The planning committee of the Ghana Beverage Awards (GBA) says all is set to hold the fourth edition of the awards, which would be virtual in adherence to the stipulated COVID-19 safety protocols.

The virtual ceremony, which aims at ensuring the safety of all its stakeholders would be streamed live on television and online on June 13, 2020, at 1800 hours, a statement from the GBA Planning Committee, copied to the Ghana News Agency said.

On the theme, “Inspiring Excellence in Ghana’s Beverage Industry”, the awards aim to promote both local and foreign beverages and the participation of small-scale beverage enterprises in Ghana.

Nominations were closed to the public and all beverage companies in February this year with voting for the prestigious product of the year award ending on 20th March.

Mr Ernest Boateng, Chief Executive Officer of Global Media Alliance Group (GMA), speaking on the preparedness of the Awards Committee said: “We are ready to organise a seamless event which will celebrate the hard work of all the players in the beverage industry in the year under review.

“We also want to assure our patrons that the virtual awards will maintain the world-class standard they and our stakeholders are used to without losing the prominence and prestige associated with the awards.”

In a lead up to this year’s awards, a beverage Industry tour was organised for the GBA Board to visit nominated companies to familiarize themselves with their work and practices, as one of the new activities introduced in the build-up to the 2019 Awards Night, the statement said.

“This year, GBA has introduced two new categories; Local Beverage Advertisement of the Year and International Liqueur of the Year. The addition of the new categories is to acknowledge feedback from stakeholders, particularly consumers who have been instrumental in the nominations phase.

“The Local Beverage Advert of the Year Award goes to the brand in the year under review that is enjoying massive public appeal with its creative publicity,” the statement explained.

The Ghana Beverage Awards is organised by Global Media Alliance with the Food Research Institute (FRI) under CSIR, Ghana Tourism Authority (GTA), Consumer Protection Agency, and the Food and Beverage Association of Ghana (FABAG), as supporting partners.

Other partners are Perception Management International, Telande, and Sunseekers Tours.