Restaurant Marketer & Innovator Awards 2026 finalists revealed: Finalists have been announced for the eighth Restaurant Marketer & Innovator Awards, staged by Propel and Think Hospitality to recognise success in marketing and innovation in the foodservice sector. A panel consisting of 20 industry leaders and previous winners judged the entries at the Lucky Saint Pub in London’s Devonshire Street. The finalists are: Best Community or Charity Initiative: Gail’s (for Knead for Speed – Gail's Running Community), Bounce (for Bounce City Cup with State of Play Hospitality), Hospitality Rides (2025 rebrand and fundraising growth with Hospitality Rides with KAM, Fleet Street, Natural Selection Design, Licensed Trade Charity and Only A Pavement Away), Atis (for Atis x Superhumans), Lina Stores (for Truffle Cook-Off with StreetSmart), Big Table Group (for Bella Italia bring your own pasta with Eggmedia); Best Digital Engagement: Lucky Saint (for Thou Shalt Go To The Pub), Victors Restaurants (for Project “Double Birthdays” with East Coast Concepts), The Real Greek (for chef Vaios’ tzatziki recipe), Boojum (for Bankrolled By Boojum), Mitchells & Butlers (for AI virtual assistant with Guestwise Technology), The New World Trading Company (for A First Dates Experience with The Botanist with Edgey and Acteol CRM), Pho (for Fuelled By Pho with The Fitting Room and Favoured), Young's Pubs (for Young's Rooms: building community through digital engagement with Kitch), Azzurri Group (for Dave's Hot Chicken with Trison); Best New Product Development: Creams Cafe (for Pepsi collaboration – Treats Float with Pepsi/Britvic), Creams Cafe (for goo bakes), Ole & Steen (for The Cinnamon Social Reinvented: driving summer footfall through innovation), The Real Greek (for Really Greek Drinks with 2Forks), The dating app for hospitality careers with Candid Hospitality, Lexington Catering (for grab and go launch), Lexington Catering (for The Mindful Kitchen), Mitchells & Butlers (for AI virtual assistant with Guestwise Technology), Burger King UK (for The wagyu burger by Burger King – not by Gordon Ramsay), Brewhouse & Kitchen (for The Hoxton Hound Craft House with Feature Design), Marugame UK (for matcha pairing with Udon snacks); Best New Website: Wadworth Brewery (for Wadworth pub estate websites with Wisetiger), Lounges’ new website with Screen Pilot (formerly Ignite), Pho’s new website with Screen Pilot (formerly Ignite), Rebranded Candid website with Candid Hospitality, Incipio Group (for The Libertine’s new website with Propeller), The Alchemist Bars & Restaurants’ new website – Enter The Cosmic Era with Vapour, Spatzek Studio and kemb GmbH), 200 Degrees Coffee’s new website launch, The New World Trading Company (for The Botanist’s a digital transformation, rooted in performance with Thursday Studio); Best New/Improved Visual Identity: The Understudy at the National Theatre rebrand with Design by Temple, Brother Marcus (for Brother Marcus refresh), Brewhouse & Kitchen (for The Hoxton Hound Craft House with Feature Design), Roxy Leisure (for Roxy Leisure), Individual Restaurants for Forbici – pioneering a new wave of pizza with Screen Pilot (formerly Ignite), Incipio Group (for Pergola Brixton – the refresh), The New World Trading Company (for The Botanist’s celebrating the vibrant world of botany through design and experiences with Natural Selection Design); Best Use of AI: Burger King UK (for BK Buddy: empowering restaurant teams with AI with frog), Meet Miso: the AI assistant for hospitality hiring with Candid Hospitality, Mitchells & Butlers (for AI virtual assistant with Guestwise Technology), Popeyes UK (for AI-powered drive-thrus with Hi Auto), Burger King Poland (for voice AI drive-thru ordering with Vox AI/Rex Concepts), Airship (for Airship AI); Best Use of Research, Insight or Data: Butcombe Group (for understanding the customer with KAM), tackling subconscious bias in hospitality hiring with Candid Hospitality, The New World Trading Company (for rooted in research: reigniting The Botanist’s distinctive brand identity with HDI Insights and The Answer Insight), Airship (for Airship AI), State of Social with Kitch and KAM; Best Use of Technology: Creams Cafe (for Creams app and technology with 5Loyalty, Access Hospitality, Mountview, and Actionable Software), Cow & Sow (for The Butchers Club loyalty and rewards scheme with Spaceman Marketing, Como Loyalty, Polaris Elements, Guestwise and Edgey), Tonkotsu – a new