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Entries Open: The 2025 Plant-Based Excellence Awards Return to Plant Based World Expo Europe

The Plant-Based Excellence Awards, taking place during Plant Based World Expo Europe 2025 at ExCeL London on 26th November, are designed to spotlight the best of what the industry has to offer. With a sharpened focus on products that not only taste great but also perform for business, these awards have become a premier benchmark of quality and innovation across the plant-based food sector.

This year’s awards, sponsored by Diverse Fine Food, have expanded in scope and clarity with updated categories, refined judging criteria, and multiple recognition tiers—ensuring every entry has the chance to shine.


What’s New for 2025

Updated Categories

The 2025 awards now span 15 dynamic categories, covering everything from meat alternatives and ready meals to bakery, condiments, snacks, and more. This comprehensive approach allows for a wide range of plant-based innovation to be recognised—from everyday staples to trend-setting newcomers. Last years winners include Let it V Foods: Veikon Bacon, Jay and Joy: Jeanne Alternative to Blue Cheese and MYOM: Original Oat, demonstrating that even the most challenging to replicate animal products are being met with high quality plant-based innovations.

Judging Criteria

Entries will be evaluated by panels of expert buyers and industry professionals across five critical areas:

  • Taste & Texture

  • Appearance & Branding

  • Sustainability

  • Business Value & Supply Chain Viability

  • Commercial Potential (including margins)

This approach ensures that award-winning products don’t just impress on the plate—but perform on the shelf and on the balance sheet.

Multiple Ways to Win

Each product entered will have three chances for recognition:

  • Gold, Silver or Bronze Rating – Based on total score across judging criteria.

  • Category Winner – Awarded to the top-scoring product in each of the 15 categories.

  • Best of 2025 – The single highest-scoring product across all entries will be crowned the best overall and awarded the prestigious Best of 2025 trophy.

Winners of each category will be honored live at the Plant-Based Excellence Awards Ceremony on 26th November 2025—a moment that brings together leading brands, emerging innovators, and the entire plant-based ecosystem to celebrate the future of food.

Entry Details & Key Dates

Whether you’re a legacy brand or a rising startup, submitting your product puts it in front of the most influential buyers in the industry. Here’s how to get involved:

Entry Rates:

  • Exhibitors: 1 free entry + £100+VAT per additional product per category

  • Non-Exhibitors: £150 per product per category

Deadlines:

  • 15 May – Entries Open Apply Now

  • 1 August – Entry Deadline

  • 15 August – Final Day for Sample Shipping

  • Early October – Bronze, Silver, and Gold awardees announced

  • 26 November – Trophy Ceremony at Plant Based World Expo Europe

Why These Awards Matter

As plant-based products become increasingly integrated into mainstream retail and foodservice offerings, decision makers are hungry for cues on which innovations to trust. These awards serve not only to celebrate excellence—but to guide buyers toward the next best-sellers that meet their needs in taste, performance, and values.

Don’t miss your chance to be part of this year’s celebration of the best of plant-based. Submit your entries and let your innovation speak for itself.

➡️ Enter the 2025 Plant-Based Excellence Awards

Beyond the Plate: How Plant-Based Innovation is Transforming the World 

The plant-based movement has long been associated with food—alternative meats, dairy-free cheeses, and plant-powered protein. But as new breakthroughs emerge, it’s becoming clear that plant-based innovation reaches far beyond our plates. From environmental restoration to sustainable materials, plants are proving to be powerful tools for solving some of the world’s most pressing challenges. 

Two recent developments highlight just how far plant-based solutions can go: a plant-based compound to combat harmful algae blooms and a pine-based alternative to fossil fuel plastics. These breakthroughs demonstrate the potential of plant-derived solutions to drive sustainability across industries and reshape the way we interact with the environment. 

 

Harnessing Plants to Fight Harmful Algae Blooms 

Harmful algae blooms (HABs) are an escalating global crisis. These overgrowths of algae—fueled by agricultural runoff, climate change, and industrial pollution—deplete oxygen in waterways, produce toxins, and devastate aquatic ecosystems. Traditional chemical-based treatments often create unintended side effects, making it difficult to control these outbreaks sustainably. 

Enter plant-based mitigation strategies. Researchers have developed a plant-derived compound that can safely and effectively reduce harmful algae blooms without harming aquatic life. This breakthrough, recently reported in Phys.org, offers a nature-based alternative to harsh chemical treatments. 

Unlike conventional solutions, which can further disrupt fragile ecosystems, this plant-based compound works by targeting the conditions that fuel algae blooms rather than merely destroying the algae itself. The method reduces phosphorus levels—one of the key nutrients responsible for excessive algae growth—without introducing pollutants into the water supply. 

Why This Matters 

  • Eco-Friendly Water Protection: Unlike chemical treatments, this plant-based alternative doesn’t cause secondary pollution. 
  • Safeguarding Fisheries & Aquatic Life: Reducing algae blooms helps restore fish populations and protect drinking water sources. 
  • Scalable Sustainability: As agricultural and industrial pollution continue to strain waterways, plant-based solutions like this could become critical for maintaining water health globally. 

 

Pine-Based Plastics: A Renewable Alternative to Fossil Fuels 

While algae blooms are devastating waterways, another environmental crisis is filling our landfills and oceans: plastic pollution. Most conventional plastics are derived from fossil fuels, taking centuries to decompose and leaching harmful chemicals into the environment. But a new discovery can change that—scientists at Washington State University have developed a pine-based alternative to fossil-fuel plastics, which could revolutionize the packaging and materials industry. 

This new bio-based foam, created from pine resin, offers similar properties to petroleum-based foams used in insulation, shipping materials, and disposable packaging. Unlike traditional plastics, these plant-based foams are biodegradable, renewable, and significantly reduce the carbon footprint of plastic production. 

Why This Matters 

  • Sustainable Plastic Alternative: This breakthrough offers a renewable replacement for fossil-fuel-based plastics. 
  • Reduced Waste & Pollution: Unlike petroleum-based foams, pine-based foams decompose naturally without microplastic contamination. 
  • Industry-Wide Applications: From packaging to building materials, this plant-based foam could provide a greener alternative to numerous industries reliant on plastic. 

 

These developments reinforce a powerful truth: the plant-based movement is bigger than food. Whether restoring ecosystems or replacing harmful materials, plants are at the forefront of sustainability-driven innovation. 

As consumers, businesses, and policymakers push for greener solutions, plant-based science continues to provide real-world answers.