Convenience Store News Reveals 2019 Category Captains Honorees
NEWARK, N.J. — Led by eight repeat winners from last year, a dozen suppliers earned kudos this year in the sixth-annual Convenience Store News Category Captains awards program.
The Category Captains program recognizes leading suppliers for outstanding category management initiatives that have demonstrably enhanced overall category sales and profits for the retailers they serve.
This year’s repeat winners are:
- Beer/Malt Beverages: Anheuser-Busch
- Candy: The Hershey Co.
- Cigarettes: McLane Co.
- Foodservice/ Prepared Food: Tyson Convenience
- Foodservice/Hot Beverages: S. Abraham & Sons (won last year for General Merchandise)
- Health & Beauty Care: Convenience Valet
- Other Tobacco Products: Swisher International
- Packaged Beverages: The Coca-Cola Co.
The other 2019 winners include:
- Alternative Snacks: General Mills
- Electronic/Vapor Products: E-Alternative Solutions
- General Merchandise: Eby-Brown Co.
- Salty Snacks: Kellogg Co.
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.
Look in the March issue of Convenience Store News for full coverage of the winners.