After a two year hiatus, the Australian Drinks Awards will be hosted at an in-person event on Thursday, 28 July in Sydney with Shelly Horton to MC the evening at the Ivy Ballroom.
Forty-three awards in all will be distributed across Brand, Supplier and Contribution to Industry categories. The awards to be presented on the night are:
Brand Awards
The thirty-six brand accolades are across the two awards of Fan Favourite and Gaining in Popularity with categories including beer (classic, contemporary, premium, craft), cider, wine (red, white, rose, Champagne and sparkling), spirits (dark, white and aperitif/liqueurs), RTD (dark and white), non-alcoholic and new to the awards this year, within the RTD category, Seltzer.
The top 200 drinks brands, identified by Dan Murphy’s ranging and ALM withdrawal data are automatically entered into the competition and Thrive Research determine the winners via a survey of 4000 consumers.
Below are last year's Fan Favourites:
And last year's Gaining In Popularity:
The Fan Favourite Awards are sponsored by Manildra and the Gaining in Popularity Awards are sponsored by IRI.
Supplier Awards
The highly esteemed Supplier Awards are determined by the results of the industry wide Engagement Program, facilitated by Advantage Group. The category includes: Supply Chain Management Award (won last year by Australian Vintage Limited), Category Management Award (won last year by Diageo), Most Improved Supplier of the Year (won last year by Accolade Wines), and Supplier of the Year (won last year by Diageo).
Contribution to Industry Awards
There are three Contribution to Industry Awards: Corporate Social Responsibility, Inclusive & Diverse Workplace and the Most Improved Gender Equity Award.
Drinks Association’s CEO, Georgia Lennon says, “The world is opening up after two years of upheaval, but suppliers and trade continue to face supply chain challenges, spikes in inflation, increasing costs of doing business and continued workforce shortages.
“Meanwhile sustainability and progressive corporate governance are becoming increasingly important for employees and consumers. The high calibre of entrants to the Contribution to Industry awards are reflective of this complex and competitive environment.
“We are working in an industry that is developing at pace and well on its way to becoming more socially conscious, increasingly environmentally active, as well as being more inclusive and diverse in its day to day practices.
“It is an exciting time to be a part of this wonderful industry in which we are so fortunate to work and I look forward to celebrating the winners of these coveted awards at the end of July.”
Each of the Contribution to Industry awards is judged by a panel of industry leaders and each panel includes members of the Drinks Association Board, members of industry and experts in the space of Diversity & Inclusion and Corporate Social Responsibility.
It is important to note that any judge whose organisation has put forward a submission for a particular category of an award, is not eligible to participate in the judging process for that award.
Corporate Social Responsibility Award: Recognises an organisation's unique initiatives and strategies demonstrating a commitment to socially responsible principles such as responsible drinking, environmental sustainability or community, charity and corporate values. This was awarded to Lion last year.
Inclusive & Diverse Workplace Award: recognises organisations that prioritise diversity and recognise the value of an inclusive workplace for individuals and their organisations.The award went to Treasury Wine Estates last year.
Most Improved Gender Equity Award: In 2022, there are four finalists for this award: Campari, Taylors Wines, Moët Hennessy and Bacardi.
The gender equity award changed last year, shifting focus to recognising the business which has made the most strides forward in terms of gender equity.
In past years, the Gender Equity and Inclusive & Diverse Workplace Awards received very similar applications, indicating the criteria were not separate enough. Gender equity is really a part of Inclusive and Diverse workplaces so there was some duplication.
The Embrace Difference Council’s scorecard incorporates real data in relation to gender equity, and the decision was made that this was a good starting point to recognise companies that have moved forward in their gender equity development. Data from WGEA is first assessed to identify the finalists who then have the opportunity to submit and explain how the organisations have pushed their businesses along on their gender equity journeys.
This award went to Australian Vintage Limited last year.
Good luck to all the entrants!
This event is sold out.