VENDING

● BEST CONVENIENCE INNOVATION

Winner: Selecta (Compass Group UK & Ireland) - MI:ST vending machines, which use steam to heat a range of healthy meal options. Further finalists included Nicogel’s tobacco hand gel, designed to beat cigarette cravings and timed to coincide with recent smoking bans across the UK, and Bon Appetit’s ‘Little Tasty Food Outlet’ vending machine range.

● BEST HEALTH MARKETING INITIATIVE

Winner: Aimia Foods - Milfresh HVO Free Whitener, which uses non-hardened fats and is Trans Fatty Acid free. Other finalists in this category were Aimia Foods with its Milfresh Superior Granulated Skimmed Milk and UK supplier Abbeychart’s biodegradable clip and reel hand gel for hygiene conscious vending operators.

● BEST SUSTAINABILITY INITIATIVE

Winner: UK-based N&W Global Vending - sustainable development programme, which commits to find new solutions which balance economic growth with environmental concerns. Further finalists were Kenco Coffee’s work with the Rainforest Alliance and UK vending service provider Selector for its recent projects including machine refurbishment and sourcing eco-friendly glass for fronting machines.

● BEST NEW VENDING PRODUCT

Winner: Beautiful Vending - the hair straightener vending machine, the perfect solution for ladies on a night out in bars and clubs who need to freshen up their hairstyles. Also finalists in this category were Millar Savoury Foods with its Mulligans Munchers range of snacks and Aimia Foods for the Milfresh HVO Free Whitener.

● BEST USE OF NEW TECHNOLOGY

Winner: Abbeychart - new LED display, an alternative to fluorescent tubes for lighting vending machine display panels. Further finalists included Access Management Systems for its Cyberlock product to combat theft from vending machines and Everpure’s new filter for the vending industry, which combines water softening with water filtration and PH control.

WATER COOLERS

● BEST HEALTH MARKETING INITIATIVE

Winner: Eden Springs Europe - Well-being at Work Campaign, a communication platform encouraging good hydration in the workplace as well as other useful information regarding nutrition, exercise, stress management and ergonomics. Further finalists included Water for Work and Home with its affordable hydration solution for schools and PHS Waterlogic for its support of charity WaterAid’s Drink More Water campaign.

● BEST NEW WATER COOLER PRODUCT

Winner: International Packaging Innovations - Purelock, an innovative recyclable bag for dispensing water, developed in conjunction with Tri-Palm Oasis. In this very popular category, other finalists included Spanish water cooler manufacturer Picsa, with its Ecobot cooler and the Bevyz multi-drink system from Maltese based manufacturer Bevyz.

● BEST USE OF NEW TECHNOLOGY

Winner: US based Tomlinson Industries - HFS series faucet, a range of taps for bottled water coolers with AgION Technology to inhibit bacteria growth on the machine. Further finalists included Italian water cooler manufacturer Cosmetal for its electronic control system and Netherlandsbased Norit Filtrix for the ULTRa*2 water cooler filter.

● BEST SUSTAINABILITY INITIATIVE

Winner: UK water cooler manufacturer Ebac - insulated hot tank for water dispensers, which gives a reduction of over 30 times in power consumption and minimises the effect on the refrigeration system. The other finalists in this category were Scotia Storage for its water cooler rack refurbishment programmes and industry supplier Abbeychart’s new EcoAquaFlo point of use water cooler filter.

Two further prizes were awarded as follows:

● COOLER INNOVATION MAGAZINE BEST OF YEAR PRIZE –

Ebac’s insulated hot tank

● VEND INFORM MAGAZINE BEST OF YEAR PRIZE –

Aimia Food’s Milfresh HVO Free Whitener.

Highly commended prizes were also awarded to:

Slovenia-based Vendmarket for its innovative speaking vending machine and UK manufacturer ZIP Heaters for the filter Zip Hydro Tap.

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