FIA in conjunction with Westpac hosted the first 2008/09 WA Food and Beverage Industry Award to celebrate the achievements of the WA food and beverage industry.

Anchor Foods awarded - Westpac Best Business of the Year. Other category winners were: Mundella Foods, Casa Dairy, Albany Farmers Markets, Safeguard Innovations, Freshcorp, and Craig Mostyn Group. More than 400 people attended.

The event was held as a gala dinner at the Burswood Entertainment Complex, at the Grand Ballroom on Friday November 14.

More information on the 2008 event can be found in the award brochure which can be downloaded here.

Click here to view photo gallery.

2008/09 Award Winners and Finalists

WESTPAC BEST BUSINESS OF THE YEAR sponsored by Westpac

WINNER: Anchor Foods for their innovative range of Lighthouse Special Purpose Flours

BEST RETAIL PRODUCT sponsored by IGA

WINNER: Casa Dairy Products for their Smoothe Probiotic Drinks

FINALISTS: Harvey Fresh for their extended shelf life Lactose Free Milk and Organic Fine Foods for their KidSnak

INNOVATION sponsored by Alinta

WINNER: Anchor Foods for their range of Lighthouse Special Purpose Flours

FINALISTS: Curtin University of Technology for their Lupin Crisps and Safeguard Innovations for their Safeguard Fruit and Veggi Wash

BEST FOOD SERVICE sponsored by Burswood

WINNER: Freshcorp for their excellence from farm gate to plate direct

FINALISTS: Azzura Gelati for their range of fine ice creame and designer desserts and Sticky Fingers Gourmet Foods for their supply of jam and condiments

ENVIRONMENT AND SUSTAINABILITY sponsored by Clear Tech

WINNER: Craig Mostyn Group for their application of environmentally sustainable technologies

FINALISTS: Margaret River Free Range Eggs for their integrated production processes and Woolworths Supermarkets for their water efficiency program

EXPORT sponsored by Department of Agriculture and Food WA

WINNER: Safeguard Innovations for the export of their Safeguard Fruit and Veggie Wash

FINALISTS: Flying Swan Nougat for their export of their range of nougats and Wescobee Honey for their export of their honey products

SERVICE TO INDUSTRY sponsored by Rabobank

WINNER: Albany Farmers Markets for supporting local industry

FINALISTS: Jaymak providing excellence in cool room care service and Market City Fresh Ideas for their industry common use facility

BEST MARKETING CAMPAIGN sponsored by Australia Post

WINNER: Mundella Foods for the Mundella Food "Your Probiotic Company" marketing campaign

FINALISTS: Anchor Foods for their Lighthouse Special Purpose Flours and Woolworths Supermarkets for their Fresh Market Up-date

Sponsors:

IGA, Australia Post, Alinta, Rabobank, Clear-Tech, Burswood Entertainment Complex, Department of Agriculture and Food, and Ferngrove Wines.

Natura Packaging, Amcor Fibre, Pacco Group, PepsiCo International, Morish Nuts, Little Creatures, Linley Valley Pork, Food and Drink Business, Cravings.

Award category criteria

Judging for each award will give consideration towards the following criteria.

Best Retail Product sponsored by IGA

• Fitness for purpose
• Packaging design
• Innovation
• Sensory qualities

Innovation sponsored by Alinta

• Strategies used to overcome business challenge/s
• Originality
• Contribution to industry

Best Food Service Product/Achievement sponsored by Burswood

• Customer service
• Product qualities, innovation
• Service to community
• Business development

Environmental and Sustainability sponsored by Clear Tech

• Method/s used to reduce environmental impact
• Contribution towards improved utilisation of environmental resources
• Contribution towards the reduction of Food Miles and Carbon Footprint
• Recycling initiatives
• Waste management initiatives
• Organic initiatives

Export Award sponsored by Department of Agriculture and Food WA

• Tactics and strategies used to enter market
• Methods used to overcome exporting challenges
• Contribution to export market
• succesful development of a new market or a substantial new contract

Service to Industry sponsored by Rabobank

• Contribution to development of industry
• Contribution to industry advancement
• Professional contribution
• Technical contribution

Best Marketing Campaign sponsored by Australia Post

• Overall contribution to WA food and beverage industry
• Contribution to competitiveness of WA industry
• Contribution to development of WA industry
• Contribution to value of WA industry
• Use of market and consumer trends

** Please Note: Criteria is only used as a basis and is not crucial to winning the award

For more information contact the event co-ordinator at the Food Industry Association on (08) 6488 6654 or email This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it