Press Release

14.03.08

The first year of the annual Own Label Awards Championship has come to a hugely successful climax. All of the major Supermarkets and High Street Major Multiples, with the honourable exceptions of Sainsbury and Majestic, have gone head to head to find out which has the best own label or exclusive products.  The standard of wines, beers, spirits and other products entered was extremely high and the 'rules of engagement' were very exacting indeed - so the winners have definitely earned their spurs.  Every entry was judged by recognised wine trade members, each with at least ten years professional experience, and the final round, where the awards were decided upon, was judged by a truly stellar panel, namely: Matthew Jukes, Nicholas Faith, Charles Metcalfe, Anthony Rose, Amelia Pinsent, John Downes MW, Peter McCombie MW and Caspar Auchterlonie.  A full list of the judges for each round will appear on www.ownlabelawards.com along with their profiles.

The final deliberations have thrown up some great results.  These are some of the finest products that the winning retailers stock on their shelves today.  We expect that the Own Label Awards Championship 2009 will identify even more outstanding own label or exclusively imported products for discerning UK consumers.  The website will continue to show all updates and a major upgrade is due to be completed by the end of April 2008, after which every finalist product will be individually showcased on the website. Special mention must go to Matthew Jukes for his outstanding contribution leading the judging on all three days of the Championship.  Feel free to contact Operations Director Richard Chappell or Managing Director Caspar Auchterlonie for more information, contact email addresses are available from the contacts page at www.ownlabelawards.com.