Congratulations to all the finalists of the Category Management & Insight Awards 2025

These exceptional individuals and teams have demonstrated outstanding achievements in category management, shopper insight, and strategic innovation.

Explore the full list of nominees below and join us in celebrating the people and businesses setting new standards in performance and insight.

Best Supplier–Retailer Collaboration Award

• PepsiCo and Cirkle – “Max Your Snacks” – for their collaboration on a category report equipping Symbol and Independent retailers with data-led guidance to optimise Crisps & Snacks execution, boosting compliance, distribution, and category growth across the channel.
• Dr. Oetker and Bidfood – for their partnership in driving category growth through data-led insights, optimised promotions, and tailored menu solutions that enhance operator performance and deliver shared business success.
• ESS and Coca-Cola Europacific Partners (CCEP) – for their strategic partnership enhancing workplace retail through innovation, sustainability, and immersive brand experiences, driving an uplift in sales and delivering high-street quality to on-site customers.
• Heineken UK and Booker – for their transformation of the long-running Star Retailer Programme to reflect new shopper behaviours, driving category sales growth and deeper collaboration through actionable insights, tailored support, and retailer-led innovation.
• Mademoiselle Desserts and Brakes, a Sysco Company – for their joint Traybakes category review that delivered category and supplier growth, achieved through shared insights, streamlined ranges, and a data-led approach that strengthened strategic partnership.
• Red Bull and SPAR – for transforming a transactional relationship into a strategic partnership through data-led insight, category innovation, and the first-ever Soft Drinks Insight Summit, driving alignment, execution excellence, and shared growth across the SPAR network.

Best Use of Data & Insight Award

• Adam Tidbury, Category Manager, FrieslandCampina – for leading the “Perfect Depot” initiative using data-driven insights to optimise space, stock, and visibility, delivering an uplift in milk drinks category sales and growth for FCUK at Bestway Brighton, now scaling nationwide.
• Arla Convenience and MBB Team – for transforming insight into action with the launch of Arla’s first price-marked pack SKU, driving case growth and expanding Cocio’s reach in convenience through data-led innovation and exceptional cross-functional collaboration.
• Kepak Team – for developing the data-led Grab A Bite hot food-to-go concept, combining consumer insight with innovation to deliver flexible, low-waste, high-quality solutions that enhance efficiency and meet evolving market demands.
• KP Snacks Category Team – for creating the ‘25 to Thrive’ platform, delivering brand-agnostic, insight-led ranging and merchandising advice for independent retailers, driving sales growth through practical, data-driven recommendations and ongoing retailer collaboration.
• The Category Collective, Heineken – for delivering a forward-facing Category Growth Strategy centred on “More People, More Often, Spending More in Trade,” uniting teams and customers through insight-led action, driving collaboration, efficiency, and measurable category growth across the on-trade.

Category & Insights Champion of the Year (in role over 18 months)

• Alexandra Bolland, Category Manager, Arla Foods – for her data-driven approach to transforming fragmented insight into powerful, actionable growth plans, delivering an uplift in category growth at Booker and securing top Advantage Group rankings for Arla.
• Anthony Saison, Head of Category Insights & Customer Marketing, Mademoiselle Desserts – for pioneering data-led category management in foodservice, transforming Mademoiselle Desserts into an insight-driven partner through innovative methodologies and strategic collaboration.
• Callum Atkinson, Category Coordinator, Unitas Wholesale – for revolutionising category insight through AI-driven analysis, data validation, and process automation, creating a scalable, evidence-led model that delivers faster execution and stronger supplier collaboration.
• Charlotte Westacott, Insight Lead – Wholesale, Co-op – for delivering the “Know Your Retailer” segmentation, creating a data-led framework that enhances retailer understanding, loyalty, and recruitment while overcoming complex data challenges to shape business strategy.
• Mark Langohr, Category Controller, Unitas – for transforming the Plan for Profit platform through data integration, AI-powered insights, and redesigned category guides, creating an accessible, growth-focused resource that empowers independent retailers.
• Maya Nickituk, National Account Manager, Diageo – for driving category growth through the Molson Coors x Diageo Spirits Upskilling collaboration, delivering powerful insights on premiumisation and consumer trends that inspired teams and strengthened partnerships.
• Saul Bosworth, Category & Insights Manager, Dr. Oetker – for transforming Dr. Oetker’s out-of-home category strategy through data integration, insight-led growth solutions, and strong operator partnerships, driving expansion of the Pizza to Go initiative.

Innovation in Insights Award

• Carlsberg Britvic Trade Team – for producing the annual Soft Drinks Review, a data-led industry benchmark offering actionable insights and growth strategies, achieving record engagement and nearly two million media impressions.
• CCEP GB Insights Team – for creating and delivering an engaging, insight-led Annual Business Planning event that brought together macro and category trends, embedding consumer insight at the heart of strategic decision-making.
• Co-op Retail Insight Team – for revolutionising category innovation in fresh produce through AI-powered customer collaboration, blending technology with qualitative insight to create 25 actionable concepts and a new, customer-centric blueprint for store development.
• Lantmännen Fast Food Strategy Team – for delivering a pioneering, Europe-wide strategy project that set a new standard for collaboration and insight generation, creating a scalable model now rolling out across multiple categories.
• Levercliff Associates Team – for launching the Unlock Dashboard, a Power BI-based solution that bridges technology and skills gaps, enabling faster, data-led decisions and driving new listings and incremental sales for Daelmans at Tesco.
• MONIN UK Team – for redefining insight delivery through the Autumn/Winter Trends Report and immersive Drink Trends Showcase, turning market intelligence into actionable, sensory experiences that inspired innovation and accelerated client decision-making.

Rising Star Award (in role less than 18 months)

• Aanya Shah, Category Executive, Red Bull UK – for transforming Red Bull’s relationship with SPAR from transactional to strategic through data-led innovation and creative storytelling, including an uplift in S&E sales and SPAR’s first Soft Drinks Insight Summit.
• Chris Marshall, Category Development Manager, Heineken UK – for delivering outstanding category growth in his first year, driving distribution and visibility through insight-led range resets and strategic retailer partnerships.
• Gurnoor Khurana, Research and Insights Manager, SPAR UK – for elevating SPAR’s data and insights capability through sharp analysis, process improvements, and fearless challenge of legacy systems, establishing herself as a future leader in category and insight.
• Laura Edgar, Category Executive, Carlsberg Britvic – for leading strategic customer engagement with Nisa, transforming category conversations through shopper-led insight and delivering a step-change in collaboration and category focus.
• Poppy James, Key Account Manager, Mars – for mastering category insight in under a year, using shopper research and forecourt expertise to drive year-on-year growth and share best practice across channels.