Help us honor women's contributions to the store brand industry!

Women Impacting Storebrand Excellence (WISE), a non-profit professional development organization, in conjunction with Store Brands magazine, a Stagnito Business Information + Edgell Communications brand, are pleased to announce that our fourth annual Top Women in Store Brands achievement awards program is now open for nominations. The purpose of the awards is to acknowledge contributions made by women from all areas of the North American store brand industry. WISE and Store Brands will present a total of nine awards during the WISE Annual Meeting and Luncheon at the Private Label Manufacturers Association’s Private Label Trade Show, which will be held on Nov. 13-15 in Rosemont, Ill.

WISE and Store Brands have established award categories that provide women from all disciplines with the opportunity to be recognized for their achievements. Managers, co-workers, peers, customers and other industry professionals are encouraged to nominate women in one of the four categories:

• Functional Expertise: Awarded to a woman who has made a significant professional contribution to her company and/or the store brand industry through her accomplishments in a specific function or area of expertise. Six awards from this category will be given, including 1) R&D/QA; 2) Supply Chain/Procurement; 3) Operations; 4) Sales; 5) Marketing/Merchandising; and 6) Human Resources. The award is based on accomplishments from May 2015-April 2016.
• Sparkplug: Awarded to a woman who is new to store brands (one to five years) and has already made a noticeable impact via professional achievements and personal influence for her company, colleagues, customers and/or the industry. Open to all functional areas and based on accomplishments from May 2015-April 2016.
• Innovation: Awarded to a woman who has brought game-changing innovation to her company and/or the store brand industry through the introduction of new products, packaging, technology, merchandising, programs, systems, processes, etc. Open to all functional areas and based on accomplishments from May 2015-April 2016.
• Lifetime Achievement: Awarded to a woman who has spent the majority of her career in store brands and has “made her mark” through professional achievements, as well as personal contributions to her employer(s), colleagues, community and the industry. Open to all functional areas and based on accomplishments throughout her career.

Nominations will be accepted through June 30, 2016. Nominating forms may be accessed via http://www.storebrands.com/2016-top-women-store-brands-nominations. Award recipients will be notified in late July.

To learn more about the program and read about the accomplishments of last year’s award recipients, visit http://www.storebrands.com/awards-and-events/awards/overachieving-bunch.