In 2024, Ireland’s premiere awards for fresh food retailing, the Checkout Best in Fresh Awards, is joining forces with the leading awards for suppliers to the industry, the National Retail Supplier Awards, to create the National Grocery Retail Awards.

Through amalgamating these awards, we aim to create the largest and most prestigious awards for the industry in Ireland. The National Grocery Retail Awards are set to become one of the most eagerly anticipated events in the Irish grocery retail calendar.

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The National Grocery Retail Awards will continue the important work carried out by our previous two awards as they will highlight best in class performance in retailing and honour the companies and suppliers that help Ireland’s pioneering stores and retail chains to achieve levels of service and product excellence that set them apart from their competitors.

The National Grocery Retail Awards will also include a number of exciting new award categories, including the award for Best Retail Group of the Year, Best Off-Licence, Best Cash & Carry, and Best Sustainability Initiative.


WHY ENTER


There are numerous demonstrable benefits for companies that enter and / or win a category in the prestigious National Grocery Retail Awards. These include the opportunity to be recognised as best in class – achieving success in the National Grocery Retail Awards will help your company or store to stand out from the crowd. Independently assessed, a winner’s emblem highlighting your achievements will distinguish your company or store from local and national competition, increasing interest and business enquiries, revenue and footfall for stores.

Being successful in National Grocery Retail Awards will also send a positive message to employees that their store or company is doing well and will help to generate pride in the business. They will provide recognition of the employees’ contribution to that success, impacting job satisfaction and retention, as well as recruitment. And, of course, being nominated for, or winning, a National Grocery Retail Award is a cost-effective way of raising brand awareness and sending a positive message to clients and customers, reassuring them that they are making the right choice.

CATEGORIES


Individual Retail Store Awards


This award category will recognise and celebrate excellence in the competitive wholesale cash and carry sector. The award will showcase those cash and carry wholesalers that offer exceptional service to customers, demonstrate high depot standards with ease of shop at the forefront of the customer strategy, excellence in range and availability, and that have made significant improvements in the last year.

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This award category is open to forecourt retailers of any size, that provide excellent service to customers through their commitment to customer care, staff development and the provision of an appropriate range of services and facilities. Specific criteria will include a clean and well maintained forecourt and store area, welcoming and well-presented staff providing efficient service, and outstanding retail display. Particular emphasis will be placed on food-to-go facilities in terms of choice, quality and value for money to suit customers at different times of day.

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This award category to convenience stores of any size, that provide excellent service to customers through their commitment to customer care, staff development and the provision of an appropriate range of services and facilities. Specific criteria will include a clean and well maintained store area, welcoming and well-presented staff providing efficient service, and a dedication to excellence in the provision of high-quality food and superior retail display.

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This award is open to a grocery retail store of any size that can show how
they have a direct impact on improving their local area and community through employment, environment or charity initiatives. Judges will be looking for evidence of initiatives such as charity events or support of local groups which show a long term commitment to the community they serve. Social media campaigns to engage with the local community and a partnership approach with local groups to enhance the area surrounding the store combined with excellent retail standards will be assessed.

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This category acknowledges the Irish grocery market’s tradition of great independent non-affiliated retailers that are a credit to themselves and to the local communities that they serve. This is all about overall store excellence, honouring supermarkets that not only deliver a consistent quality offering across the entire store but are also focused on developing innovative new concepts.

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This award category is open to all large supermarkets (over 15,000 square feet), and will recognise and showcase excellence in a wide variety of different areas, including outstanding customer service, commitment to excellence in the provision of high-quality food and superior retail display, and the development of effective sustainability strategies.

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This award category is open to all medium supermarket chains (10,000 to 15,000 square feet), and will recognise and showcase excellence in a wide variety of different areas, including outstanding customer service, commitment to excellence in the provision of high-quality food and superior retail display, and the development of effective sustainability strategies.

APPLY

This award category is open to all small supermarkets (4,000 to 10,000 square feet), and will recognise and showcase excellence in a wide variety of different areas, including outstanding customer service, commitment to excellence in the provision of high-quality food and superior retail display, and the development of effective sustainability strategies.

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The judges will be looking for stores with an in-store hot and cold food facility that meets and exceeds the requirements of its customer base. Particular significance will be placed on innovative choices and immediate visual impact in terms of the food offering as well as quality of the food and value for money. Judges will also consider the diversity of the range and how it caters for customers at different times of the day and also how promotional activities help to increase food to go sales.

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This is an area where retailers really have the opportunity to put their own stamp on things. This category will acknowledge innovation in fresh food retailing and a commitment to Irish goods. Of course, it also goes without saying that getting the simple things right, such as scratch preparation, value for money, range and presentation are also key.

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A hugely important category, the award for Ireland’s Best Meat offering, celebrates a core part of today’s supermarket offering. Here, the judges will be looking for high standards in the areas of range, presentation and product knowledge, as well retailers who are trying to do something new with a very traditional category.

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Irish consumers are increasingly willing to try new things in the seafood category, so this category will seek to commend the retailers that are really focused on facilitating this. Also, provided that the range of locally sourced seafood is on the increase, the judges will be looking for retailers that take pride in promoting their local credentials.

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This is one of the most important aspects of any fresh offering. Every retailer today understands the need to maintain a strong fresh fruit and veg department. In this award category, the judges will be looking for strong evidence of seasonality, local sourcing, and retailers that were open to innovation, while also offering excellent value for money.

