Ta'aheel, the region's premier events management company and consultant for the beverage industry, has announced that over 40 beverage companies from the region will be competing with 200 beverage products for the Qatrah Award.

The awards will be given at the 2nd Arab Beverages Forum which will be held at the Dubai World Trade Centre from June 15 to 16. The forum is sponsored by Tetra Pak manufacturing, food processing and packaging solutions.

Like the previous year, the Qatrah Awards will be one of the major highlights of the Arab Beverages Forum this year, said a Taaheel official.

The award will recognize the Arab world’s best brands in the following categories: bottled water, carbonated and soft drinks, fruit juices, dairy beverages, health and energy drinks, and hot beverages.

International beverage industry experts and representatives from the UAE University’s College of Food and Agriculture, Emirates Academy and Dubai Municipality, will form the panel of judges for the award, which will evaluate the packaging designs, marketing strategies, and ingredients of each participating product, said Sharaf Dabbagh, Taaheel president.

'The Qatrah Award is aimed at recognising the innovation, creativity and resilience of the regional beverage industry, which over the years has gone from strength to strength. We are pleased with the response received for the award this year, and we believe that the judging panel will have a tough task choosing the winners from such high quality entries,” he noted.

“The fierce competition in the Arab beverage industry has meant that beverage manufacturers have had to adopt the most creative ideas at various stages of the manufacturing and marketing process to enhance their market share. The Qatrah Award aims to recognise these innovative efforts of companies in this sector, while serving as an inspiration for them to strive harder,” he added.

The Qatrah Award – sponsored by the Arab Beverage Association - will be announced on the second day of the Arab Beverages Forum.

The criteria for the Qatrah Award are patterned after the awards given by well-established regional beverage groups, notably the New Zealand Juice and Beverage Association, the Beverage Marketing Corporation and Beverage World in the US, and the European Beverages Associations.

The Arab Beverages Forum 2008 has been reputed as the pioneering forum dedicated to the Arab beverage industry.

Following the overwhelming success of the inaugural event last year, this year's Forum is looking forward to surpass the achievements of the 2007 edition particularly in terms of participation, as Ta'aheel has confirmed several return participants on top of a growing list of new registrants.

Among the topics that will be discussed at the forum include latest market trends, strategies and best practices, and a number of critical issues that affect suppliers, retailers, creative marketers, managers and consumers in the beverage industry.

The Forum also offers an in-depth market perspective from a combined knowledge base, which is otherwise unavailable elsewhere.-TradeArabia News Service