It was great fun recently at the Radisson Hotel, Isaac John street, Ikeja when the 2021 edition of the Nigeria Beverage Awards took place.
The award ceremony which had all the trappings of glitz and glamout was conceived to acknowledge and appreciate the growth of the vibrant beverage industry in Nigeria. Mr Yomi Shoniyi of the Undatree Productions, organizers of the event told newsmen that the run-up to the event started in June with the call for submission of entries/nominees for the 14 categories.
The voting site (www.nigeriabeverageawards.com) was opened to the public in October as voting commenced immediately. Voting ended on the 8th 0f December, 2021.
The ceremony which was the second edition of the event kicked off at 6pm was a convergence of brand representatives, industry stakeholders and the media.
The event was anchored by the delectable Oge Mark; an on-air personality with Metro FM, Lagos while Josfyn Uba of the Daily Sun Newspaper was on hand to present the winners with the awards
The highlight of the evening came during the interactive session when Mr Misty Uba, a seasoned brand analyst took the audience through an educative journey of the Nigerian beverage industry, detailing the growth and challenges from way back in the 70’s to the present day. It was indeed an educational and interesting session with Mr. Uba.
Several awards were given out on the event. Among them was the Table Water Of The Year Award which was won by Nestle Pure Life. On hand to receive the award, was the Marketing Manager, Nestle Water, Gloria Nwabuike who thanked the organizers and voters for the award. An elated Gloria Nwabuike opined that the Nigeria Beverage Awards is a crucial one for the continued growth of the beverage industry in Nigeria.
The biggest winner of the night waa Intercontinental Distillers Limited. They carted home four awards.
Receiving the award on behalf of his company, Mr. Gbemileke expressed joy at their success. He thanked the organizers and voters.
The highlight of the evening was the announcement of the ‘Beverage Of The Year’ and ‘Beverage Company Of The Year Awards. The task of announcementband presentation of the awards fell on Mr. Misty Uba.
Here is a run down of the winners list:
• Beverage of the year – Veleta fruit wine
• Alcoholic Beverage of the year – Trophy lager beer
• Non-alcoholic beverage of the year – Pepsi
• Fruit beverage of the year – Chivita Active
• Malt beverage of the year – Malta Guinness
• Bitters of the year – Action Bitters
• Energy drink of the year – Fearless
• Stout of the year – Guinness Foreign extra stout
• Ready to drink beverage of the year – Teezers
• Lager beer of the year – Heineken
• Beverage Company of the year – Intercontinental Distillers Limited
• Most promising beverage of the year – Teezers
• Carbonated Soft drink of the year – Coca-Cola
• Table Water of the year – Nestle Pure Life
The theme for this year’s event is ‘Refresh’. The organizers of the event, Undatree Entertainment thanked the voting public, its partners and guests for their support
Spokesperson for the outfit, Yomi Soniyi said the Nigeria Beverage Awards has come to stay. He also said that call for submission of entries/nominees for the 2022 edition will be announced in the first quarter of next year.
