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- Beverage Digest Awards 2018
Beverage Digest Awards 2018
Beverage Digest introduces its first awards to celebrate excellence across the North American beverage industry. These awards are a great way for you to enhance the promotion of your brand and ensure your products are recognized on an international scale. Beverage Digest will announce the winners during an awards ceremony at this year's Future Smarts conference on 7 December in New York.
Details
Our guide below should provide you with all the information you need about the Beverage Digest Awards.
If you have any other queries, please contact us on awards@beverage-digest.com
What are the categories?
- Best Low/No Sugar Drink
- Best Premium Drink
- Best Functional Drink
- Best Packaging Design
- Best Label Design
- Best Technology Innovation
- Best Marketing or Social Media Campaign
- Best New Brand/Brand Extension sponsored by CMG
- Best New Drink Concept
Are you unsure on which category to enter? Visit our entry criteria tab for further guidance contact awards@beverage-digest.com
Why should I enter?
- Gain publicity from leading industry media
- Benefit from independent international recognition
- Enjoy year round marketing exposure
- Attract validation for present and potential future investors
- Showcase your product, service or campaign alongside other exciting innovators
- Finalists and winners will receive a comprehensive communications pack complete with a press release, logos for use on packaging, websites or email signatures, a certificate and of course a trophy for winners!
- Network with finalists and winners at the event.
How do I enter?
Simply click 'Enter now', select the category/ies you wish to enter and fill out your company information on the entry page.
You will receive a confirmation email, and a member of the awards team will contact you with the 'next steps' for your application process.
How much does it cost to enter?
You can enter multiple categories or products at a cost of $195.00 per entry until September 10. After this date, cost of entry is $225.00.
If you enter 3 categories, the 4th is free!
How do I pay?
We accept most major credit and debit cards upon checkout on the awards website.
After payment, you will recieve an order confirmation, followed by a PDF receipt, both by email.
If you are unable to pay by credit/debit card, please contact awards@beverage-digest.com
What happens once I have paid?
Once paid, we will contact you with the 'next steps' for your application process.
What is the deadline to enter?
Friday November 02, 2018 for both payment and award application.
Where are the awards presented?
The awards ceremony will take place on December 7, 2018 during Beverage Digest Future Smarts, in New York.
While we would be very pleased to see you there, attendance is not a condition of entering the awards.
Beverage Digest Future Smarts
This beverage industry update will give attendees a comprehensive review of the most important events of the past year and a road map for what's coming next year. Speakers include the most accomplished and knowledgeable experts on the most profitable non-alcoholic beverage market in the world. Executives from manufacturing, marketing, finance, investment, supply chain, distribution and elsewhere, who must be in the know, should attend the conference.
For program details and to book, please click here.
When will the finalists be announced?
Once all judges have submitted their feedback and scores, all points will be counted and verified.
All entrants will be notified of the results in November 2018. A press release will announce the finalists.
How do I contact you?
Contact us at awards@beverage-digest.com
Entry Criteria
We are delighted to hear that you may enter the Beverage Digest Awards. Here are some guidelines to help you enter the correct category. To increase your chances of winning, please stick to these guidelines as closely as possible.
Samples are not required for any category.
Further information and guidance will be provided once your application has been submitted for the awards.
To download the full award guidelines, please click here.
If you have any questions, please contact awards@beverage-digest.com
Best Functional Drink
Judged on:
- Innovation
- Market need
- Execution
- Presentation
- Functionality of product
Best Low/No Sugar Drink
Judged on:
- Innovation of concept
- Flavor combinations
- Use of sweetening agents and product development
- Product differentiation
Best New Drink Concept
Judged on:
- Innovation of concept
- Product/initative differentiation
Best Packaging Design
Judged on:
- Innovation of concept
- Structual differentiation
- Functionality: i.e. differentiated, solves a problem, adds versatility, increases sustainability
- Design/appearance
Best Label Design
Judged on:
- Appearance/color
- Brand presentation
- On pack communication
Best Technology Innovation
Judged on:
- Degree of improvement from previous technology
- Degree of innovation from incremental to ground-breaking new concept
- Value of benefit in cost saving, efficency improvement, breadth of application to wider industry
Best New Brand/Brand Extension
Judged on:
- Innovation of branding
- Strength of brand expression
- Differentiation
- Potential for developing a new category of providing added choice to consumers
Samples are not required for this category
Best Marketing or Social Media Campaign
Judged on:
- Innovation
- Conceptualization
- Execution
- Responses
Best Premium Drink
Judged on:
- Point of difference/value-add
- Sophistication
- Added benefits
- Ethical dimension
- Volume/value performance in the market
The Judges
Vanessa Walker
Former Executive VP of Marketing and Innovation at Celsius Holdings
Vanessa Walker has worked in the Beverage and Retail segments for 24 years now and has a proven track record of building strong business infrastructures by positioning brands to attract consumers to win at retail.
