This year, the GIMA Awards winners were carefully selected by a panel of industry experts, made up of Will Blake, St Peter’s Garden Centre; David Danning, Blue Diamond Group; Kate Eckley, The Old Railway Line; Neil Grant, Ferndale Garden Centre; Sarah Hayden, John Lewis & Partners; Trevor Pfeiffer, Garden Trade News; Victoria Redshaw, Scarlet Opus, and finally, Chris Moorhouse from Wickes. As always, thanks to the high calibre and breadth of innovation on display, the judging day – which took place in July – was rife with debate and discussion, as the judges waxed lyrical about the merit of the entries. However, they finally whittled the selection down and each of the deserving winners took to the stage earlier tonight, alongside this year’s celebrity host, Rory Bremner.
GIMA director, Vicky Nuttall said of the event: “What a night we have had! 17 awards and 10 incredible companies currently celebrating their win on the dancefloor! Every year, our judging panel and I are in awe of the level of innovation and development that is brought to market; and 2022 certainly hasn’t disappointed! Congratulations to all our winners, and a thank you to everyone that entered, attended, judged or sponsored the 2022 GIMA Awards. Your support is greatly appreciated.”
GIMA AWARDS 2022 – THE WINNERS
One of the most coveted accolades is the GIMA Sword of Excellence, and this year it was Westland who walked away with the honour for its Boost All Purpose Plant Food. The judges said: “Boost All Purpose Plant Food shows a company at the very top of its game. The development and marketing behind this product have delivered an all-round winner for the market.”
Elsewhere, the team from Meadow View Stone was celebrating having been awarded the GCA Supplier of the Year Award for the second year running. Talking about why Meadow View deserved the title once again, the GCA said: “Meadow View Stone offer exceptional customer service, even in times of high pressure, transport issues, supply shortages and last minutes changes to orders. We deal with a lot of suppliers and can honestly say we receive the best service from the team at Meadow View.” Whilst not named a winner, Smart Garden Products was awarded finalist status in having delivered another incredible year of service and innovation.
The 2022 Gardenex Export Achievement Award was presented to Westland, with Mr Fothergill’s Seeds and Spear & Jackson enjoying finalist status. Talking about Westland, Gardenex said: “The Kent & Stowe range has seen considerable growth in export markets, despite Covid and Brexit. Sales have increased exponentially when compared to 2019 and 2020 and is showing no signs of slowing. Entering into partnerships and distributorships and investing significantly in infrastructure and personnel to assist with the growth, Westland continues to reap the benefits and expand into new markets with their traditional British designed quality tools.
Sustainability was also high on the agenda, with not one but two companies walking away with this year’s Sustainability Award. The judges remarked: “It’s great that we have such a strong selection of sustainable products to choose from, so much so that we decided to award joint winners”. Those winners are Woolcool –the brand behind Hortiwool, and Willsow, with its plantable children’s books.
A ‘Sustainability Champion’ was also selected within each category (where relevant), celebrating the different ways sustainable solutions are being brought to market.
The full list of winners can be found here
