SPAR International is among close to 50 finalists announced for this year’s European Private Label Awards.

In addition to SPAR International’s Vegetable Chips, products from SPAR Netherlands and SPAR Hungary have also been listed as finalists, along with those of other leading grocery operators from across Europe.

Running for only the second time, the European Private Label Awards is setting a benchmark for excellence in own brand product development, with the contest determining the most innovative private label products on sale in European supermarkets.

This year’s competition has received double the number of entries to last year. SPAR has been nominated in the ambient grocery category, along with some of the biggest names in the European retail industry, including the likes of Lidl, Coop and Sainsbury’s.

In addition to the retail companies themselves, the awards also recognise the suppliers behind the own brand products. In the case of the SPAR International Vegetable Chips, the supplier is van Marcke Foods.

SPAR Netherlands has been nominated for three products: Its ‘Echt Dichtbij’ Sweet-Sour Curry Onion Sauce as well as its SPAR Tripel with Pine Beer and its SPAR Espresso Beans, while SPAR Hungary has been nominated for its SPAR enjoy Soup Range.

The full list of nominees can be found on the European Supermarket Magazine website. The winners in each of the 12 categories will be announced in early February 2019.