from meat substitutes, other products must take a traditional recipe and revisit its ingredients to meet a dietary requirement. For example, a friand traditionally made using almond meal is not considered Gluten-Free as this is the usual way it’s made. Free-From entries can be from recipes updated to be free from gluten, low in carbs or sugar. Meat-free products are also included in this category.

  • All businesses awarded gold medals are eligible for Category Champion Awards.

  • All businesses are eligible for the Special Awards - including the dish Hero Ingredient Award and BYD New Zealand Sustainability Award. There is no requirement to complete details on the entry form as entrants are automatically considered for these categories. New products launched after 1 January 2025 are eligible for Outstanding FMCG Business New Product Champion or New Zealand Food Innovation Network New Boutique Product Champion.

  • All producers are eligible to take part in the Coast FM Kiwis Favourite Awards.

ENTRY INSTRUCTIONS

Before you complete your entry we recommend;

  • Decide on the number of products you want to enter

  • Draft your answers to the two sustainability questions.

 1. REGISTER

You only have to register once. This part of the entry records all your business and contact information and the answers to your two Sustainability questions. You only have to input this information once, no matter how many products you enter. It will ask you how many entries you wish to make.

2. ENTER EACH INDIVIDUAL PRODUCT

 Once you have registered it will take you to Part 2. Enter details of each product you want judged. Payment for products entered for assessment is made at the end of your entry. Products are not entered until payment is made.

ENTRY CONFIRMATION

  • Within seven days of receiving your entry we will send you a letter confirming your entry ID code and where and when to send your product for judging. 

  • Products may be sent from mid-January. The last day for delivery for shelf-stable or frozen products is 27 February 2026. We will contact you about delivery of fresh products, timing for these products to be delivered is usually the day before judging starts so Thursday 4 March, 2026.