Reiser UK Announced as Headline Sponsor for Biggest Virtual Cheese Awards

The Virtual Cheese Awards, the UK’s only 100% online cheese competition dedicated to celebrating and supporting the best of British cheese, has announced a record-breaking number of entries for its sixth annual awards. This milestone year also welcomes Reiser UK as the event’s new headline sponsor.

The Reiser Virtual Cheese Awards was launched in 2020 by cheese expert Sarah de Wit to celebrate and support Britain’s world-leading cheese industry. It has grown to become a staple in the British cheese award calendar and attracted widespread industry support from major retailers including Waitrose and Tesco as well as some of the UK’s most esteemed cheesemongers and affineurs. 

Sarah de Wit, co-founder of Reiser Virtual Cheese Awards said: “We have had entries from more than 65 British dairies this year, which is amazing. There has never been a more crucial time to champion British cheesemakers. The UK boasts a vibrant and innovative dairy industry, harnessing our lush grasslands and unique climate to produce world-class cheeses. 

“We’re delighted to continue our partnership with Reiser UK  this year, a company that provides cutting-edge solutions to help automate and enhance cheese production. We invite everyone to join us for the Virtual Cheese Awards final on Wednesday, 11th June to celebrate the finest cheeses Britain has to offer.”

The awards aim to demystify cheese awards by bringing the judging process out from behind closed doors and into the light. This total transparency helps celebrate creativity and craftmanship and gives cheesemakers money-can’t-buy feedback on their cheese from some of the most influential cheese experts in the country. 

Reiser is a leading supplier of processing and packaging machinery for the food industry, partnering with cheese producers of all sizes to deliver market-leading cheese processing and packaging equipment from our innovative suppliers: Vemag, Variovac, Seydelmann, Holac, DJM, and Supervac.
Ed Hewitt, Director of Sales at Reiser UK said: “We are proud to support the Virtual Cheese Awards and the incredible cheesemaking talent across the UK. Reiser is committed to helping producers of all sizes grow through innovative equipment and tailored solutions. We’re excited to be part of an event that champions quality, transparency, and the craft of great cheese.”

The 2024 Supreme Champion award was won by Witheridge in Hay, from Nettlebed Creamery an organic alpine-style semi-hard British cheese that is uniquely aged in hay.

For the first time ever, the Supreme Champion cheese could earn a coveted spot on Waitrose’s cheese counters, bringing it to a national audience. Additionally, the eight finalists will have an exclusive opportunity to showcase their cheeses directly to Partners at Waitrose at a special event hosted at the retailer’s headquarters.

Sarah Miness, specialist cheese buyer at Waitrose said:  “We are hugely proud to support and champion British cheeses and the fantastic producers behind them. The Virtual Cheese Awards offer a great opportunity for everyone to see how, as experts, we trial and assess each cheese, putting them to the test in order to select the very best. 

“The Waitrose shopper is an avid food lover, and so the cheeses we carefully select for our customers must always meet those same rigorous requirements, when it comes to taste and quality. I’m excited to take part and hopefully help to bring some new award winning cheeses to our customers as a result.”    

The 2025 awards feature 38 individual cheese classes for cheddar, territorial, enhanced cheese, artisan cheeses from own herd, speciality and blue cheese categories. 

The live Virtual Cheese Awards 2025 final will be held on Tuesday 10th and Wednesday 11th June hosted by broadcaster and local food and drink champion, Nigel Barden. It will be broadcast live on the Virtual Awards website, and on Facebook and YouTube live. 

The 2025 awards will also include three Recognising Excellence awards where individuals can nominate someone in the cheese industry that they think have gone above and beyond in championing British cheese. These awards are FREE to enter. 
• Young Cheesemaker of the Year
• Cheese Hero award
• New Cheesemaker of the Year

There is also a Sustainability Trophy, which recognises cheese businesses which are innovating in the field of sustainability and farming.  

Judges for the 2025 awards will include cheese buyers from Waitrose, Morrisons and Tesco along with the affineurs from Rennet & Rind, Paxton & Whitfield, Neals Yard Dairy and along with cheese aficionado and author Emma Young, aka The Cheese Explorer. 

For more information on the Virtual Cheese Awards log on to: www.virtualcheeseawards.com
Social pages: 
• Facebook – Virtual Cheese Awards
• YouTube – Virtual Cheese Awards
• Instagram – @Virtualcheeseawards
• Twitter – @Virtualcheeseaw

The Virtual Cheese Awards were founded in 2020 to help support and celebrate British cheesemakers who were struggling in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic. Co-Founder, Sarah de Wit, saw multiple challenges to the dairy industry as producers struggled to produce and sell their stock resulting in milk being poured down drains and cheese being given away for free. This focus on survival also impacted on innovation, as new cheese launches were postponed. 

The awards have grown steadily in the last four years with more than 250 individual entries from British cheese producers in 2023 and thousands of people watching the live final.

The Virtual Awards team consists of founder Sarah de Wit, Vickie Rogerson marketing and PR and Kara Bowen sponsorship manager.