Do you think you have the best own label products in the marketplace? If so, it's time to get your entry in for the 2007 Own Label Excellence Awards, run by The Grocer.

Since our inaugural awards this year, products including Aldi's winning Italian stone baked Romagna pizza (pictured) have carried the Own Label Excellence logo on their packaging.

Uniquely, consumers have their say in deciding the winners.

In the first phase all the products that are entered will be tested by consumer panels representing a cross-section of the population.

Independent company Cambridge Market Research will produce a top-line report from the consumer testing, giving a real insight into what shoppers think.

All entrants will receive this report, which contains verbatim feedback as well as consumer ratings of your product and how it performed relative to others in the category.

These reports will be taken into account by our expert panel of judges when choosing the winners in the second phase of judging. The judges will also consider taste, appearance, packaging, content, value for money and labelling.

The awards, which are sponsored again this year by the Private Label Manufacturers' Association, recognise the important role of retailer-branded products in the market. There are 23 categories covering all the main food sectors - from bakery, fresh and fish to dairy, delicatessen and frozen.

The categories also include areas such as health and better-for-you, organic and fair trade. The scheme is open to existing and new products, provided they are commercially available. Winners can use the logo on packs, in-store and in their PR for free.

The 2006 awards scheme was the most successful ever launched by The Grocer's owner, William Reed Publishing, and the number of entries exceeded expectations. So hurry up and get your entries in and put 15 May 2007 in your diary for the lunch at the Savoy Hotel.

The deadline for entries is 3 November 2006. For more details, please contact Nicola Chesson on 01293 867629 or see the website www.thegrocerownlabel.co.uk n

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