The Hive Awards 2025 has recognised and celebrated some of the country’s most innovative food and beverage companies and operators.
GAMECHANGER: Freshwater Bev Text
Freshwater Bev Tech has received this year’s Gamechanger Award for its patent-pending unpasteurised production process, developed specifically to preserve bio-active compounds in the company’s functional beverage brand, SUMMi Soda.
RISING STAR/EMERGING LEADER: Sam Musson
The Rising Star award took on a new format for 2026, honouring an individual shaping the future of the industry through leadership, initiative, and innovation. The Hive Award went to Sam Musson, who founded Zest Element and HarvestResQ to tackle the food waste crisis in Australia.
BEST LOCAL MANUFACTURER: Bendigo Brittle
Bendigo Brittle has been awarded the 2026 Hive Local Manufacturer Award. The company is family-owned, employing a small team hand-producing hundreds of thousands of units of brittle every year in a custom-designed commercial kitchen in regional Victoria.
BEST NPD: Simson’s Pantry
Simson’s Pantry received the Best NPD Award for its High Protein Souvlaki, which delivers 10g of protein per serve while still maintaining the texture, flexibility and versatility consumers expect. By combining functional nutrition with everyday usability, the company has successfully introduced a new point of differentiation within the Australian flatbread category.
BEST BEVERAGE PRODUCT: Aquafab 23
Aquafab received the Hive Award for Best Beverage Product for its novel approach to replicating the foaming capabilities of egg whites in cocktails, creating a first of its kind product with a shelf-stable formula of faba bean protein and water.
BEST PACKAGING: Amcor Flexibles
The 2026 Hive Award for Best Packaging goes to Amcor Flexibles, for its AmPrima Recycle-Ready Packaging for Shredded Cheese. The product replaces PET and PVDC with a mono-PE structure that meets Australasian Recycling Label requirements, without compromising performance.
BEST TECHNOLOGY: Treasury Wine Estates
The 2026 Hive Award for Best Technology goes to Treasury Wine Estates, for its low- and no-alcohol wine production process. The company unveiled its new $15 million Barossa Valley dealcoholisation facility in February, which uses a proprietary Flavour Lock process to capture and reintroduce the wine’s aromatic essence.
THE GOLDEN HIVE: Sam Musson
The Golden Hive Award was created in recognition of a company or individual that goes above and beyond, selected by Food & Drink Business from the category winners. This year the Rising Star/Emerging Leader winner, Sam Musson, has been awarded the 2026 Golden Hive, impressing the judges with her work reshaping how the food industry thinks about surplus agricultural produce.