Diageo has been named the 2026 Most Improved Supplier of the Year at the Australian Drinks Awards, successfully defending the title it won in 2025. It's the first time in the award's history that a supplier has won Most Improved Supplier of the Year in consecutive years, capping a two-year turnaround that has lifted Diageo back into the top three suppliers in the Advantage Engagement Program.
The award is determined by the Advantage Engagement Program, an annual survey run by the Drinks Association's Platinum Partner, Advantage Australia, gathering feedback from retailers and wholesalers across the drinks trade.
A genuine shift in how Diageo shows up
Where 2025's win reflected a strong initial rebound, 2026's result points to sustained change. Retailers described a business that has moved from being relatively conservative and process-driven to becoming more growth-oriented, open-minded and responsive, willing to invest behind opportunities that deliver mutual results rather than defaulting to caution.
That shift has been backed by investment in people as much as process. Trading partners pointed to stronger personnel capability across Diageo's customer teams, with better communication and improved collaboration showing a greater willingness to listen and adapt to customer needs.
Behaviour and performance moving together
Importantly, the improvement hasn't been confined to relationship-building. Diageo paired those behavioural gains with better supply performance and more effective trade and shopper marketing support — a combination that led many customers to describe the business as having genuinely "turned things around" over the past year.
Advantage Group Managing Director – ANZ, Steve Andrews, said the back-to-back win reflects sustained improvement rather than a single good year:
"Diageo has shown a significant improvement over a two-year period, now placing them in the top three suppliers in the program.”
Nicole Dennis, Commercial Director, accepted the award on behalf of Diageo saying:
“To receive this recognition of the progress we're making is a wonderful vote of confidence from the customer community. Over the past 12 months, we've been united by a shared ambition to be better partners for our customers by listening more, planning better, and collaborating more closely. We've been deliberate in bringing our supply and commercial teams together, and as a result we've delivered our strongest service levels and best execution quality in many years. It's something our team is incredibly proud of.”
An award with a track record of turnarounds
Most Improved Supplier of the Year recognises the supplier with the largest positive movement in the Advantage Engagement Program each year. Diageo's win follows a 23-point improvement in its Advantage Score in 2025.
Kylie Wallbridge, Chief Executive Officer, ALM, presented the award, saying:
“The Most Improved Supplier of the Year Award, sponsored again by ALM, recognises the suppliers who have made the biggest strides, not through a single win, but through steady, deliberate progress across everything they do. It's the kind of progress that builds stronger commercial relationships and shows up right across a supplier's performance.”
Most Improved Supplier wasn’t Diageo’s only win on the night, also taking out the Best New Product Innovation Award in the Spirits Category for the Baileys Minis Indulgence Collection.
There were a total of 16 awards handed out at the 14th Annual Australian Drinks Awards, hosted by Edwina Bartholomew. The awards recognise achievement and excellence in the drinks industry, including awards for Supplier of the Year, Most Improved Supplier of the Year, Category Management and Supply Chain Management.
The Drinks Association congratulates its Category One Member, Diageo, on winning the 2026 Most Improved Supplier of the Year Award.
ALM is a Category One Member of the Drinks Association.
The Drinks Association would like to thank its generous sponsors for this year's event.
