Beating Coca-Cola and PepsiCo to a global drinks award is the kind of result that cuts through the noise for category buyers and retail teams alike. East Forged’s win as Best Drink Innovation at the World Food Innovation Awards in London is a concrete signal about where no-sugar, low-alcohol beverage innovation is heading — and which formats are earning industry recognition on genuine merit.
The Sydney-based brand took out the top prize in a field of more than 100 entries across 28 countries. Production has grown approximately 140 per cent over the past year, and the business now counts more than 200 locations nationally. For FMCG professionals tracking the better-for-you drinks category, this result deserves more than a passing read.
What Is East Forged and Why It Matters for the Drinks Category
The ready-to-drink tea segment has long carried a credibility problem. Most products on shelf rely on added sugar, synthetic flavours, and marketing that borrows from health claims the formulations can’t genuinely support.
East Forged was founded by Kym Cooper and Tania Stacey with a clear intent: apply craft beverage discipline — think craft beer, not convenience store iced tea — to a category that hadn’t seen serious format innovation in years. The brand uses whole tea leaves sourced from ethical growers in Australia and China, brews them for up to 12 hours, then infuses each batch with nitrogen at the canning stage.
The result is a product with a smooth, creamy texture and a foamy head — no added sugars, no artificial colours, no synthetic flavours. That positioning sits squarely in the gap between alcohol and standard soft drinks that a growing number of consumers are actively seeking to fill.
East Forged Takes Best Drink Innovation at the World Food Innovation Awards
The World Food Innovation Awards, run by FoodBev Media and held in London, are widely regarded as a global benchmark for food and beverage product development. This year’s competition drew more than 100 entries from 28 countries, including submissions from The Coca-Cola Company and PepsiCo.
East Forged was named Best Drink Innovation. Judges cited the brand’s approach to rethinking how tea is made and experienced — specifically, the use of cold-brew and nitrogen infusion to produce a textured, full-bodied drink without added sugar or additives. They also noted the brand’s capacity to bring new consumers into the tea category by offering something that feels simultaneously familiar and entirely distinct.
FoodBev Media noted that this year’s winners broadly reflect a shift towards health, transparency, and purpose-driven innovation across the global food and beverage industry.
How the Product Works in Practice
The cold-brew and nitrogen infusion process East Forged uses is not a cosmetic differentiation. Extended brew time extracts flavour compounds lost in standard hot-brew methods, and nitrogen replaces carbon dioxide at the canning stage to produce a fundamentally different mouthfeel — closer to a draught nitro cold brew than a standard canned drink.
From a commercial standpoint, I think the more telling figure is the 140 per cent production growth over the past year. That kind of sustained growth through direct-to-consumer and independent retail channels indicates genuine repurchase behaviour, not trial-driven spikes driven by promotional spend.
| Format | Brew Method | Added Sugar | Nitrogen Infused | Alcohol |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| East Forged RTD Tea | Cold brew, up to 12 hours | None | Yes | None |
| Standard RTD Tea | Hot brew or concentrate | Typically high | No | None |
| Nitro Cold Brew Coffee | Cold brew | None (typically) | Yes | None |
| Standard Alcoholic RTD | Varies | Often present | Occasionally | Yes |
What This Award Does Not Change for East Forged
A global innovation award does not automatically translate to major grocery distribution. East Forged is not yet listed in Coles, Woolworths, or Aldi, and the path to mainstream grocery shelf placement involves ranging decisions, commercial negotiations, and volume commitments that an innovation title won’t shortcut.
The brand’s $1.5 million raise — led by Global Mind Agriculture Australia — is meaningful capital, but modest by the standards of a category operating at national supermarket scale. Further investment would likely be needed to support the manufacturing volume a major grocery ranging would require. The award creates leverage in buyer conversations; it doesn’t replace them.
Who Benefits and When
Independent retailers with health-conscious shopper bases — Harris Farm Markets being the clearest example — benefit most immediately from stocking a brand that now carries global recognition. For East Forged, the win strengthens the commercial narrative in any upcoming ranging conversations. For co-packers and nitrogen infusion specialists in the Australian beverage manufacturing sector, the brand’s growth trajectory is worth tracking as a demand signal for the format more broadly.
East Forged and the Maturing No-Alcohol Beverage Opportunity in Australia
From where I sit, what East Forged represents is evidence that the no-alcohol, no-sugar segment in Australia is maturing well past novelty. Cooper and Stacey identified two converging consumer groups: younger Australians moderating alcohol intake, and older consumers being advised to reduce both sugar and alcohol. Both groups are actively seeking drinks that don’t compromise on texture or sensory experience.
That is a significant and durable addressable market — one that Coca-Cola and PepsiCo are also watching closely. The fact that a small Australian brand beat both to a global innovation title is a data point that retail buyers and category managers shouldn’t file away too quickly.
If you’re working in beverages — as a buyer, brand manager, or category lead — I’d encourage you to request a sample and review East Forged’s ranging pack before the next category review opens. Innovation awards have a short shelf life as conversation starters, but the fundamentals here point to staying power well beyond a headline moment.