Smurfit Kappa sweeps the board at Accolade Wine awards

Accolade Wines is the UK’s leading provider of new world premium, commercial and value wines. Smurfit Kappa UK’s success reflects its relentless pursuit of excellence in efficiency, customer service and innovation for its customers.

Accolade is home to famous brands including Hardys, Banrock Station, Echo Falls, Kumala, Jack Rabbit, Stowells, Flagstone, Fish Hoek, and many more. Throughout 2014, Accolade and Smurfit Kappa worked collaboratively to deliver a step change in UK wine packaging and how it was offered to the end consumer. This was achieved through the use of Smurfit Kappa’s packaging insights and expertise and Accolade’s extensive consumer knowledge (via WineNation). In the end over 300 Stockkeeping Units (SKUs) in the Accolade portfolio were redesigned and re-engineered. A clever mix of print techniques and substrates were utilised to show the differences between the value, commercial and premium products within the Accolade portfolio.

Smurfit Kappa was awarded:

• Supplier Of The Year - The premier award of the ceremony, acknowledged Smurfit Kappa Yate’s impact in revolutionising Accolade’s carton portfolio and its effect on the future success of its business
• Team Of The Year - Rewarding Smurfit Kappa Yate’s overall high-level of dedication and attention to detail
• Outstanding Commercial Innovation Award - In recognition of Smurfit Kappa’s unique use of ‘Store Visualizer’ and other exclusive tools to improve the impact of Accolade’s on-shelf presence against its competitors
• Highest Scorecard Performance - Awarded to Smurfit Kappa CRP for its consistently high overall scorecard performance reflecting its focus on OTIF (On Time In Full delivery), unrivalled business feedback and product development and innovation
• Star Performer - Mark Basset, Smurfit Kappa Yate, recognised for delivering unfailingly high levels of interaction between the Accolade manufacturing Team and Smurfit Kappa, and relentlessly delivering pragmatic solutions
• Top Performer - Customer Service - Jenny Simpkins, Smurfit Kappa CRP was acknowledged for her unflinching attention to detail and the use of her experience, expertise and ingenuity to create a distinctive and open dialogue to help Accolade meet its commitments

Terry McGivern, Managing Director UK South, speaking after the awards celebration said, “Through the strategic leadership of the Accolade Wines team, we created an opportunity to work in an unprecedented way to change their packaging offer radically, in a competitive marketplace. This allowed us to pursue relentlessly market-leading excellence in packaging, through the full use of our ‘Shelf Smart’ proprietary tools. What we have achieved together is a great testament to the professionalism and abilities of both teams, and we are honoured to be recognised accordingly at the inaugural Accolade Wines Supplier Awards.”