Last month, Carlton & United Breweries was crowned the Australian Drinks Awards Supplier of the Year for the second year in a row. On top of this, CUB also clinched a second of the available four Supplier Awards, the Category Management Award, for a third consecutive year.
Drinks Trade recently caught up with Danny Celoni, CEO, to discuss the significance of CUB’s recent Australian Drinks Awards wins and to ask what it is that Asahi Beverages’ beer division does differently to position it at the top year after year.
Drinks Trade: How did you feel when CUB was named Supplier of the Year for 2024?
Danny Celoni: I was overwhelmed with the recognition from our amazing customers now 2 years in a row. At CUB, which is a proud part of Asahi Beverages, we are very passionate about showing up for our customers in the way they need us to. This was such a special moment for our team given the backdrop of other great suppliers here to make a difference.
DT: You’ve achieved this two years in a row now… Are you surprised to have repeated last year’s performance?
DC: We are fixated on customer centricity and have made customers the centre of our world. To have that recognised two years in a row is very humbling and I’m so very proud of the whole cross functional team who work tirelessly to stay on mission and make a difference to our customers and consumers.
DT: How important are the Australian Drinks Awards for our industry?
DC: The Australian Drinks Awards are one of the most important nights on the calendar for our industry. It’s fantastic to have a night where the hard work of so many is recognised. It’s a moment of truth for our industry with the Advantage Survey holding up the mirror. It gets us all to see how we are performing in the industry and in front of our customers. For us this is a moment of truly understanding how our efforts have showed up for our customers.
It’s also a great night of socialising and networking. Our industry is full of tremendous people and the awards are a rare opportunity for us to get together and catch-up.
DT: What programs, values, and/or decisions do you feel have contributed to CUB becoming the strongest supplier in Australia’s drinks industry for 2024?
We are absolutely passionate about category growth and keeping the customer at the heart of everything we do, to ensure we continuously drive growth, create value and are easy to do business with.
We listen to what consumers want and give them what they’re asking for, rather than just producing what we think they should be drinking. In fact, our entire innovation pipeline is anchored in consumer and category insight to ensure it grows the pie and delivers category expansion.
When it comes to customers, we constantly ask ourselves questions such as ‘how well do we understand their strategies, how well are we aligned to this, where do we misalign?’ To achieve this, we work extremely closely with our customers.
Plus, to drive the organisational change that we need to achieve category growth, we focus on questions such as ‘how proactively are we leaning into issues and opportunities and how quickly are we adapting?’ It’s about thinking big, moving fast and ensuring its seamless to do business with us.
//
The results for the Australian Drinks Awards Supplier Awards are determined by the Engagement Program, which is facilitated by Advantage Australia in partnership with the Drinks Association. In addition to its Supplier Awards, CUB also received six Brand Awards this year.
FAN FAVOURITE:
Classic Beer: Victoria Bitter
Cider: Somersby
White RTD: Vodka Cruiser
GAINING IN POPULARITY:
Premium: Asahi Super Dry
White RTD: Hard Rated Alcoholic Lemon
Drinks Trade recently caught up with CUB’s Head of Beer Marketing Ben Eyres and Head of RTDs and Cider Sarah Wilcox to discuss these wins along with emerging category trends.
