Best Choice Earns Four Prestigious 2025 PLMA Salute to Excellence Awards
November 20, 2025 | 3 min to read
Wins across meat, spices, candy, and paper products highlight the strength and diversity of AWG’s private brands portfolio.
AWG is proud to announce that its flagship private brand, Best Choice, has been honored with four 2025 Salute to Excellence Awards by the Private Label Manufacturers Association (PLMA). The awards recognize outstanding innovation and quality in private label products across food and non-food categories.
The winning Best Choice products showcase the company’s commitment to delivering exceptional quality, value, and innovation to AWG member retailers and their shoppers.
The four award-winning items are:
- Best Choice from the Farm Honey Ham Lunch Meat
- Best Choice Honey Garlic Wing Seasoning Mix
- Best Choice Sour Fruity Gummi Hoops
- Best Choice Kid-Ventures Trays
This year’s competition was the most challenging to date, with a record-breaking number of submissions. Close to 850 products were nominated by 50 North American retailers, making this recognition a significant achievement.
“We are incredibly honored to receive four PLMA Salute to Excellence Awards,” said Emily Detwiler, Vice President of AWG Brands. “This recognition is a direct reflection of our team’s dedication to developing quality and innovative products that rival national brands.”
The winning products were announced yesterday during PLMA’s 2025 Private Label Trade Show in Chicago. The Salute to Excellence Awards have celebrated retail excellence in store brands since 1986. Each product under consideration undergoes testing and is evaluated by a judging panel of professionals and consumers. Products are reviewed for innovation and concept, sensory, presentation, and value for money.
“Our category management and private brands teams work tirelessly to understand what today’s shoppers want, and these awards for Best Choice affirm they are hitting the mark,” said Tye Anthony, AWG’s Chief Merchandising and Marketing Officer. “In a year of record competition with more entries than ever, these wins are a powerful statement about the strength of the AWG Brands program and our commitment to helping independent grocers thrive.”
ABOUT ASSOCIATED WHOLESALE GROCERS, INC.
Associated Wholesale Grocers, Inc. (AWG) is the nation’s largest cooperative food wholesaler to independently owned supermarkets, serving 1,100 member companies and 3,500 locations throughout 33 states from 9 wholesale division support centers. Consolidated sales for AWG in 2024 were $12.1 billion. In addition to its cooperative wholesale operations, the company also operates subsidiary companies that provide certain real estate and supermarket development services, and pharmaceutical products.
ABOUT AWG BRANDS
AWG Brands is Associated Wholesale Grocers’ private brand program consisting of Always Save®, Best Choice®, Pure Wonder by Best Choice™, Hello World by Best Choice™, Clearly by Best Choice™, and Best Choice® Superior Selections®. The AWG Brands portfolio includes more than 4,100 products from departments across the grocery store including center store grocery, bakery, produce, meat and seafood, general merchandise, and health, beauty and wellness. Learn more at AWGinc.com/awg-brands.