Brewing giant Carlton & United Breweries has taken out the Supplier Award for Category Management in 2024. This marks the third consecutive year that the Asahi-owned business has earned this accolade, following its wins in 2023 and 2022.
The award was presented to Carlton & United Breweries in front of approximately 400 attendees at the 2024 Australian Drinks Awards, held at the Hilton Sydney last Thursday night.
The win was in addition to Carlton & United Breweries taking home the evening’s most coveted award, Supplier of the Year, which it also won in 2023, along with its sister company, CUB Premium Beverages.
The winner of the Category Management Award is selected based on the results of the annual Advantage Engagement Program. The award recognises the increasingly important discipline of Category Management, which plays a vital role in the retailer and supplier interface and significantly impacts how suppliers are perceived in their engagement with retailers.
Each supplier is evaluated according to the way in which it:
- Customises initiatives to help retailers differentiate their business
- Optimises range/assortment
- Drives category growth
- Provides objective insights for category development
In explaining Carlton & United Breweries success in category management over the past three years, Steve Andrews, Advantage Australia’s Managing Director, said: “Carlton & United Breweries’ capability for generating high-quality insight, and then converting this knowledge into compelling category strategies, featuring leading innovation, has been unparalleled over the last three years.”
“Their collaborative intent to co-create category priorities with trading partners informed by insight and strategy also drives positivity, with the ultimate success in execution to drive growth being the icing on the Category Management cake,” added Andrews.
Shopper Intelligence sponsored the Category Management Award for the second time this year.
Simon Ford, ANZ's Managing Director, said: “Successful category management requires collaborative big picture thinking, a deep understanding of shopper desires and behaviours, and executable excellence. When supported by objective and future-looking insights, these strongly drive growth and partnership.”
“That’s why Shopper Intelligence is proud to sponsor, for the second time, the 2024 Supplier Award for Category Management.”
Ford was on stage to present the award to Carlton & United Breweries.
Accepting the award on behalf of Carlton & United Breweries was Asha Skyring, General Manager of Category, Strategy & Revenue Management.
She said: “We are very honoured to be winning this award. I’d like to say a massive thank you to our category team at CUB. They’ve come up with some fantastic actionable insights that we use both internally and externally with our customers. Thank you also to the retailers that we partner with for working with us to come up with some fantastic programs.”
Ford added: “I’m delighted for Asha and the team at CUB. They’ve once again demonstrated that a category-led approach, putting shoppers at the heart of their decisions, has resulted in brand and retailer partnership success. Well done!”
It was a big night for Asahi Beverages. In addition to the two Supplier Awards won by Carlton & United Breweries, Asahi Beverages also collected five Brand Awards in the Fan Favourite category and three in the Gaining in Popularity category.
Fan Favourite Brand Awards
Beer - Classic: Victoria Bitter
Beer - Contemporary: Carlton Dry
Beer - Premium: Corona
Cider - Somersby
RTD White - Vodka Cruiser Original
Gaining in Popularity Brand Awards
Beer - Premium: Asahi Super Dry
Beer - Non-Alcoholic: Great Northern Zero
RTD White - Hard Rated Alcoholic Lemon
Edwina Bartholomew was MC at the 12th annual Australian Drinks Awards, where 48 awards were distributed to recognise achievement and excellence in the drinks industry, including four Supplier awards: Supplier of the Year, Most Improved Supplier, Category Management and Supply Chain Management.
The Drinks Association congratulates its Category One Member Asahi Beverages and the Carlton & United Breweries team on winning the Category Management Award for the third consecutive year.
Advantage Australia and Shopper Intelligence are Corporate Partners of the Drinks Association.
The Drinks Association would like to extend its thanks to its generous sponsors for this year’s event.
All the winners from the 2024 Australian Drinks Awards are available here:
