Entries for the World Beverage Innovation Awards 2020 opened in June, so we asked our panel of industry experts what they are hoping to see from this year’s entries, which should hopefully offer some inspiration.
The awards are a celebration of innovation and excellence across the global beverage industry. There are 22 trophies to be won in total, and being shortlisted provides a hallmark of success that will prevail long after the awards draw to a close.
Enter before 31 July and save £55 with our early bird discount.
Nataly Restrepo Food and Beverage Innovation Consultant
It is an honour to be judging the World Beverage Innovation Awards 2020. As a food designer and strategist, I understand innovation as a way to drive meaningful value to our food and beverage systems. I am excited to apply this vision while reviewing entries that might contribute to shaping better relationships between consumers, producers and the whole distribution chain.
I will be looking for ideas that go beyond the product and promote a positive food user experience, establishing a clear balance between human desires, business viability and technology application. Here are the main attributes I will be looking for:
Geoff Parker CEO, Australian Beverages Council & Asia-Pacific Regional Director, International Council of Beverages Associations
It’s a great pleasure to be taking part in the World Beverages Innovation Awards 2020, having participated in the judging of these awards on a number of occasions before.
At this challenging time for the world economy – and the drinks industry – I am particularly excited to see how brands will embrace these challenges and turn them into opportunities. More so than ever, the uncertain nature of the current environment has emphasised the importance of the grocery channel to the drinks industry while some manufacturers have moved to supply drinks directly to consumers in their homes.
The current environment has also put sustainability at the heart of the beverage industry. With ambitious recycled content targets across the industry and its supply chain, I am interested to see how entries to this year’s awards will incorporate this into their designs.
Sustainability consistently ranks highly in consumer sentiment research and beverages companies have responded rapidly by turning sustainability into more than simply a selling point by embedding it into a company’s DNA. I would expect this to come through strongly in contestants’ entries in 2020 and in subsequent years. In 2020, I’m looking for:
Thea Bourianne Senior Solutions Consultant, Label Insight
As a registered dietitian and expert in food and beverage product data, labels, and trends, I will be looking for products which are exciting and nuanced. I look forward to participating once again in the World Beverage Innovation Awards and I will be paying close attention to products with the following five attributes:
Amir Ghaffari Brewmaster and Maltmaster & Managing Director, Avina
I am grateful to be part of the judging panel for the World Beverage Innovation Awards 2020 and to be given the chance to recognize some of the best global innovations in the beverages industry, that enable our world to reach better use of climate and environmental resources through new technology advances.
Furthermore, it is a milestone to produce new functional drinks in today’s difficult situation, based on more health benefits, so that our body can be strengthen our immune and defense systems, for instance through antioxidants and vitamins in products. Here is what I will be looking for from entrants:
Austin Kozman R&D Senior Director – External Innovation, PepsiCo
I am excited to be a judge for the 2020 World Beverages Innovation Awards once again. Consumers are always exploring new spaces and new opportunities in search of something that resonates with them on a personal level or meets a previously unmet need. I am always interested to see how new brands leverage unique consumer insights to unlock a differentiated consumer experience that drives engagement and creates growth. Here are the particular areas of focus I will be looking out for this year:
From a sustainability standpoint, the goal is to enable better packaging solutions from a complete life-cycle analysis including solutions that move away from the traditional can/bottle model. I am interested in new materials and technology that enable packaging to be reused at end of life, preferable again as packaging for the same products, packaging with unique pre- & post-consumer functionality, such as edible, dissolvable, etc.
Finally, with the increase in e-commerce I want to see packaging solutions that deliver new and different functionalities to the primary and secondary packaging used for e-commerce.
Kate Loatman Executive Director, International Council of Beverages Associations
I am very pleased to be part of the World Beverage Innovation Awards 2020. As someone who monitors global trends for the beverage industry, I am interested to see how our brands are reacting to – or even better, driving forward – broader trends in health and sustainability. This year, I’ve got my eye on beverages that promote:
Find out what the second half of the judging panel will be expecting to see at the end of August, when we will be releasing ‘World Beverage Innovation Awards 2020: judging criteria (Part 2)‘.
Enter the awards here
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