The Guild of Fine Food

What The Guild of Fine Food does

The Guild of Fine Food, founded in 1995 and headquartered in Gillingham, UK with a London office, is a privately held membership organization supporting independent food and drink retailers and the producers, wholesalers, and distributors that supply them. Its founder and chairman is Bob Farrand; the company is led day-to-day by Managing Director John Farrand, with approximately 25 employees across publishing, awards, events, marketing, operations, and finance functions. The organization operates as the steward of two flagship, world-leading food and drink accreditation schemes — Great Taste (the world's largest blind-tasted food and drink accreditation scheme, judged by 500+ experts) and the World Cheese Awards (the world's largest cheese-only competition, with 5,000+ entries from 40+ countries annually) — alongside a portfolio of trade and consumer publications including Fine Food Digest (monthly, with the largest named circulation in UK specialty food), Good Cheese, Great Taste Book, Best Brands, and the consumer-facing quarterly Wedge.

The business model combines recurring subscription revenue (tiered membership fees from £150 to £450 per year based on member turnover), transactional revenue (awards entry fees, training course fees, venue hire at Guild House in Dorset and No. 42 near Borough Market in London), and advertising and sponsorship revenue across its publications and events. Distribution is primarily direct via the MyGuild online member portal, the public-facing searchable directory of award-winning products and independent retailers, print and digital publications, live events including Great Taste Markets and the Golden Forks ceremony, and the Great Taste Podcast. Government trade bodies from Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland, Ireland, and Italy act as flagship or core event sponsors, broadening the international producer base and signaling a deliberate multi-country ecosystem buildout.

Name

The Guild of Fine Food

Legal name

Guild of Fine Food

Website

https://gff.co.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

1995

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

The Guild of Fine Food is a UK-based membership organization, founded in 1995, that supports independent food and drink retailers and producers through the Great Taste and World Cheese Awards accreditation schemes, a portfolio of specialty food trade publications, training, events, and a searchable online directory.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Speciality Food Trade Membership & Accreditation

NAICS

Specialty Food Retailers (4452)

SIC

Retail-Food Stores (5400)

akta.pro primary industry

Gourmet & Fine Food Stores (CRAHAGAG)

Keywords

• Food accreditation schemes
• Speciality food retail
• Cheese competitions
• Food industry publications
• Independent food trade support

Headquarters

HQ city

Gillingham

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Membership fees: Annual membership fees provide access to benefits including publications, training discounts, directory listings, and member support services.
2. Awards entry fees: Revenue from Great Taste and World Cheese Awards entry fees, with tiered pricing based on business size. Every entry receives feedback regardless of award outcome.
3. Advertising and sponsorship: Advertising opportunities across publications including Fine Food Digest, Good Cheese, Great Taste Book, Best Brands, and supplements. Sponsorship of awards schemes and events.
4. Venue hire: Revenue from hiring out event spaces at Guild House in Dorset and No. 42 in London, including commercial kitchens.
5. Training courses: Retail Cheese training courses offered at member and non-member rates.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

The Guild of Fine Food is a membership organization that supports independent food and drink retailers and the producers that supply them. It operates two world-renowned accreditation schemes — Great Taste (the world's largest food and drink accreditation scheme with blind tasting by 500+ expert judges) and World Cheese Awards (the world's largest cheese-only competition judging over 5,000 cheeses from 40+ countries). It also publishes industry trade magazines (Fine Food Digest, Good Cheese, Best Brands, Great Taste Book), runs retail training, hosts events, and maintains a searchable directory of award-winning products and retailers.

