Sandwich Sandwich, the Bristol food business founded in 2012 by husband-and-wife team Nick and Anita Kleiner, has been shortlisted for The Gerald Edelman Family Business of the Year Award at the Lloyds British Business Excellence Awards 2026.
The founding ambition was simple: to make the humble sandwich Britain’s favourite lunchtime choice again.
What began as a tiny neighbourhood sandwich shop has grown, the company says, into one of the UK’s most exciting food brands, with multiple locations across Bristol and London, more than 230,000 social media followers and a growing corporate catering operation. According to the business, it has also signed its first international franchise agreement, in Dubai. Winners in this year’s programme, run by the Lloyds British Business Excellence Awards, will be announced at Grosvenor House, London, on 10 November 2026.
A family affair
Nick Kleiner continues to lead the business as chief executive, while Anita remains central to product development and culture. The couple’s sons, Josh and Izzy, now play key roles in marketing and finance, and Nick’s brother Richard supports the company as Non-Executive Head of Finance. Working alongside an experienced leadership team, the family says it has created a business where commercial ambition and family values work hand in hand. That combination of close family ownership and professional management sits at the heart of its awards entry.
Making the sandwich a destination
The company’s philosophy is that a sandwich should never be ordinary. Taking inspiration from cuisines around the world, it produces generous, handcrafted sandwiches that combine bold flavours, texture and quality ingredients, each designed to surprise customers and exceed their expectations. The business reports exceptional customer loyalty and credits a strong social media presence with transforming a traditional food category into a destination brand.
That approach has brought recognition from outside the family too. Sandwich Sandwich was named Uber Eats Restaurant of the Year, a title its corporate website records as being won in 2023 along with a £100,000 prize, and the business has featured in the FEBE Growth 100 for two consecutive years. In the British Business Excellence Awards, however, the verdict is still to come: the company is one of a strong field of contenders in the Family Business of the Year category.
Beyond Bristol
Looking ahead, the family’s stated ambition reaches well past opening more shops. Sandwich Sandwich aims to build a modern British food brand capable of national and international recognition, while staying true to the family values, craftsmanship and genuine hospitality it says have defined it from day one. The company continues to invest in its people, its culture and its communities as it grows, and a place on the shortlist announced in July 2026 puts that formula in front of the judges once more.
