Entries open for the 2015 Food Magazine Awards

The 2015 Food Magazine Awards are set to be our biggest yet, with the addition of three new categories.

The Food Magazine Awards endeavour to recognise those manufacturers who have led the way in the past 12 months, releasing a new and unique product to market. Through categories including Sustainable Manufacturer of the Year, Community Engagement and Employer of the Year, manufacturers can also be recognised for how they treat not only their customers, but also the wider community and its environment.

This is a great opportunity to have your team’s hard work and innovation recognised by industry peers.

Now in its 11th year, the Food Magazine Awards have become a pivotal event in the food and beverage industry's calendar; bringing manufacturers, large and small, together to celebrate some of the latest and greatest new product launches.

The Food Magazine Awards comprise 16 categories, covering not just new food and beverage launches, but also innovative breakthroughs in the areas of sustainability, labelling, food safety and packaging design. In order to enter a product, it needs to have been launched between April 2013 and April 2015.

This year will see the addition of three new categories: Label Design, Community Engagement and Employer of the Year.

Categories:

Beverages: for ready to drink alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages.
Baked Goods: This category is for all products that use a dry heat cooking process, whether sweet or savoury.
Dairy: For all products that include cow, milk, buffalo or goat milk as a main element.
Organics: For all products that include cow, milk, buffalo or goat milk as a main element.
Ready Meals: Meals that are ready to go, and do not require any additional ingredients. Ready meals include all the elements of a meal and require one or less steps for preparation.
Snack Foods: Foods which do not constitute an entire meal, and are eaten between main meals. They can be sweet or savoury but do not require significant preparation before consumption.
Prepared Foods: Commercially packaged foods that require some additions and can take two or more steps to create a meal. Prepared Foods differ from Ready Meals as they are only components of a meal, rather than an entire meal.
Food Safety and Innovation in Non-Food: This product or service needs to be directly applicable to the Australian or New Zealand food and beverage industries and offer a food safety benefit to the food industry. This benefit may be realised through design, improved sanitation or allergen testing.
Health and Wellness: These are foods that benefit the health and wellness of consumers, and should have scientific research and reports to back up the claims.
Ingredient Innovation: This category is for new developments in ingredients at any level of the process.
Packaging Design: This category is to recognise and reward creativity and innovation in food and beverage packaging. Note this category is not appropriate for new/redesigned product labels. These entries are more appropriate for our Label Design category.
Sustainable Manufacturer: This category will recognise companies that have made a concerted effort to reduce their environmental impact. This could be through implementing a new manufacturing process which reduces carbon emissions, introducing staff initiatives to foster sustainability in their work environment, or efforts to reduce the ‘food miles’ of their products. Please note that this category is for manufacturers, not for individual products.
Meat and Smallgoods: This incorporates all fresh meats and deli meat products. The innovation here could be in regards to how the meat is cooked/prepared by the manufacturer or the end user, or an innovative combination of ingredients or processing techniques.
Label Design: This award recognises companies that have invested time and energy into designing a unique and effective label for their food or beverage product/range. The label should be unlike any other on the market and clearly communicate the manufacturer’s philosophy and who its target market is. This category is suitable for brands that have undergone a redesign, or for recently released products.
Community Engagement: This award aims to recognise a company within the food and beverage manufacturing industry that makes a concerted effort to engage with its local community. This could be through hosting and/or participating in charity events and/or fundraisers, lobbying for a cause which affects the manufacturers’ local area or conducting research in the area to help the manufacturer deliver products that resonate with the end user.
Employer of the Year: This award is for a company that employs and fosters staff that are engaged in strategic goals and company values. The companies entering this category will have prioritised investing in people and initiatives that foster a collaborative culture, harnessing the skills of its team to grow and prosper the company. The company will have evidence of staff retention, staff satisfaction and/or implemented initiatives aimed at improving/maintaining morale and performance of team members.