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This is a category that really enables a store to stand out, in terms of presentation and creativity. And the level of investment being put into scratch bakeries in recent years is an indication of how important this category has become. In addition, the growth in the food to go market reinforces the need to have a well-stocked, reliable bakery offering. Here, the judges will be looking for stores that understand how to use bakery as a unique selling point.

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The range of cheeses, yoghurts and fresh dairy products in stores has never been greater, and the retailers that enter this category are expected to really understand how to use it as a footfall drive. In particular, when it comes to cheese, retailers really have an opportunity to create a USP, and promote both local products and in-store expertise.

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With sustainability and environmental concerns at an all-time high, this award will recognise the retailers and suppliers that are setting the agenda when it comes to making their businesses more environmentally-friendly. Please explain your overall sustainability/environmental strategy and what it has achieved to date. Please ensure that you explain the targets you have set, and the progress you have made towards achieving them. If possible, please include data and statistics demonstrating year-on-year progress.

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This award is designed to recognise the best in non-affiliated fresh food retailing. The winner of this award will be a thriving fresh food store offering some or all of the following – fruit and veg, meat, fish and poultry, dairy, and baked goods. Judges will be looking for quality, seasonality, use of local produce and outstanding retail display. Entrants must be able to show a clear commitment to excellence in fresh food provision across all areas of the store.

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This isn’t necessarily about one particular category, or one area of expertise, rather it’s about fostering a ‘culture of creativity’ that is visible in many different elements of the fresh offering and can give a store real personality. To be successful in this category, you need to do more than just think outside the box, you need to demonstrate how the standards you set are unlike anything else seen in the industry.

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This award is designed to recognise the best in fresh food retailing. The winner of this award will be a thriving fresh food store offering some or all of the following – fruit and veg, meat, fish and poultry, dairy, and baked goods. Judges will be looking for quality, seasonality, use of local produce and outstanding retail display. Entrants must be able to show a clear commitment to excellence in fresh food provision across all areas of the store.

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This category is all about overall store excellence, honouring supermarkets that not only deliver a consistent quality offering across the entire store but are also focused on developing innovative new concepts. Judges will be looking for quality, seasonality, use of local produce and outstanding retail display. Entrants must be able to show a concerted commitment to excellence in fresh food provision across all areas of the store.

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This category, for supermarkets under 10,000 square feet, measures how well retailers are able to develop a comprehensive fresh food proposition in a relatively confined space. Rather than focus on one category, here the judges will look for retailers that are really able to develop a winning fresh offering, right across the store.

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The level of investment going into forecourt development around the country means that it really is a golden period for the industry, and this is reflected in the standard of entries in past years which has been exceptionally high across all stores. Judges will be looking for quality, seasonality, use of local produce and outstanding retail display. Particular emphasis will be placed on the quality of the fresh food-to-go offering available in-store.

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What the judges will be looking for in this award category, is a C-Store that really encapsulates the needs of its community and is able to deliver an innovative fresh proposition to distinguish it from its competitors. Entrants must be able to show a clear commitment to excellence in fresh food provision across all areas of the store.

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The category recognises the level of investment that discounters have made in upgrading their stores in recent years. While the business model has remained largely the same, modern discount stores are increasingly a pleasure to shop in, with wider aisles, a larger product selection, and, of course, a broader range of fresh products. Judges will be looking for quality, seasonality, use of local produce and outstanding retail display. Entrants must be able to show a clear commitment to excellence in fresh food provision across all areas of the store.

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Group / Chain Awards


This prestigious award category is open to retail groups of all sizes and will celebrate the groups which have done something innovative, new, creative, profitable, and progressive during the course of the past year. The judges will be looking for the things you did that were different to what your competitors were doing. In short, what makes your retail group stand out from the crowd?

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This award category is open to all discount stores, and will recognise and showcase excellence in a wide variety of areas, including outstanding customer service, commitment to excellence in the provision of high-quality food and superior retail display, and the development of effective sustainability strategies.

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This award is designed to recognise the very best in fresh food retailing. The winner of this award will be a thriving fresh food retail chain offering some or all of the following – fruit and veg, meat, fish and poultry, dairy, and baked goods. Judges will be looking for quality, seasonality, use of local produce and innovative retail display. Entrants must be able to show a clear commitment to excellence in fresh food provision across all areas of theirs stores.

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This category celebrates those retailers who put local at the centre of everything they do and have a strong involvement in their community, engaging regularly with local suppliers. Judges will be looking for retailers who really make that extra effort to communicate to consumers, encouraging them to buy local as much as possible.

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Private label is increasingly being seen as a benchmark-setter in Irish grocery retail. The judges in this award category will be looking for interesting innovation, creative product design, excellence in food quality and taste, and availability at a competitive price point.

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Supplier Awards


This category is open to providers of fresh produce to the grocery retail sector, including suppliers of fruit and veg, meat, fish and poultry, dairy, and baked goods. Award entries should outline how the supplier in question has delivered cost savings and efficiency improvements for the retailer/supplier(s) that it works with, using examples if possible.

APPLY

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JUDGING PROCESS


Individual Stores Categories

The award categories for individual stores have two rounds of judging. Initially, entrants are judged by an independent shopper who shall visit the store. Those stores that successfully reach the subsequent round will then be visited a second time, by a member of our judging panel. The results from both rounds will be taken into consideration in the final judging process.

Retail Groups & Suppliers Categories

The award categories for retail groups and suppliers are judged by a panel of industry experts. The more detailed the submission the entrant can submit, the better, addressing the criteria on the Application Form. Please limit your submission to no more than 4 A4 pages.

CONTACT US

For further information on Checkout National Grocery Retail Awards or any of the Checkout media products, please contact Jamie Lane via the contact form below.

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