Before joining the Celsius team in early 2016, Walker served as EVP, Sales and Marketing of LaCroix Sparkling Water for National Beverage Corp., specifically creating and executing tactical business plans to revitalize the LaCroix brand. Under Walker’s leadership, LaCroix grew from a small regional brand into a major national brand, ranked number one in dollar share with 26% of the sparkling water segment and sales of $175M+ in reporting channels. As a result, Vanessa was promoted from her original role as Senior Director of Strategic Brand Development, to EVP, Sales and Marketing; an entirely new division formed to support the rapid LaCroix brand growth, which Walker led for eight years, while overseeing all aspects of the brand’s development and success.
Prior to her time at National Beverage Corp., Walker served as Director of Marketing for Big Red, working primarily to re-launch the Red JAK energy drink. Previously, Walker held the position of VP, National Accounts for IN ZONE Brands, makers of the then BellyWashers and TummyTicker brands (today: Good2Grow), where she successfully positioned the lines at national retailers, growing sales from $850,000 in 1999 to $90 million by 2003.
A graduate of The Florida State University, Walker received her EMBA in International Business from Mercer University. An active member of her community, she sits on the board of the Jack & Jill Children’s Center and is an active Member of Broward County’s Pi Beta Phi Alum Club. Walker is also active in the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society’s South FL & Puerto Rico Chapter. In August 2018, Walker was named a Top Executive in BevNET’s Leaning In To Beverage list of the Top 31 Women In the Beverage Business.
Seth Goldman
Co-Founder & TeaEO Emeritus at Honest Tea
Seth Goldman is Co-Founder & TeaEO Emeritus of Honest Tea and Executive Chair of Beyond Meat.
Bonnie Herzog
Managing Director at Wells Fargo Securities
Bonnie Herzog is a Managing Director and Senior Consumer Equity Analyst at Wells Fargo covering the Beverage, Household & Personal Care, Tobacco and Convenience Store sectors.
William Dermody
VP of Media Communications & Public Affairs at American Beverage Association
As vice president of policy for ABA, Dermody is responsible for managing issues and developing policy on a range of topics, including environmental sustainability, health, science and taxes.
Bill Sipper
Managing Partner at Cascadia Managing Brands
Bill Sipper is Managing Partner at Cascadia Managing Brands. He founded Cascadia Consulting Group in 2003 and merged with Managing Brands to form Cascadia Managing Brands in 2012.
Cascadia Managing Brands have helped many brands successfully navigate sales and marketing in the food and beverage space. Brands include Zico Coconut Water, Hint Water, C2O Coconut Water, Rubicon Exotic Fruit Juices (UK), WOW Nutrition (Brazil), The TH Company (Vietnam), Steaz, Pre Antioxidant Drink (Dubai) and more. Cascadia Managing Brands consults for preeminent beverage companies worldwide.
Jack Belsito
Managing Partner at First Beverage Ventures
Jack is the former Group CEO of Voss of Norway ASA. Prior to that, he was the founder and CEO of JLB and Company, an investing and advising firm specializing in the beverage industry. He has over 30 years of experience in consumer products.
Jack is a former Alan Houston Foundation Entrepreneur Mentor and was honored with the prestigious Frederick Douglass Award from the New York Urban League in 2006. He is a graduate of the Boston University School of Management and received the SMG Distinguished Alumni Award in 2005. Jack currently serves as a member of the Boston University Athletic Directors Council.
Sponsorship
Opportunities are available for category sponsors.
Category sponsorship
Category sponsorship includes:
- Opportunity to present the winner with their award during the ceremony
- Company logo on all awards marketing material between now and the event
- Company logo on event and award webpage with a hyperlink to company homepage
- Sponsor referenced in category title e.g. Best Functional Water sponsored by Company X
Categories
All packages include discounted delegate places to the Future Smarts conference, as well as pre- and post-event social media and marketing exposure.
We are happy to tailor a package to suit your particular needs and budget.
Interested in sponsoring?
For more information on our sponsorship packages, contact Maxine Harle on e mharle@zenithglobal.com t +44 (0) 1225 327341
2018 Winners
The winners of the 2018 Beverage Digest Awards were announced on Friday 7 Dember at an awards ceremony during the Beverage Digest Future Smarts Conference in New York. The Beverage Digest Awards were organised by Zenith Global, with support from headline sponsor PureCircle and category sponsor CMG.
The Winners
Best Low/No Sugar Drink
- The Coca-Cola Company - Diet Coke
Best Premium Drink
- mood33 - Cannabis-Infused Sparkling Tonics
Best Functional Drink
- Soylent - Soylent
Best Packaging Design
- CORE Nutrition - CORE Hydration
- PepsiCo - bubly
Best Label Design
- Essentia Water, LLC - Essentia Water
Best Technology Innovation
- The Coca-Cola Company - Coca-Cola Freestyle 9100
Best Marketing or Social Media Campaign
- BA Sports Nutrition LLC - BODYARMOR Sports Drink
Best New Brand/Brand Extension
- Kimino Drinks Inc - Kimino Yuzu
Best New Drink Concept
- mood33 - Cannabis-Infused Sparkling Tonics