Since 2010, the International Baking Industry Exhibition (IBIE) has celebrated industry excellence with its BEST in Baking awards program. Designed to recognize suppliers and bakery producers who have gone above and beyond to display high levels of innovation, the recognition program (open to companies of all sizes) is accepting applications only for a few more weeks. Winners will be recognized at the show (scheduled for September 13‒17 in Las Vegas) as well as on the Packaging Strategies site.

New to the 2025 BEST in Baking awards is the category of Sustainable Packaging Innovation. This award will be bestowed upon bakery companies that have launched sustainable packaging (including primary or secondary product packaging) for retail, wholesale, foodservice, ecommerce, and/or direct-to-consumer applications. The award subcategories include:

• Packaging Innovation, High-Volume Bakery ($50 million or more in sales)
• Packaging Innovation, Intermediate-Volume Bakery (up to $50 million in sales)
• Packaging Innovation, Retail Bakery

Categories open to suppliers only include:

• Sustainability: equipment, ingredients, packaging, technology, or other resources that boost efficiency, reduce energy use, mitigate environmental impact, or otherwise address bakery industry sustainability challenges
• Automation & Robotics: equipment or other technology that automates a manual process to help increase throughput and reduce labor

Categories available to both suppliers and bakers:

• Plant Efficiency: equipment, ingredients, packaging, technology, or other processes not related to automation or robotics that improve operational efficiency. Subcategories:
  • Supplier
  • Wholesale Bakery, High-Volume ($50 million or more in sales)
  • Wholesale Bakery, Intermediate (up to $50 million in sales)
  • Retail Bakery
• Sanitation: equipment, technology, and/or processes that improve equipment and/or facility sanitation in the baking industry. Subcategories:
  • Supplier
  • Wholesale Bakery, High-Volume ($50 million or more in sales)
  • Wholesale Bakery, Intermediate (up to $50 million in sales)
  • Retail Bakery
• Workplace Development: companies that foster sustainable development and ongoing growth of the baking industry workforce. Subcategories:
  • Supplier
  • Wholesale Bakery, High-Volume ($50 million or more in sales)
  • Wholesale Bakery, Intermediate (up to $50 million in sales)
  • Retail Bakery

Learn more about BEST in Baking or apply here.