Sales and marketing director Steve Rowe said: “This is a reward for 18 months of hard work by the whole team at Aigua de Vilajuïga. Our priority is export and we hope this award will help our small mineral water company from Catalonia get noticed in international markets. I’d also like to give a special thanks to Rob and Nicky at Studio h in London for creating such a great new label for Aigua de Vilajuïga.
“We’re including news of the award in all of our promotional material, as well as in digital and social media. We’ve already issued a press release to the international food and beverage media and we think the award really does help to underline Aigua de Vilajuïga’s key brand messages of quality, innovation and exclusivity.
“The next step is to generate sales in key developing markets, especially Russia, Asia and the Middle East. Aigua de Vilajuïga is a very special, naturally sparkling mineral water and now we have to spread this message as far and wide as possible.
“Thanks also to everyone at FoodBev Media for their support and for organising such an enjoyable event in Barcelona!”
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Las-Vegas-based caféHydrate won the ‘Best new brand or business’ category.
Founder Michael Coman said: “To me, winning a Water Innovation Award from FoodBev Media means that I am truly being recognised and rewarded for my hard work. It also means that others should take note that this is something worthy.
“This award is set on a global scale and I try to do nothing less than world class work in whatever I do. I started planning and working on caféHydrate a year ago in September. I worked tirelessly nights and weekends on the project, researching, writing, planning, designing and sticking to my launch schedule of April. Luckily, I have a strong background in marketing, design and project management, so the whole project was right up my alley. Plus, I’m a huge fan of different bottled water products. I love trying all the water products the world has to offer.
“I also felt like consumers might benefit from a little clarity in the marketplace. It truly is overwhelming sometimes, standing in the water aisle, wondering what to buy and which is right for you! All these products have a place in our lives and caféHydrate helps you figure out how.
“We will be posting the award on all social channels, our website and in the app itself. The award adds credibility to our cause and reinforces our quality product and branding. We will also link to FoodBev.com, where you all feature information and videos about the awards. I look at FoodBev as a friend and partner now.
“The next step for caféHydrate is to continue to add more products from around the world, ever expanding our reach and depth. With each update of the iPhone app, we can achieve that.
“Our goal is to be the most comprehensive source for information about bottled and mineral waters in the world, both for bottlers and consumers. We truly are looking at a global approach to the app since so many waters are imported and exported all over the world. Plus, working with Apple makes it really nice to reach the far corners of the world. Also, we have more features and functionality planned to add in later updates, so look for those too.”
Denmark’s Krusmølle Kilde was the winner of the ‘Best bottle in glass’ category and a finalist in the ‘Best still or sparkling water’ category.
Founder Henrik Loff said: “It’s a fantastic conversation starter that we have won for ‘Best bottle in glass’ and are finalists in ‘Best new water’. Every time we are promoting the company, we will be mentioning our prize. As the bottle is what consumers see first, it is how they judge the water. We have always had success with our bottle. Women love it and keep the bottle at home for reuse.
“Because the water in Scandinavia is so good, people do not want to spend money on it except when in high-end restaurants. We often hear comments such as ‘I only buy this for the bottle’ or ‘I use the bottle at home, and refill it with tap water – the bottle is just so beautiful’.”
Talking about the next step in marketing and referring to Krusmølle Kilde’s ‘cheeky’ naked man logo, Henrik explained: “Water in itself does not attract enough attention, so we will park our Airstream caravan in the four biggest cities in Denmark: Aalborg, Aarhus, Odense and Copenhagen. Then, four men will walk up and down the pedestrian streets in these cities, carrying buckets of water, but wearing nothing but a fig leaf – to keep the mystery, just like our logo.
“We will place an app scan on their butts, so that you will have to ask the guy to stop (which many women will) to scan the app, which goes directly on to our homepage and shows our nominations as ‘Best water’ and our winning title as ‘Best new bottle in glass’!”
The Water Innovation Awards 2012 were kindly sponsored by SmartSeal.
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