Terms & Conditions

Award Entries & Judging

  • To enter the awards programme your business must be registered in Aberdeen City or Aberdeenshire.

  • Your business must comply with all national legislation, food safety standards and all relevant national and local guidelines.

  • You confirm that no enforcement action is pending or ongoing against you or your business under any legislation. 

  • All judging is carried out by an independent judging panel comprising experts and representatives appointed by ONE and Aberdeenshire Council.  Their decisions are final, and no further correspondence will be entered into regarding the outcomes.

  • Due to the volume of entries expected, the organisers may conduct an initial vetting or shortlisting process before entries progress to the judges interviews or taste evaluation stages.  This process may be carried out by internal teams from ONE and Aberdeenshire Council solely to determine which entries advance. 

  • The independent judging panel will base their decisions on the scores they assign when evaluating the entry form, and where applicable, the interview stage and/or product testing stage.

By entering you acknowledge that:

o   Not all entrants will progress to the interview or tasting stage;

o   Only entries advancing past the vetting stage will be assessed by judges in person;

o   Judges scoring and final decisions are binding.

Winners/Exhibitors

  • Winners must be able to attend and exhibit on Thursday 18th and Friday 19th of June at the Royal Highland Show on the stand space arranged for you within Scotland’s Larder Foodhall.  2 x show tickets will be provided for these days.

  • Winners will have the option to exhibit on Saturday 20th and Sunday 21st June and will receive 2 x show tickets for each day they are exhibiting.

  • If a winner cannot exhibit on 20th and 21st of June, the exhibition space for those days will be assigned to the next highest scoring category entrant.

  • The exhibiting finalist will receive two show tickets per exhibiting day, and their branding displayed on the stand.

  • Exhibitors will be provided with a 1 metre light box at tabletop height. Your branding will be displayed on the front of the lightbox and tabletop space can be used for sampling and product sales.

  • ONE and Aberdeenshire Council will confirm the branded assets required for your stand space, which must be submitted as instructed by the agreed deadline.

  • Your business is responsible for organising and funding:

o    Travel and accommodation arrangements;

o   Standard car parking or refrigerated vehicle passes; and

o   EPOS/payment devices.

  • Where the Royal Highland Show (or related exhibition space) is cancelled, the organisers will make reasonable efforts to provide an alternative showcase opportunity but cannot guarantee an equivalent or replacement prize.

  • For entrants in Best New Food or Best New Drink, you will be responsible for ensuring the delivery of product samples to ONE SeedPod for judging by the agreed deadline with clear allergen, storage and serving labelling information.

  • ONE and Aberdeenshire Council accept no liability for loss/damage to goods or equipment.

  • Winners and finalists exhibitors are responsible for holding appropriate public liability and product liability insurance.

  • If you withdraw after being selected as a finalist or winner, the organisers reserve the right to allocate the exhibition space or any associated benefits to the next highest scoring entrant.  No financial compensation or alternative benefit will be provided to an entrant who withdraws.

  • The organisers may withdraw an entrant, finalist or winner from the programme if they breach these Terms & Conditions, fail to comply with food safety or legal requirements, or act in a manner that could reasonably bring the Awards into disrepute.  In such cases, the organisers may reassign awards or exhibition spaces with no obligation to provide compensation.

  • Winners and finalists agree that their business name, category placement, and supplied branding may be used for public announcements and marketing materials relating to the Awards and the Royal Highland Show exhibition.

Any digital assets (e.g., logos, product images) submitted to support entry or stand branding must be owned or fully licensed by the entrant. By submitting these materials, entrants confirm they grant permission for use within Awards‑related activities.

General

  • The organisers reserve the right to cancel, postpone or amend any part of the Awards programme – including judging stages and exhibition opportunities – where circumstances outside their control make delivery impractical (including but not limited to venue changes, public health restrictions, operational constraints, or withdrawal of third-party partners).

  • The organisers accept no liability for costs incurred by entrants or winners in relation to cancellation, postponement, or programme changes, including travel, accommodation or staffing.

  • By submitting your entry, entrants agree to keep any non‑public information about the awards process confidential. Likewise, any information entrants provide to organisers that is marked or would reasonably be understood as confidential will be treated as confidential. Entrants may not share such information with others except where required by law.

  • Organisers will only use your entry information for the purposes of administering, judging, and promoting the awards (where applicable), and will not disclose it to third parties except as required to operate the awards platform or comply with legal obligations.

  • Entrants acknowledge that submission of information, materials or data to the organisers will be made through a platform operated by Award Force/ Creative Force “Platform Provider” and entrants agree to comply with all Platform Provider terms of use, policies and acceptable use requirements as may be published or updated from time to time.

