Explore how spirits competitions can boost your brand

Today’s crowded and competitive spirits market poses significant challenges for producers wishing to stand out and win customers. With the number of new brands growing every year, the struggle for recognition and consumer loyalty becomes increasingly daunting.

However, amidst this landscape of heightened competition, producers of quality spirits can find relatively simple and cost-effective promotional opportunities in the area of spirits competitions.

Let’s explore how spirits competitions, and the awards they bestow, can send clear messages to your target customers and serve as a catalyst for growth and differentiation from your competitors.

Recognition and Validation

Spirits awards provide external validation of the quality and craftsmanship of your spirits, enhancing your brand's reputation among consumers and industry professionals.

Increased Visibility

Awards can boost your products’ visibility in the marketplace and increase exposure for your brand, helping it stand out on crowded shelves and attract new customers.

Marketing Opportunities

Spirits medals are valuable marketing tools that can be leveraged across various channels, from social media to packaging to point of sale promotions, to showcase your brand's excellence.

Consumer Trust

These awards are in essence professional seals of approval, instilling confidence and trust in consumers who are more likely to purchase products that have been singled out by spirits judges for their quality.

Differentiation

In a competitive market, awards differentiate your brand from competitors, giving you a unique selling point and helping you capture market share.

Distribution Opportunities

Distributors and retailers prefer to work with winners, and spirits awards open doors to new distribution channels and inspire your existing distributors and retailers to work harder promoting and selling your award-winning products.

Feedback and Improvement

Competing provides valuable feedback that can help you identify areas for improvement and refine your products over time.

But not all spirits competitions are created equal, and the differences can affect your experience as an entrant as well as the effectiveness of the medals you could win.

“”

Winning an L.A. Spirits Awards medal has been a boon to our marketing.

Having the third-party validation and recommendation of a respected organization like L.A. Spirits Awards helps consumers know that what they’re getting in the bottle is of the utmost quality, and that it’s not just us telling them so.

John Lickteig
BHAKTA Spirits

Meet L.A. Spirits Awards

Spirits competitions are complex machines for which expert management is essential to the accurate and impartial processing, judging, and tracking of entries. And the competition management experience of L.A. Spirits Awards’ directors is simply unmatched in the industry.

L.A. Spirits Awards was conceived in 2019 by Nicolette Teo and Joel Blum, who after working together in the competition business for many years realized the need for a new competition paradigm—one that would go beyond the mere awarding of medals. L.A. Spirits Awards judges spirits quality from the perspective of a new generation of experts—by a fresh and diverse team that better reflects the look of the overall spirits industry.

We’ve designed a more agile and efficiently run event that ensures all entries are given their due attention and receive a fair and proper evaluation.
In short, we offer our entrants a better competition experience!

Want to see how L.A. Spirits Awards can transform your brand?

EXPLORE L.A. SPIRITS AWARDS

BENEFITS YOU CAN ExpecT 
FROM L.A. SPIRITS AWARDS

Distinguished Endorsement:  L.A. Spirits Awards medals are a powerful third-party endorsement from industry experts, recognizing your exceptional skill and quality in crafting spirits.

Enhanced Exposure: L.A. Spirits Awards enhance your brand's visibility, making it stand out on crowded store shelves and capturing consumer attention, facilitating connections with distributors.

Insightful Feedback: L.A. Spirits Awards Insights program offers valuable feedback from judges and consumers, guiding product refinement for continuous improvement.

“”

We use our L.A. Spirits Awards medals in social media, on packaging, and even in our investor pitches.

Consumers love to know that the brand they are drinking has credibility and this award certainly helps bolster our brand.

Jackie Myers
Better Than Booze

“”

The rigorousness of L.A. Spirits Awards provides an assurance of quality that makes us proud to use the medals they’ve awarded us on our marketing, educational, and social media materials.

JESSICA BECKER
BULLEIT FRONTIER BOURBON

Next Steps

Step 1: SIGN UP for Updates

L.A. Spirits Awards take place each spring, and begins accepting entries in early January. Subscribe to receive the L.A. Spirits Awards newsletter to be informed when next year's dates and deadlines are confirmed. 

SIGN UP!

Step 2: Enter the Competition

When the 2025 competition is open for entries in early January, register on the L.A. Spirits Awards website and enter your products!  Simply provide the information requested about each product you are entering, submit your entry fees, and ship your samples.

Want more information? Check out the L.A. Spirits Awards FAQ page or contact L.A. Spirits Awards with your questions.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONSCONTACT L.A. SPIRITS AWARDS

Step 3: Celebrate and Share

Winners will be notified of their results shortly following the competition. Get started right away sharing the news of your award with your contacts and followers, the media. Put the power of your L.A. Spirits Awards to work building your brand, attracting new customers, increasing sales, and improving your bottom line.
  • Winners can download complimentary medallion imagery to enhance their promotional materials, showcasing their achievement. (Unlike some other competitions, L.A. Spirits Awards never charges you extra licensing fees just to include images of your award in your promotions.)
  • Enjoy preferential pricing on point-of-sale (POS) promotional printing. POS promotions are among the most effective—and cost effective—ways to grab attention for your award-winning products.
  • Throughout the year, winners are invited to participate in prestigious tasting events hosted by L.A. Spirits Awards. These events provide valuable opportunities to network with influential trade professionals and the media.
  • Winning products and their producers receive prominent exposure L.A. Spirits Awards' strategic media partnerships, including VinePair, the largest digital media brand, which reaches over 30 million wine, spirits, and beer enthusiasts monthly.
  • Gain additional visibility through featured spotlights in L.A. Spirits Awards' monthly email communications, reaching a broad audience of 20,000 subscribers.
  • Bask in the limelight on L.A. Spirits Awards' social media platforms, celebrating your success and further expanding your brand's reach and recognition.
  • Leverage L.A. Spirits Awards' extensive industry connections to access support for importing, distribution, public relations, legal services, advertising, and more. 
Have any questions before you get started? 
CONTACT L.A. SPIRITS AWARDS