approach to hospitality hiring with Candid Hospitality, Mitchells & Butlers (for AI virtual assistant with Guestwise Technology), U9's launch with Invyted, Market Operations with me&u, Azzurri Group (for Dave's Hot Chicken with Trison), London Brasseries and Bone Daddies for solving influencer marketing's payment problem with Joli and OpenTable); Campaign of the Year: Truffle Burger (for Truffle Burger & Friends with Chomp and W Communications), Burger King UK (for wagyu launch with BBH, Walk in media, Coolr and The Academy), Ole & Steen (for bringing Danish heritage to the UK: a chef collaboration that elevated our heritage food category), TGI Fridays UK (for brand relaunch campaign), Incipio Group (for British Pie Week – The Libertine), Puttshack UK for Escape to Puttshack with Screen Pilot (formerly Ignite), Lucky Saint (for Thou Shalt Go To The Pub), Mission Mars (for Oktoberfest: a second Christmas for Albert’s Schloss with GoodnProper, Natural Selection and Invested), Marugame UK( for Marugame Have a Genki Summer), Tonkotsu (for Tonkotsu's Golden Bowls with 2Forks), Hijingo (for 90s download with Visible and Anything is Possible), Bill's Restaurants (for A Happy Holiday Whodunnit), Franco Manca (for Franco Manca x Moth:Margs X Margs), Boojum (for Bankrolled By Boojum), Greene King Pubs (for “Live At Your Local” with Grayling), German Doner Kebab (for Fiver Menu launch with The Fitting Room and Good Stuff), Big Table Group (for Bella Italia bring your own pasta with Eggmedia), Bundobust (for Bundobust Indo Chinese with Edgey), Pho (for Fuelled by Pho with The Fitting Room and Favoured), Incipio Group for On Repeat at The 411); Launch Campaign of the Year: Burger King UK (for wagyu launch with BBH, Walk in media, Coolr and The Academy), Big Mamma Group (for Circolo Popolare Manchester with Pear Communications), Cow & Sow (for Cow & Sow Moo-ves into Paradise, Birmingham with Spaceman Marketing, Delicious PR, Edgey, Holly Ashworth, Mood Digital and Glowworm Digital), Bill's Restaurants (for summer 2025 – kids eat free – The Bill's Bunch), Brother Marcus (for East Med Energy in Canary Wharf), German Doner Kebab (for Fiver Menu launch with The Fitting Room and Good Stuff), JKS Restaurants (for Legado), Lina Stores (for Lina Stores Manchester opening with Pear Communications, Fraser Communications, KAM and Vouch Global), Wasabi for Wasabi's flaming Korean fire chicken launch with The Fitting Room); Agency of the Year: Edgey, Fleet Street, The Fitting Room, Hatch, Feature Design, Kitch; Chief Technology Officer/Chief Information Officer of the Year: Richard Tallboy (chief technology officer of Cote Restaurants), David Carey (chief technology officer of Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen UK, UAE and Burger King Scandinavia), Richard Atkinson (Nando’s technology director), Arslan Sharif (chief digital information officer of Moto Hospitality), Sarah Pope, chief information officer of The Big Table Group); Innovator of the Year: Laura Harper-Hinton (co-founder and chief executive of Caravan), Marcel Khan (chief executive of Fulham Shore), Markus Thesleff (owner and founder of Thesleff Group), Martin Williams (chief executive of The Evolv Collection); Marketer of the Year: Lesley McIlroy (Ole & Steen marketing director), Sheri Williamson (Bill’s Restaurants marketing director), Morena Oliveira (Lina Stores marketing director), Kate Lister-Clancy (The New World Trading Company group sales and marketing director), Andrew Gallagher (Greene King brand and marketing director), Rory Graham (Incipio Group marketing and brand director), Naddy Onions (Prezzo Italian marketing director). Awards co-founder James Hacon said: “This year has seen an impressive surge in entries, showcasing an exceptionally high standard across the board. Despite challenging market conditions, it’s encouraging to see the sector's commitment to innovation, as businesses adapt their offerings and strive to attract and retain a strong customer base.” Propel managing director Paul Charity added: “These awards recognise the very best within the spheres of foodservice marketing and innovation – congratulations to all the finalists.” The Restaurant Marketer & Innovator Awards take place on Wednesday, 21 January at Pergola on the Wharf in London– the finale of the three-day Restaurant Marketer & Innovator European Summit. Tickets for the awards are £180 plus VAT per head and can be purchased by emailing rmi@propelinfo.com