Product overview

The Guild of Fine Food is a membership organization operating two core awards schemes (Great Taste and World Cheese Awards) alongside a portfolio of publications and services. The core products include Fine Food Digest (monthly industry magazine), Good Cheese (annual cheese publication), Best Brands (annual best-sellers supplement), and Great Taste Book (award winners guide). Additional offerings include Great Taste Markets (event opportunities), Retail Cheese Training (one-day courses), and two UK venue spaces (No. 42 London and Guild House Dorset). The MyGuild online portal manages member accounts and award entries, while the Great Taste Podcast extends content reach. The portfolio is unified around supporting independent food and drink retailers and producers through accreditation, education, and community.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Great Taste: World's largest and most trusted food and drink accreditation scheme, featuring over 500 expert judges including chefs, buyers, food writers and retailers.
• World Cheese Awards
• Fine Food Digest
• Good Cheese
• Great Taste Book
• Best Brands
• Wedge
• Great Taste Podcast

Products and services

• Great Taste Awards The world's largest and most trusted food and drink accreditation scheme. Products are blind-tasted by over 500 expert judges including chefs, buyers, food writers and retailers, awarding 1-, 2-, or 3-star accolades. Designed for food and drink producers seeking independent product validation and consumer recognition.
• World Cheese Awards The world's largest cheese-only competition, judged annually with entries from over 40 countries and 5,000+ cheeses. Provides independent recognition for cheesemakers and visibility with retail buyers and food commentators.
• Fine Food Digest The voice of the independent food and drink sector, published ten times per year. Covers retail advice, product launches, industry news and comment. Read by buyers, owners and employees of independent delis, farm shops, food halls and specialist stores. Has the largest named circulation of any speciality food and drink magazine.
• Good Cheese Annual publication for everyone who makes, sells, buys, or enjoys artisan and speciality cheese. Features news, country spotlights, cheesemaker profiles, and food & drink pairing ideas.
• Great Taste Book The definitive guide to award-winning food and drink. Arranged by category, introduces products in detail and serves as a go-to guide for retailers stocking their shelves. Reaches over 150,000 trade buyers and food-loving consumers annually.
• Best Brands Fine Food Digest's annual round-up of best-selling food and drink brands from independent retailers based on survey results, featuring best-selling lines across all major product categories.
• Membership Programme Membership organization offering benefits, discounts and advice to independent retailers and producers. Includes Deli Retailing Code of Practice protection, training discounts, member listings, venue hire discounts, advertising/sponsorship preferential rates, and access to publications. Tiered pricing (£150-£450/year) based on business turnover.
• MyGuild Online Portal Online member portal providing access to member benefits, knowledge bank, industry contacts, award entry and delivery info, results checking, and logo/label ordering for Great Taste and World Cheese Awards entrants.
• Retail Cheese Training One-day hands-on practical course teaching retailers how to run a successful cheese counter, including tasting, cutting, wrapping, cheese board creation, and sales techniques. Delivered by cheese experts Patrick McGuigan and Emma Young. Offered at member (£150) and non-member (£195) rates.
• Great Taste Markets Event opportunities allowing Great Taste winning producers to showcase and sell products directly to consumers at established UK events, with discounted rates and promotional support within specially branded Great Taste areas.
• Guild of Fine Food Directory Searchable directory bringing together listings of award-winning products, producers and independent retailers. Allows search by product, producer, retailer, awards scheme, category, country and rating. Lists 5,142 independent retailers.
• Great Taste Podcast Original podcast exploring the importance of good quality food and the Great Taste judging process. Produced in partnership with RATCHET, hosted by Katherine Nathan. Available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and TikTok.
• No. 42 London Venue Flexible event space in London near Borough Market with fully equipped test kitchen, commercial facilities, AV equipment, walk-in chiller and storage. Suitable for product launches, training sessions, meetings and tastings.
• Guild House Dorset Venue Main event space in Gillingham, Dorset with full AV facilities, commercial kitchen and canteen/reception area. Venue for Great Taste judging in Dorset and available for hire.
• Regional & Product Supplements Bespoke publications produced with regional groups and PDO organisations providing in-depth understanding of specific areas or products with dedicated retail focus.

Quantifiable outcome

• 55% of UK adults familiar with Great Taste logo
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

14 partnerships are on record, tiered core, flagship and minor.

• RATCHETcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPodcast production partner for Great Taste Podcast. RATCHET is responsible for hosting (Katherine Nathan), production (Nick Usher, Mary Gregory, Stefan Davis), editing, and original music composition.
• Food & Drink WalesflagshipGTM or Marketing PartnerHeadline sponsor of Great Taste 2025 and 2026. Welsh Government initiative supporting food and drink producers.
• Speciality & Fine Food FaircoreGTM or Marketing PartnerSponsor of Great Taste. Joint events where Great Taste winners can exhibit at preferential rates.
• WBCminorGTM or Marketing PartnerSponsor of Great Taste 2026.
• Cotswold FayreminorGTM or Marketing PartnerSponsor of Great Taste 2026.
• Bord Bia (Irish Food Board)coreGTM or Marketing PartnerSponsor of Great Taste supporting Irish food and drink producers.
• Invest NIcoreGTM or Marketing PartnerSponsor of Great Taste supporting Northern Ireland food and drink producers.
• Scotland Food & DrinkcoreGTM or Marketing PartnerSponsor of Great Taste supporting Scottish food and drink producers.
• Italian Trade AgencycoreGTM or Marketing PartnerSponsor of Great Taste supporting Italian food and drink producers.
• Junta de AndalucíaflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerHost institution for World Cheese Awards 2026 in Córdoba, Andalusia, Spain as part of Andalucía-Gusto del Sur International Cheese Festival.
• Instituto del QuesoflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner for Andalucía-Gusto del Sur International Cheese Festival 2026 hosting World Cheese Awards in Córdoba.
• Specialist Cheese Makers AssociationcoreGTM or Marketing PartnerSponsor of World Cheese Awards, awards Best SCA Member Cheese trophy.
• Le Gruyère AOPcoreGTM or Marketing PartnerSponsor of World Cheese Awards, awards Best Le Gruyère AOP Cheese trophy.
• InterCheese AGminorGTM or Marketing PartnerSponsor of World Cheese Awards.

Scale indicators12 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• The Grocer: UK food and grocery trade media title serving retailers and producers — comparable B2B publishing/audience-engagement model to Fine Food Digest and the Guild's broader publication portfolio.
• Speciality & Fine Food Fair: UK trade exhibition for specialty and fine food producers and retailers — closely comparable audience and event-driven GTM motion; an existing Guild sponsor and joint-events partner (per partnership records).
• International Wine & Spirit Competition (IWSC): Established drinks accreditation body running annual blind-judged competitions and consumer-facing tasting events — comparable awards-and-events business model in the adjacent drinks category.
• International Wine Challenge (IWC): Major annual wine competition with tiered medal structure and trade-facing results — directly comparable accreditation-and-events model to Great Taste and World Cheese Awards.
• International Cheese Awards: Long-running UK cheese competition (Nantwich) — directly comparable to Guild's World Cheese Awards as a global cheese judging event serving producers and retailers.
• Decanter World Wine Awards / Decanter Media: Operates a leading wine awards scheme alongside a trade wine magazine — directly analogous to Guild's Great Taste awards plus Fine Food Digest model. Christabel Cairns (Guild's Associate MD) previously led wine awards and events at Decanter, confirming operational overlap.

Others

• Slow Food International: Global non-profit movement championing good, clean and fair food — operates a parallel awards/advocacy ecosystem (Slow Food Awards, Ark of Taste) and serves the same producer and consumer audience, though not a direct commercial competitor.

Broad incumbents

• SIAL: Global food exhibition network (Paris, Toronto, etc.) — incumbent in the international food trade fair space with overlapping specialty-food audience but much wider portfolio than the Guild.
• Anuga Food Fair: One of the world's largest food and beverage trade fairs — broader in scope than the Guild but serves an overlapping audience of specialty producers, retailers, and buyers at scale.

Emerging players

• Academy of Cheese: UK-based cheese education and accreditation body offering training, certifications, and a master cheesemaker programme — directly adjacent to the Guild's Retail Cheese Training and World Cheese Awards, with growing presence in the same sector.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Instagraminstagram.com/greattaste_podcast
• Xx.com/guildoffinefood
• Facebookfacebook.com/profile.php
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/guildoffinefood

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles12 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about The Guild of Fine Food