The categories and judging panel have been announced for the 7th edition of the Health ingredients, Natural ingredients & NuW awards programme, which recognizes exceptional innovations & talent within the nutrition + wellness industry.
The focus of the health and wellness industry has switched gears. Instead of only taking an interest on health when a person’s sick, consumers now seek products that prevent illness and provide nutritional value.
The market is now witnessing a move from reactive to proactive, with consumers actively seeking functional foods that provide benefit adding solutions to whatever nutritional challenges they currently face or will face later in life.
The new categories, selected by the Chairman of Judges, Peter Wennström of Healthy Marketing Team, reflect this current shift in trend towards the functional food market.
"I wanted to make the judging criteria as representative as possible for the commercial reality in the market today", says Peter Wennström, president, Health Marketing Team.
The awards are divided into 3 categories, one being presented in conjunction with IUFost (International Union of Food Science and Technology)
Functional Innovation
Beauty & Anti-Ageing Innovation of the Year
Heart Health & Circulatory Innovation of the Year
Infant and Pre-Pregnancy Nutrition Innovation of the Year
Weight Management & Hunger Management Innovation of the Year
Gut Health, Immunity & Digestion Innovation of the Year
Mental & Cognitive Performance Innovation of the Year
Physical Performance Innovation of the Year
Special Innovation
Process & Packaging Innovation of the Year
Sustainability & Environmental Initiative of the Year
Marketing & Positioning Initiative of the Year
IUFoST
IUFoST Young Scientist Award
IUFost Lifetime Achievement Award
The judging panel, which traditionally represents key figures within the food industry, consists of: Peter Wennstrom, Chairman of Judges, Healthy Marketing; Kip Winter-Cox, Head of Marketing, Bakkavor Food Ltd; Bart Fischer, Manager Product Innovation, Albert Heijn; Elodie Lebastard, Director, EAS; Georges Bruelle, Prospective Manager, Danone; Albert Zwijgers, Senior Food Technologist, Unilever; John Madden, Head of Ingredients Research, Euromonitor; Ian Gordon, Chairman, Giract; Kamel Chida, Associate Director Open Innovation, General Mills; Michael Knowles, Coca Cola; Marie-Pierre Membrives, McDonalds.
Submissions for the NuW Excellence Awards are currently being accepted for all participating exhibitors of Health ingredients, Natural ingredients & NuW at http://hieurope.ingredientsnetwork.com/awards. The deadline for submissions is July 15. A short list of candidates for each category will be announced publicly the first half of August. The 2012 winners will be announced at an awards ceremony which will end the first day of the Health ingredients, Natural ingredients & NuW exhibition in Frankfurt, Germany.
