Rising Star Award

This Award acknowledges the accomplishments of individuals who have demonstrated excellence, innovation, and commitment to their work – and who have already achieved noteworthy successes early in their careers.
Our Rising Star Finalists 2025

Abigail Lees, Vegware
Abigail, a valuable member of Vegware's Environmental Team, has consistently exceeded expectations since joining in 2022. A key focus of Abigail’s has been expanding composting routes in the Northwest. Through proactive outreach and building strong customer relationships, Abigail single-handedly developed a robust network of composting partners, successfully onboarding numerous new customers. This includes securing and managing key accounts, such as ACC Liverpool, where almost a tonne of compostable packaging was diverted from recent Massive Attack concerts. This achievement, with minimal contamination, highlights Abigail's ability to effectively engage and educate customers. Abigail also developed "Bin Pong," an innovative and engaging game designed to educate employees at customer sites about proper waste disposal, improving waste segregation at many customer sites.

Akash Annadurai, Eximex UK
Transitioning from India to the UK, Akash navigated the significant cultural and academic shift to successfully graduate from a UK university, a testament to his determination and capacity to overcome challenges. His professional journey within the FMCG sector highlights a swift and impressive ability to adapt to a new and complex business environment. Demonstrating a keen understanding of the UK market and customer base, he has effectively bridged gaps in customer service and logistics, ensuring seamless operations in importing goods and managing intricate sea freight systems. His grasp of warehouse logistics and customer systems exemplifies his commitment to operational excellence and ability to tackle multifaceted challenges. In a field as dynamic as packaging, his contributions to working within a team of diverse professionals underscores his collaborative mindset and openness to learning.

Anthony Wilkins, H-Pack Packaging
At only 29 this young father of two has been an invaluable cog in the operations and development of H-Pack Packaging. Initially as office manager Anthony took on the role of managing customer service, then earned his place as an account manager, bringing in VIP accounts – including large national accounts. His understanding of the pressures of delivering in time and in full saw him getting involved in forecasting. He works closely with the procurement and productions planning teams, and more recently has started overseeing the warehouse. Anthony’s broad understanding of the H-Pack sales and supply chain, his outstanding work ethic, and his ability to rise to any challenge with commitment, enthusiasm and professionalism makes him a star in our eyes and deserving of consideration for this award

Graeme Crompton, Bidfood
Graeme played a pivotal role in launching and expanding a restructured team pre-pandemic. Every since he has been instrumental in driving the Catering Supplies category – initially supporting 24 Bidfood depots. He also successfully launched an own-brand chemical range, increasing its turnover from just under £1 million to £2.5 million in a little over two years. Graeme also supported National Accounts, within the Freetrade Multiples team – managing product ranges and customer relationships with contracts such as the NHS, Pelican and TUCO, while consistently delivering double-digit volume growth. He then moved on to a role in the National Accounts team, supporting Bidfood’s key cost sector customer base across the demanding sectors of education, healthcare and business and industry. This involves managing the Caterings Supplies contracts with local education authorities and a significant number of healthcare providers across the UK. Even when managing several complex tenders and re-tenders, Graeme’s professional approach and unwavering commitment to his role, Bidfood’s customers, and the teams he supports, is testament to his exceptional character.

Imelda Markey, Go-Pak UK
Imelda joined Go-Pak in August 2022 with a background in food sales, having previously worked with Henderson's Foodservice and Parkview Provisions. Despite having minimal experience in packaging, Imelda swiftly mastered Go-Pak’s product range and demonstrated an extraordinary ability to adapt and excel. Imelda's commercial acumen is exceptional, and she has built strong relationships with strategic partners, showcasing her ability to drive substantial growth. In 2024, Imelda successfully secured a partnership with one of the largest food service providers in the world, a testament to her vision and strategic prowess. This partnership is poised to become one of Go-Pak’s largest accounts in Ireland, underscoring Imelda's significant impact on the business. She regularly brings new ideas to the table and her excellence, innovation, commitment, strategic thinking, and ability to foster meaningful relationships have earned the respect of her peers and our partners in the Irish market.

Maria Clark, Booker
Maria joined Booker in June 2022 as Sustainability Manager responsible for Booker’s planet agenda. This includes sustainable packaging, and Maria quickly recognised challenges faced in the foodservice industry on catering disposables. She was a key member of the team created to lead a transformative own brand packaging project. A core challenge was ensuring all packaging claims were transparent, accurate, and free from greenwashing. Maria worked closely with a variety of teams including technical, category and own brand to evaluate materials, assess any environmental impact, and validate claims. This process also involved liaising with external verification bodies to ensure the highest levels of credibility. Maria supported the team to develop a range of food packaging that not only met rigorous design standards but also communicated material types – enabling Booker’s customers to make informed purchasing decision
Our previous winners


Beth Williams of Vegware
Talia Goldman of Colpac

Jenny Briggs of Bidfood
