Convenience Store News Honors 13 Suppliers as 2020 Category Captains
NEWARK, N.J. — Thirteen suppliers, including three first-time winners, earned recognition this year in the seventh-annual Convenience Store News Category Captains awards program.
The Category Captains program spotlights convenience channel suppliers for outstanding category management initiatives that have demonstrably enhanced overall category sales and profits for the retailers they serve.
Cheyenne International LLC, Rich Products and Frazil are first-time winners in their respective product categories, while wholesale distributor McLane Co. Inc. won in two different categories this year.
The full list of 2020 winners includes:
- Alternative Snacks: Jack Link’s Protein Snacks
- Beer/Malt Beverages: Anheuser-Busch
- Candy: The Hershey Co.
- Foodservice/Cold & Frozen Dispensed Beverages: Frazil
- Foodservice/Prepared Food: Rich Products
- General Merchandise: McLane
- Health & Beauty Care: Lil’ Drug Store Products
- Packaged Beverages: The Coca-Cola Co.
- Packaged Sweet Snacks: McKee Foods
- Salty Snacks: McLane
- Other Tobacco Products/Cigars: Cheyenne International
- Other Tobacco Products/E-Cig & Vapor Products: E-Alternative Solutions
- Wine & Liquor: E&J Gallo Winery
All entries for this year’s contest were judged based on: product innovation; creativity in merchandising, marketing, promotion and advertising; use of consumer insights to drive category sales; innovative and dynamic category management tools; demonstrated commitment to meeting the specific needs of retailer customers; efficiently lifting sales for the entire product category; and fact-based evidence of market-specific or account-specific results.
Past Times Marketing, a consumer research and product evaluation firm based in New York, once again facilitated the judging based on information supplied by the participating companies.
Check out the March issue of Convenience Store News for full coverage of the winners.