November brought with it the South Australian Premier’s Food and Beverage Industry Awards, which were announced at a Gala Dinner in Adelaide.

The Awards, which are presented each year, aim to recognise excellence, leadership, vision, and industry in the South Australian food and beverage industry across a wide variety of categories. They are presented by Food South Australia, which receives funding support from the SA state government.

South Australian Premier Peter Malinauskas said, “The high level of entrants, finalists and award winners showcased through this year’s awards shows exactly why our food and beverage industry continues be a vital part of our state’s future. Not only is it an industry that showed incredible leadership through some difficult challenges over the past few years, but importantly, it continues to create new opportunities, products and services. I’m excited to keep watching these outstanding companies as they continue to grow, and take the best our state has to offer to the rest of Australia and beyond.”

“Announcing these awards is a proud moment for all of us at Food South Australia. It’s a moment to showcase our state’s best products, while formally recognising how our food and beverage industry continues to lead South Australia’s business sector through innovation and growth,” said Food South Australia CEO Catherine Sayer.

Among the winners was Haigh’s Chocolates, which won the Consumer Award for ‘Businesses with more than 15 FTEs’ (full-time equivalents).

Lifestyle Bakery also took home a win in the form of the New Product Award after having been shortlisted for the Business Excellence Award.

A leading gluten-free baked goods company, Lifestyle aims to be on the leading edge of gluten-free baking. Their product Premium Loaf, which was the winner of the award, is the first commercialised dough-based range to be launched in the Australian retail market.