Beacon foods wins coveted Sammies Award.

Brecon-based Beacon Foods won the much coveted New Ingredient of the Year Award for their Hot Indian Banana Chutney from the Indian Spice Magic range at the 2008 Sammies Awards droner in London attended by over 600 people.

Top food consultant Nellie Nichols, who is working with Beacon Foods to expand and develop the company's products into new and exciting markets, said: "We are thrilled to have won such an important award. The Indian Hot Banana Chutney, along with the other products in the range, is a delicious, versatile and authentic sandwich ingredient."

Worth over 4.5bn [pounds sterling] and employing well over 300,000 people, the UK commercial sandwich industry has become a major contributor to the UK economy.

Renowned for its portfolio of roasted and char-grilled vegetable and fruit ranges, relishes, chutneys and compotes, Beacon Foods launched the first in its Tastes of the World range in the autumn 2007. The range comprises small, concise sets of sauces, relishes and chutneys to mix and match with proteins for sandwiches and salads.

Indian Spice Magic includes a Tikka Masala sauce, Nut-Free Korma and three chutneys: Kashmiri Tomato Chutney, Indian Hot Banana Chutney and Mango.

The company believes that 21st century product development must be more flexible, resourceful and skilful. "We intend to offer customers a dynamic portfolio of products that will make ingredients, such as plain cooked chicken, totally versatile, reducing the need for several different flavoured, bought in proteins," said Nellie.

"There is a huge opportunity to provide customers with blueprints from different countries for their sandwich development, innovative frameworks of products that will provide them with a creative bedrock.

"Sandwich tastes are fast becoming more multi-cultural and we believe we can respond swiftly to this need."

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Contact Beacon Foods on tel [phone] or visit.www.beaconfoods.co.uk.