All products / initiatives entered must have been implemented, launched, created or rebranded from January 2020 onwards.

Products/initiatives that are not yet in the market can still be entered as long as they are in their prototype/design stage by the closing date of this awards program.

To download the full awards guideline document, click here.

For any questions or queries around the awards, please contact awards@zenithglobal.com.

For each category entry, you are required to submit the following only:

• A 200-word description of why your product deserves to win
• Up to four high-resolution images

*For the category 'Best Brand Marketing' you are invited to send an additional 1-page document to include any video content or imagery relating to the entry.

Below are some ideas and recommendations for what you may wish to include in your 200-word description. For all categories, you may wish to consider including the following:

Why your development is the most innovative/exciting in this category and what makes it stand out

What is the vision and mission of your development

How is your product differentiated from others/market gap analysis

Where your development has reached geographically, financially and the contribution it has made


CROPS

Best Crop Innovation

We are looking to understand what crop you have added to your portfolio and how it has helped you to enter a specific market segment; why you focused on this crop innovation and rejected others; and what results you achieved, such as business success, customer satisfaction, operational efficiencies or financial return.

Best Crop Enhancement

We are seeking to understand how you have applied your competencies as a grower to enhance such aspects as shelf life, taste, flavour, colour or nutrition; what results you achieved in the market and what customer needs you addressed.

Best Yield Improvement

In this category, we are looking at how you improved the yield of a particular crop per m³ of growing space, how you balanced input sources such as nutrients, light, CO₂, temperature etc. and what profitability impact you realised.


TECHNOLOGY

Best Lighting Development

Here, we are looking at how you advanced your lighting to improve your produce. Please specify what and why produce attributes changed, and how far you reduced electricity consumption as a total and per kg of produce.

Best AI/Automation Development

In this category, the judges will evaluate how you advanced your AI/automation concepts. What improvement did you achieve with which data, what bearing did automation have on labour and your overall cost structure, and was there an impact on your produce, such as longer shelf life?

Best Climate Control Innovation

We are looking to understand how you advanced your climate control management (e.g. temperature, humidity, CO₂), and the impact this innovation has had on produce, cost and other improvements, given the natural climate you operate in.

Best Farm Design Innovation sponsored by Cultivatd

In this category, we are looking for a clear message about why your farm design is the most innovative/exciting, given the location/environment you operate in and the customer segment that you target.


SUSTAINABILITY

Best Energy Efficiency

This category will be judged based on your total energy footprint per area/volume and kg of produce. Furthermore, the judges will evaluate the energy sources you are using, what act they had on your costs and why you have made the choices to select your energy strategy.

Best Sustainability Initiative

We are looking for sustainability initiatives that have been realised across social contribution, environmental balance and economic growth. Please indicate what results you achieved against any of the 17 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.

Best Community Initiative

Here, we are looking how you have engaged with your community around you. What initiatives did you implement with and for your community and what were the positive outcomes?


COMMERCIAL

Best Brand Marketing*

In this category, the judges will evaluate how you have positioned your brand in its market segments. How do you differentiate yourself from the competition? What kind of branding campaigns have you run and why? How successful have they been?

*In this category, you are welcome to send a one-page document of additional video content and imagery to help illustrate your marketing message

Best Retail Innovation

Here, we are looking for an innovation that made it to the retail shelf. What was the offering, packaging, messaging and merchandising that made your product stand out? And what commercial, sales growth impact did it have?

Best at Home Innovation

In this category, the judges are looking for innovations dedicated to at-home use. Either you developed a home-scale vertical farm that can be used without expert knowhow or you are able to offer your products directly to homes (bypassing the retail channel). What makes your product the most innovative and attractive to customers, and what are the advantages compared to buying produce in-store?

Best New Business

This category is open to new companies or subsidiaries that have been founded since January 2020. We are looking for a clear message about why your business stands out – what makes it so innovative, what customer needs are you fulfilling and what success have you had so far?

Our event and awards sponsorship packages offer a unique and effective opportunity to showcase your brand and services to a highly relevant audience.

Two tiers of awards sponsorship are available: Headline sponsor and Category sponsor. We can also create a custom sponsorship package to suit your specific needs and budgetary requirements.

Sponsorship opportunities include:

• Exclusive headline sponsorship of the awards
• Sponsored social media posts
• Sponsorship of an awards category of your choosing
• Complimentary entry into the awards
• Opportunity to present an award at the awards ceremony
• Logo featured in the awards presentation
• Logo on events webpage hyperlinked to your website
• Regular mentions in Zenith Global's event marketing and press releases
• Discounts on Zenith Global market reports and discounted access to our Globaldrinks.com database.

For information and pricing, please contact Francesca Hall, Associate Director - Events

e fhall@zenithglobal.com t +44 (0)1225 327900

The winners of the Vertical Farming World Awards 2022 were announced on 20 September at a Gala Dinner during the 3rd annual Vertical Farming World Congress in Brussels.

The Winners

Best Crop Innovation

• Intelligent Growth Solutions (IGS) – Beyond basil: growing tree seedlings in a vertical farm environment

Best Crop Enhancement

• GreeenTech – GreeenTech

Best Crop Enhancement

• Vertical Future Ltd – Vertical Farming

Best Yield Improvement

• LettUs Grow – LettUs Grow’s ultrasonic aeroponics

Best Lighting Development

• Signify - A lighting system as dynamic as a vertical farm

Best AI/Automation Development

• Sananbio – Grow rack, lights

Best Climate Control Innovation

• Les Jardins Suspendus - The Vertical Farm built on the top of an ice Factory in Djibouti, East Africa

Best Farm Design Innovation sponsored by Cultivatd

• Bowery Farming – Grow Position Mapping and Scalability

Best Energy Efficiency

• Les Jardins Suspendus - Les Jardins Suspendus: building a VF at the equator in a cold chamber that is powered by the sun

Best Sustainability Initiative

• Urban Crop Solutions - Closing the loop by transforming waste to food

Best Community Initiative sponsored by IGS Limited

• LettUs Grow – Grow It York

Best Brand Marketing

• AeroFarms – AeroFarms FlavorSpectrum™

Best Retail Innovation

• Bowery Farming – Bowery Strawberry Duopack

Best At Home Innovation

• Green World Revolution – Mirco Urban Farm ECO ABUNDANCE Growing Kit

Best New Business

• Les Jardins Suspendus – Les Jardins Suspendus, the first Commercial Vertical Farm in Djibouti, East Africa