Awards Winners Announced in Mexico City

Bottled water companies from around the world gathered on 13 September for the presentation of the prestigious 2007 bottledwaterworld awards organised by Zenith International Publishing.

The best bottle in glass category, aimed primarily at the hotel and restaurant market, was won by the striking Veen Waters Finland, with runners up Bavaria in the Netherlands for the bottle used by its Waater brand which represents a water droplet producing ripples on the water’s surface and the eye catching limited edition Avra bottles from Coca-Cola HBC Greece.

Highly commended entrants in this category were:
Eaux de Source de Saint Géron (Saint Géron) - France
Source Glacier Beverage Company (10 Thousand BC) - Canada

In the best sustainability category, the winner was Icelandic Water Holdings which has secured full certification from The CarbonNeutral Company in 2007 for the commitment it is making to monitor, assess, reduce and offset carbon emissions. Other finalists included The Danube Box, a pack of education materials on water conservation being produced by Coca-Cola Hellenic Bottling Company in Austria and Davamond, an Iranian partnership company of Groupe Danone, which has teamed up with Unicef to help finance children’s education projects.

Highly commended entries in this category were:
The Coca-Cola Company (eKOfreshment ) - worldwide
Nestlé Waters North America (Ozarka) - USA

The best bottle in PET prize was awarded to the 1 litre water company from Canada for a uniquely designed proprietary 1 litre and 1 half litre bottle with an integrated PET cup for upmarket restaurants, hotels and spas.  Other finalists in this category were the ergonomic Aava 1 litre bottle from Sheelpe Enterprises based in India and the tall 50cl PET bottle for Red Cross Water recently launched by Norway’s Aquann Water Project.

Highly commended entrants in this category were:
Ringnes (Imsdal) - Norway
Brasserie de Tahiti (O'Tahiti) - Tahiti
Demo Design & Moulds (Sikko) - Italy

The best label section received 29 entries, so competition was particularly fierce. The winner was Whitehole Springs from the UK which has designed a stylish yet subtle label for its Tufa Pure spring water brand. Other finalists in this category were the vibrant shrink sleeve label designed by Pure Blue for its eponymous water and the eye catching silver shrink label on the hangover hydration drink AH+ produced Taste After Hours in Canada.

Highly commended entrants in this category were:
Radenska / Futura DDB (Radenska Plus) - Sloviena
Coca-Cola Bottlers Ireland - (Deep River Rock) - Ireland

In the best enhanced water concept category, the winner was the reinvigorated flavoured water range from US based Hint. Close behind were Austria’s Vöslauer Biolimo and Unicer’s slimming water Vitalis Elegante sold in Portugal, which uses soluble fibres to reduce appetite and L-carnitine to convert fat into energy.

Highly commended entrants in this category were:
Danone (Volvic Revive) – UK & Ireland
Gerolsteiner (Linée) - Germany
GidaSA (Siluet) – Turkey

The winner of the best children’s concept category was Kerry Foods for Kerry Spring Xtra, which claims to be the first functional water to target children in the Irish market. Other finalists were US based Wadda Juice that produces blends of juice and mineral water blends for kids and Coca-Cola HBC Greece which has recently relaunched Avra Bloom.

Sidel was the clear winner in the best packaging innovation category for the development of what the company claims is the lightest PET bottle for water, weighing just 9.9 grammes per 50cl bottle. Runners-up were the PouchLink system patented by Waterwerkz which enables water based drinks to be freshly produced in-situ within a vending machine and Sanpellegrino (Nestlé Waters Italy) which has produced an Easycap for its Levissima brand which allows easy one hand use and the cap opens 180°.

A highly commended entry in this category was:
Hamidiye Spring Water (Hamidiye) - Turkey

Danone Waters (UK & Ireland) scooped the best marketing campaign with the Volcanicity campaign, a set of brand advertisements for Volvic. The campaign introduced consumers to Mr Volcano (George to his friends) and his sidekick Tyrannosaurus Alan. Others finalists were Coca-Cola Deutschland which launched a diversified campaign for the Apollinaris brand and Strathmore which broadcast its first screen ad for its eponymous water brand in 2007.

Highly commended entries in this category were:
Glacéau (Try it) - USA
Coca-Cola Czech & Slovakia (Bonaqua) – Czech Republic & Slovakia
Highland Spring - Visit Scotland - top 10 Scottish experiences campaign – UK
Masafi - UAE

The best newcomer covered many of these new brands or businesses which have launched since July 2006. The winner was charity brand Thirsty Planet produced by UK based Waterbrands. The two other finalists were Gida SA which has launched the Siluet brand in Turkey and Veen Waters Finland (winner of the best bottle in glass category).

Highly commended entries in this category were:
Aquann Water Project (Red Cross Water) - Norway
Inside Out Beauty (SIP) - UK

Lastly, the prize for best overall concept was awarded to Canada’s 1 litre water company for developing a sophisticated and elegant PET bottle that is a desirable and safe poolside or spa resort option. A stainless steel sleeve to keep the luxury bottle chilled is also part of the brand’s overall proposition. The judges all agreed that the bottle’s visual impact along with its design originality, ergonomics and technical innovation means that the winning entry is an innovation the bottled water industry will take pride in.