ENTRIES for Scotland’s premier awards for food and drink wholesalers are now open as Scottish Wholesale Achievers is launched with two new categories – Wholesaler of the Year (Under £50 million) and Best Use of Data & Insight.
Now in its 24th year, Achievers is the only awards programme in Scotland dedicated to the wholesale food and drink sector, celebrating and recognising the efforts of staff across the industry and supply chain. Created by the Scottish Wholesale Association, the long-established competition highlights best practice and innovation within the industry – and also rewards the dedicated colleagues who keep its wheels moving.
New for 2027 is Wholesaler of the Year (Under £50 million) which has been introduced to help showcase the importance of SMEs in the Scottish wholesale channel
For cash and carry depots, the judges will be asking about processes to ensure a great shopping experience along with examples of staff engagement with customers, plus communication on NPD, promotions, core range and category advice.
Overall, ahead of the 2027 awards, SWA has acted on feedback from wholesalers, suppliers, and
judges to enhance the awards, particularly the judging criteria.
For all wholesalers, scoring will cover ordering and deliveries, sustainability, use of technology, customer engagement and current challenges. In addition, the judges will be asking entrants what the one thing is, big or small, that has had the most impact on your business, customers or staff in the past 12 months.
Independent judges with cross-sector experience and knowledge will play a key role in the awards, pairing up with supplier judges in each category from the start of the judging process and helping to compile “best practice” feedback.
Following the success of the customer interviews in the Best Cash & Carry and Best Symbol Group categories last year, SWA is also introducing customer interviews for Best Delivered Operation – Foodservice. These will account for 50% of the total possible score.
Once again, the overall winner of each people category – Wholesale Driver of The Year, Rising Star of Wholesale, Employee of the Year, Wholesale Local Food Champion, and Supplier Sales Executive of the Year – will receive £1,000 while there will be £500 awarded to each runner-up and £250 for each highly commended winner.
With 15 wholesale category awards and five supplier awards available, Achievers presents a valuable opportunity for wholesalers to benchmark against their peers, show leadership, and gain recognition for the achievements of their people.
Awards also encompass sustainability and marketing, and there are categories for Best Delivered Operation for retail and foodservice, Best Licensed Wholesaler categories for off-trade and on-trade, Best Symbol Group, and Best Cash & Carry. The Great Place to Work category also returns for 2027.
For suppliers, in addition to Supplier Sales Executive of The Year, there are awards for Best Overall Service, Best Foodservice Supplier, and Best Advertising Campaign. Project Wholesale, meanwhile, rewards the efforts of suppliers and their salespeople in Scotland in growing the wholesale channel through relevant initiatives running for any period during 2026, with entrants invited to meet a
judging panel of senior wholesale executives to discuss and present their project.
SWA chief executive Colin Smith said: “Achievers has continued to evolve over the years in line with industry innovations, trends and challenges – the wholesale food and drink sector in Scotland never stands still and our awards recognise that.
“Since last year’s awards, we have consulted wholesalers, suppliers and judges to review and refine the criteria and judging process, helping us deliver an even stronger awards programme this year. We are also delighted to introduce two new categories that will showcase the importance of small businesses, and the innovative use of data and insight across the sector.
“At SWA, we are working harder than ever, and collaborating with suppliers, government, other industry organisations and stakeholders, to raise awareness of the wholesale sector. Achievers is a key component of that drive to make headlines for our industry.”
Any wholesaler with a depot in Scotland may enter the competition and entries will remain open until Monday, 27 July. The entry form can be found at https://www.scottishwholesale.co.uk/achievers
Tables for the gala dinner and awards presentation – attended by over 500 people – at the Corn Exchange, Edinburgh on Thursday, 18 February 2027 will be available to book from the end of July via the SWA website or can be booked by contacting awards@scottishwholesale.co.uk
Wholesaler awards:
Best Delivered Operation – Retail (sponsored by Red Bull)
Best Delivered Operation – Foodservice (sponsored by Premier Foods)
Best Licensed Wholesaler – Off-Trade (sponsored by C&C Group)
Best Licensed Wholesaler – On-Trade (sponsored by Budweiser Brewing Group)
Best Marketing Initiative (sponsored by Pernod Ricard)
Great Place to Work (sponsored by AG Barr)
Best Use of Data & Insight: (sponsored by Suntory)
Sustainable Wholesaler of The Year (sponsored by Coca-Cola Europacific Partners)
Best Symbol Group (sponsored by Carlsberg Britvic)
Best Cash & Carry (sponsored by Sazerac)
Wholesale Driver of The Year (sponsor TBC)
Rising Star of Wholesale (sponsored by KP Snacks)
Employee of The Year (sponsored by JTI)
Wholesale Local Food Champion (sponsored by Scotland Food & Drink)
Wholesaler of the Year (Under £50 million) (sponsored by PMI)
Supplier awards:
Supplier Sales Executive of The Year (sponsored by Unitas)
Project Wholesale (sponsored by SWA)
Best Overall Service (sponsored by TWC)
Best Foodservice Supplier (sponsored by TWC)
Best Advertising Campaign (sponsored by SWA)
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