Lion has been awarded the 2025 Category Management Award at the Australian Drinks Awards — the first time the business has received this honour.
The win recognises Lion’s strength in delivering retailer-focused insights, tailored activation and a disciplined approach to category planning. It also marks a significant achievement for the business, which was also named 2025 Supplier of the Year, reclaiming the award for the first time since 2019.
Together, these two wins reflect a strong position for Lion within the supplier landscape and acknowledgement from the trade for its strategic partnership and commercial capability.
Lion reflects on category success
Melinda Wienand, Category, RGM & Performance Analytics Director at Lion accepted the award on the night, saying:
“This award goes to the entire one demand team at Lion. We have done nothing but put the consumer and our customers at the heart of every decision we made for the last two years.”
The award was presented by sponsor, Shopper Intelligence.
“Shopper Intelligence is delighted to once again sponsor the Category Management Award,” said David Shukri, Customer Success Director, Shopper Intelligence. “This award recognises suppliers who go beyond product delivery – bringing objective insights, tailored solutions and collaborative strategies that put shoppers at the heart of the conversation to drive category growth and help retailers stand out.”
Recognising excellence
The winner of the Category Management Award is selected based on the results of the annual Advantage Engagement Program, which gathers feedback from retailers and wholesalers across the drinks trade.
The award recognises the increasingly important discipline of Category Management, which plays a vital role in the retailer and supplier interface and significantly impacts how suppliers are perceived in their engagement with retail partners.
Each supplier is evaluated according to the way in which it:
- Customises initiatives to help retailers differentiate their business
- Optimises range and assortment
- Drives category growth
- Provides objective insights for category development
"Collaboration between suppliers and retailers on Category Management can be a powerful combination for achieving growth," explained Steve Andrews, Managing Director Advantage Group.
“Lion’s trading partners have been impressed with the clarity of understanding the category role of their brands, enabling productive co-creation of category strategy to deliver growth. Coupled with their ongoing strength and industry leadership for working with objective insight, they are a most worthy winner of this award.”
In total, 34 awards were handed out at the 13th Annual Australian Drinks Awards, hosted by Edwina Bartholomew. The awards recognise achievement and excellence in the drinks industry, including Supplier of the Year, Most Improved Supplier of the Year, Category Management and Supply Chain Management.
The Drinks Association congratulates its Category One Member, Lion, on winning the 2025 Category Management Award.
Shopper Intelligence is a Platinum Partner of the Drinks Association.
The Drinks Association would like to thank its generous sponsors for this year’s event.
