Spirit of Innovation Awards
Nominate Your New Product for the 2020 Spirit of Innovation Awards Today!
Deadline to Submit: May 8, 2020
The Spirit of Innovation Award is designed to recognize product development teams for excellence in creating an innovative new product. The winners are acknowledged for each step of the process: from ideation and development to design, creation and launch of the product.
The Spirit of Innovation Award is sponsored by Prepared Foods. Created back in 2003 by Prepared Foods, the award has a history of recognizing landmark food and beverage product launches. In addition to being rewarded for true excellence in innovation and outstanding teamwork, these winners have received priceless worldwide exposure.
2020 CATEGORIES & DESCRIPTIONS
Best New Product - Retail Food: Most interesting, unique new retail offering (product line or individual SKU)
Best New Product - Retail Beverage: Most interesting, unique new retail offering (product line or individual SKU)
Best New Product - Foodservice / Front of the House (Item Addressing Consumer Trends): Most interesting, unique new prepared offering addressing restaurant patrons’ taste trends and other food preferences.
Best New Product - Foodservice / Back of the House (Item Addressing Customer-Operator Needs): Most interesting, unique new prepared offering – addressing taste trends – but also helping operators reduce cost, labor, time, etc.
Best New Product - Alternative Channel: Best new food / beverage developed specifically for in-store bakery, in-store deli or convenience store channel operators.
JUDGING & CRITERIA DETAILS
Product Eligibility: To be eligible, product(s) must have been introduced between January 2019 and March 2020.
Success Story / Teamwork: Prepared Foods’ Spirit of Innovation awards are unique in that they honor product R&D teams’ multi-functional collaboration to identify market opportunities and do work together in product development. Please tell us how and why this product addresses a market need as well as how team members worked together to address and solve internal challenges.
Success Story / Sales: Can you demonstrate positive market sales results? Please do…
Packaging: Packaging innovation is a judging consideration but not weighted as highly as overall formulation and product development. Please note new-to-category packaging innovation (as appropriate)
Submissions: Products may be nominated directly by manufacturer-processor representatives, public relations firms or industry suppliers (ingredients, packaging, etc.)
Judging / How: Each product will be evaluated on an initial 10-point grading scale according to its originality, demonstrated teamwork, demonstrated sales success
Judging / Who: Prepared Foods staff will evaluate all submissions and seek additional input from Chief Editors of sister BNP Media titles: Beverage Industry, Dairy Foods, The National Provisioner (meat/poultry/seafood), Snack & Wholesale Bakery, Candy Industry, Refrigerated & Frozen Foods and Industria Alimenticia. Related titles include Brand Packaging, Flexible Packaging and Packaging Strategies.
Second-round Taste Test: Prepared Foods will ask manufacturers to submit samples of top-scoring new products for additional taste testing / evaluation.
Timing: Spirit of Innovation award nominations will be accepted February 3rd until May 8, 2020. The top 10 in each category will be notified by May 11th and the taste evaluation will take place June 5th.
Winners will be notified by June 12, 2020.
Winners: Prepared Foods will honor five manufacturers during the annual Prepared Foods New Products Conference, September 14 - September 16, 2020 at Marriott Dallas Downtown. Winners must be willing to attend and send product(s) to be sampled during an awards ceremony and reception. The Award Ceremony and Reception will be held September 14, 2020.
- On-site: While at the conference, the winners will have the opportunity to discuss the strategies involved in creating the winning product, the teams’ major accomplishments as well as the challenges the product development team had to overcome.
- Prepared Foods' Feature Article: Winners are recognized with a feature article in Prepared Foods, appearing in the October issue of the magazine.
2019 SOI AWARDS PHOTO GALLERY
Prepared Foods presented its 17th annual “Spirit of Innovation” awards for new product teams during the New Products Conference, Sept. 30-Oct. 2 at Chicago’s Swissotel.
PAST SOI AWARDS WINNERS
Foodservice Category Archives
2015 | 2014 | 2013 | 2012 | 2011 | 2010 | 2009 | 2008 | 2007 | 2006 | 2005 | 2004 | 2003
Retail Category Archives
2015 | 2014 | 2013 | 2012 | 2011 | 2010 | 2009 | 2008 | 2007 | 2006 | 2005 | 2004 | 2003
New Products Conference is Going 100% Virtual in 2020!
Prepared Foods’ New Products Conference delivers the industry’s most focused look at food & beverage innovation—from consumer insights, product and packaging trends to the new tastes and latest technologies (e-commerce, artificial intelligence, etc) impacting R&D. Join us when the virtual event portal opens on August 14, 2020 and will remain open and accessible through August 2021.
