Forest Feast and Burren Balsamics Earn Places in Britain’s Best Food Brands 2025-26
Foods from two Northern Ireland producers have been named among Britain’s top
brands 2025-26 by an influential artisan magazine.
Fine Food Digest, a publication from the Guild of Fine Foods, the organisation which
runs the Great Taste Awards, the UK’s leading annual food and drink quality
competition, named artisan products from Forest Feast, a brand from Kestrel Foods
in Craigavon, and a balsamic vinegar from Burren Balsamics among the UK’s top
brands.
Forest Feast was named joint third in the Chocolate and Confectionery category for
delicious chocolate covered nuts and dried fruits like sour cherries and almonds for
“managing to straddle independent and big retailers with its strong, modern branding
and a reasonable price point”.
Bronagh Clarke, Kestrel’s marketing director, described the recognition as “another
hugely important endorsement in our most important marketplace and one in which
we have enjoyed considerable success in last year. It positions us for further growth
in the current year.”
Burren Balsamics of Richhill, near Portadown was named in Oils and Vinegars for
its Blackberry and Thyme infused Balsamic Vinegar of Modena, which judges
described as “a three-star, rich glossy, dark vinegar with blackberries and the
producer’s own garden thyme”.
The judges “praised the ruby red liquid for its fresh thyme balanced out with the
vinegar’s sweet acidity, marrying without overpowering the fruit”. They said it would
be “so versatile not just for gravy but to drizzle over salads, as a dip for bread”.
Suzy Hamilton Stubber, founder of Burren Balsamics, a business she now runs with
chef Bob McDonald, said: “We are delighted by the comments from in the survey
about one of our products. These important remarks will help as we seek to build our
market share in Britain.”
Companies featuring in the Best Brands survey were nominated by buyers in delis,
farm shops and food halls across the UK. They were asked by Fine Food Digest to
name their top selling brands in the survey carried out in the last quarter of 2025.
