A DRINKS company tasted success after receiving prestigious recognition at an award ceremony dubbed the ‘rural Oscars’.

Bradfield-based business Barn Farm Drinks was announced as an eastern regional winner in the Countryside Alliance Awards.

The Awards, nicknamed the ‘rural Oscars’, are an annual celebration of British food and farming, enterprise and heritage through small, hard-working businesses.

They are hotly sought-after due to being driven by public nomination, offering customers the chance to tell us why their favourite businesses are worthy of national acclaim.

And Barn Farm scooped the prize in a record-breaking year, as the awards received more than 18,000 nominations.

Due to Covid-19 and subsequent lockdown restrictions, the judging for the 2020 Awards was postponed but judgements were made virtually in spring earlier this year, with businesses showcasing their talent and telling their story over webcam.

Barn Farm was founded in 2017 by soft fruit farmers Craig and Gail Williamson after they noticed a gap in the market for quality, farm-pressed fruit juices and decided to set up the business on the banks of the River Stour.

Notes from the deciding judge said: "Barn Farm Drinks has three key values; natural, local and kind. So these drinks not only provide one of your five a day but provide habitat for pollinators, energy for the farm, and support the local community."

Countryside Alliance Awards Director Sarah Lee added: “This year’s regional finalists are all truly exceptional. These awards provide a cause for celebration in a time of great uncertainty in the countryside.”