  • Entrants acknowledge that third‑party service providers engaged by the Platform Provider, such as analytics services, messaging providers, image processing tools, and payment processors, may process your data strictly for service delivery.

  • Entrants may receive optional newsletters or promotional information from our platform provider. You may unsubscribe at any time using the link provided in those communications.

  • In the event the Platform Provider undergoes a merger, acquisition, or corporate restructuring, your entrant data may be transferred to the new operating entity under equivalent privacy protections.

  • The platform automatically collects technical information such as IP address, device details, and activity logs for security, fraud detection, and service monitoring purposes.

  • You understand that disabling cookies or browser tracking settings may limit your ability to access or use some features of the awards platform

  • By entering the Awards, entrants consent to the organisers collecting, storing and processing the information provided in their entry form for the purposes of administering and promoting the awards programme.

  • By submitting an entry, entrants acknowledge that the awards platform uses cookies and similar technologies for authentication, security, and basic functionality. Where required, you may be asked to consent to analytics or marketing cookies to continue using optional features.

  • By submitting an entry, entrants confirm that they are at least 16 years old (or have parental consent if under 18)

  • The entrant represents and warrants that it owns, controls, or has obtained all necessary rights, permissions, and licences to submit all data, materials, images, content, or other information “Submission Materials” to the organisers.

  • The entrant confirms that the Submission Materials do not infringe any third‑party rights, including copyright, privacy, personality, confidential information, trademarks, or moral rights.

  • Entrant information will be used solely in connection with the Awards and will not be shared with third parties except those directly involved in programme delivery (e.g., judging panel, event partners).

  • By participating in judging sessions, events, or exhibition activities, entrants, finalists, and winners consent to the organisers capturing photography, videography, and audio recordings for promotional and documentation purposes.

  • The organisers may use, reproduce, display, distribute, adapt and otherwise process the Submission Materials including any images, video, audio, written submissions, business names, branding, and case study materials in promotional content across digital, print, and broadcast media, including but not limited to:

§  Assessment, judging and administration of the Awards including upload to the awards website

§  Social media channels

§  Press releases and media coverage

§  Annual reports or marketing collateral

Usage is granted on a non-exclusive, royalty‑free, worldwide, perpetual basis.

  • Entrants acknowledge that Submission Materials may be stored, processed or transmitted by the Platform Provider solely for the purpose of enabling organisers to operate the awards process.

  • If the entrant submits personal data, it represents and warrants that:

o    it has a lawful basis to provide such data;

o    all necessary notices and consents have been obtained;

o    no data submitted will breach applicable data protection laws.

-          Entrant acknowledges that the Platform Provider acts as a data processor on behalf of the organisers for personal data submitted via the platform.

  • Entrant must not upload or transmit;

o    Malicious code, viruses or harmful scripts;

o    Unauthorised automated tools;

o    Content that violates laws or third party rights.

  • Entrant agrees to indemnify and hold harmless the organisers from any claims, losses, damages, liabilities, or expenses arising out of or relating to:

o    the Submission Materials;

o    breach of this Agreement;

o    violation of any data protection, IP, or third‑party rights by the entrant.

  • Entrant acknowledges that the Platform Provider controls platform availability and maintenance, and the organiser is not responsible for outages, interruptions, or platform performance.

  • Organiser reserves the right to remove or restrict any Submission Material that:

o    breaches this Agreement,

o    breaches Platform Provider rules,

o    is unlawful, harmful, or inappropriate,

o    or exposes the organiser to legal or reputational risk.

  • Entrants must only submit personal information that they have the legal right to provide.

  • Entrants uploading information about another person, must confirm you have their explicit permission to do so.

  • Entrants that submit sensitive personal data (such as health information, demographic details or identity documents), do so voluntarily and in doing so, confirm that you understand how this data will be used for the purpose of administering and judging the awards.

  • Entrants confirm that all information submitted is complete, accurate and up‑to‑date. Organisers may require entrants to correct or update incomplete or inaccurate information.”

  • Entrants personal data may be stored and processed outside the UK/EEA in secure data centres (including the EU, US, Canada, Singapore or Australia). Appropriate safeguards are in place to protect entrants information.

  • Organisers will retain your data only for as long as necessary to administer the awards, or as required by law. If you request deletion, your data will be permanently erased from all systems (including backups) within 28 days.”

  • Organisers will take appropriate measures to protect your personal data. If a data breach occurs that affects your information, we will notify you where legally required.

  • Entrants acknowledge that organisers technology providers use approved third‑party sub‑processors (such as cloud hosting providers) to deliver the service.