Friska, the café group started by two University of Bath graduates, has been named Regional Growth Business of the Year in the Food and Drink Federation Awards.
The win comes hot on the heels of a successful fund-raising round in the summer when Friska raised £3m from Yorkshire Fund Managers (YFM). 
It also coincided with the opening of the chain’s first outlet in Manchester.
Bristol-based Friska was founded in 2009 by Ed Brown and Griff Holland, pictured, who met while studying economics at the University of Bath. It now operates from 10 locations across Bristol, Birmingham, Manchester and at Luton Airport.
Friska, which describes itself as a ‘feel-good food’ café group, plans to use the investment to take its number of venues to 18 and build on the brand’s strong reputation for globally-inspired fast food made with fresh, quality, and responsibly sourced ingredients and speciality coffee.
Judges for the awards were tasked with choosing the most inspiring, innovative and creative businesses in the food and beverage sector. The winners were announced by broadcaster, writer, and comedian Hardeep Singh Kohli at London’s The Brewery.
Griff said: “Being named regional growth business of the year on the same night as we opened our first place in Manchester was absolutely fantastic.
“Since 2009 we’ve been tirelessly working to be our customers’ favourite place to go for breakfast lunch and coffee every day.”
Santander Corporate & Commercial Banking head of food & drink Nicola Thomas added: “Supporting the food and drink industry has been a focus for Santander in 2017 and sponsoring these fantastic awards is one way to showcase our commitment to the sector.
“The standard of nominations was extremely high in all categories and congratulations must go to all the winners. We understand the importance of the sector to the success of the UK economy and were thrilled to celebrate their successes with industry leaders at the awards.”
