BevNET's Best of 2023 Awards

BevNET's Best of 2023 Awards

At the conclusion of each year, BevNET honors the companies, brands, individuals, products, ideas and trends that have helped drive positive growth across the industry over the last 12 months. 

And in 2023, positivity is a truly valuable commodity. It felt something like a culmination of the seismic events of the past few years, as post-COVID market trends crashed into the choppy economic waters and supply chain disruptions born from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Within the industry, conditions further stressed entrepreneurs by a collective pivot away from emphasis on raw growth and towards profitability. Beverage founders and operators have suddenly been asked to rewrite the playbooks that had brought them to prominence. Optimistic projections for endless future growth suddenly didn’t seem so certain. 

What was predictable, though, was the way in which those beverage leaders responded to the opportunities inherent in that challenge. Giant legacy brands like Gatorade, Monster and Red Bull now face substantial competitors in the guise of Electrolit, PRIME and Pepsi-aligned Celsius, which has been turned around under CEO John Fieldly to nearly $400 million in quarterly sales. The red-hot ‘adult non-alcoholic’ space has been a wellspring of inspiration for product innovators – how else would we get a zero-proof, olive oil-spiked martini? For the answers to questions about the viability of a canned plant-based milk for kids, or if there’s room on the shelf for more robusta-centric RTD coffees, just read on here. 

The winners of BevNET’s Best of 2023 Awards embody that spirit and drive, combining inspiration with effort, style, dynamism and personality. Try to tell these brands that they can’t, and they’ll show you how they can.

View the Full List of BevNET Best of 2023 Award Nominees

Brand of the Year

Reserved for companies whose work throughout the year has created lasting, substantial, positive change through innovation and high quality.
PRIME

PRIME

Acknowledging the old timers we admittedly are, we won’t even pretend to understand all of the factors that create a media movement like PRIME, but we do know that there’s been an incredibly well-coordinated mix of execution and earned media that has allowed this brand to be as disruptive in the hydration and energy categories as Van Halen opening for Black Sabbath upended the heavy metal game. They’ve activated a new set of fans, getting them early, making it the must-have beverage for the cool kid at the soccer field.

Person of the Year

Reserved for individuals whose work throughout the year has created lasting, substantial, positive change through innovation and high quality.
John Fieldly, CEO, Celsius

John Fieldly, CEO, Celsius

It’s a landing worthy of Top Gun. Celsius was coming in hot and the PepsiCo landing pad was already torn ragged from ongoing scuffles with previous energy drink partners, but John Fieldly and his team have managed to bring the brand into its new distribution system in as smooth a fashion as could be imagined.

Best New Products

Lines or SKUs that have been introduced in the previous year that have at least one outstanding quality in terms of taste, design, cause, formulation, or that generate interest over their disruptive potential.

Best Packaging

The brand or product with innovative package design that stands out amongst the rest on shelf, which can include either a new product on the market or a brand that has undergone a major packaging refresh.

Best Marketing

Awarded to the company that broke through the noise with its marketing campaign which grabbed the attention of both consumers and industry peers.
Tractor Beverage - "Escape the Ordinary"

Tractor Beverage - "Escape the Ordinary"

Tractor Beverage Co.’s first ever ad campaign, “Escape the Ordinary” is a psychedelic cartoon odyssey all its own, set to a rendition of Duran Duran’s “Ordinary World” performed by roots artist Valerie June, featuring urban dystopia, dreamscape wonderlands, and better-for-you craft soda fountains. The vivid animation and strange imagery (Why does every individual ice cube have eyes? What is with the faceless flying peach cherubs?) stuck in our minds all year long, and we can only hope it had a similar impact on the consumers who saw this ad in its various forms on streaming services, TV and movie theaters where the disruptive fountain beverage company placed this standout campaign.

Rising Star

Companies whose work has great potential to shift or open categories, create new ideas about products or brands, and have shown growth that indicates they will have an enduring presence in the industry.