2022 QCS Awards for outstanding Collaboration, Marketing, Quality, and Leadership

Congratulations to the following award finalists and winners as announced at the QCS 2022 Annual Leadership Conference in San Diego, California. View the conference wrap-up press release here.

QCS Leadership Award

The QCS Leadership Awards recognize those member companies and supply partners that have been the most engaged and made significant contributions to the QCS community.

For the Member Companies Leadership Award, contributions are measured by the growth of total purchases through QCS programs and growth in the number of programs they participate in. The 2022 Member Leadership award winner is:

• Harrisburg Dairies, Inc., Harrisburg, Pennsylvania

–Read the attached Supply Partner Leadership Award winner press release here

For the Supply Partner Leadership Award, contributions are measured by the QCS Program Scorecard, which includes, among other criteria, volume growth, member participation, innovation, quality, and service. The 2022 Supply Partner Leadership award winner is:

• Fastenal Company, Winona, Minnesota

–Read the attached Supply Partner Leadership Award winner press release here

Best Collaboration

The QCS Best Collaboration Award honors initiatives that deliver excellence through the joint efforts of a member and supply partner working together to either solve a problem or achieve the desired outcome. All entries were jointly submitted by the member and supply partner who took part in the collaboration. Congratulations to the 2022 Best Collaboration winners:

• Chocolate Shoppe Ice Cream Company and Prairie Farms Dairy, Inc. for their Creme Supply initiative 

–Read the attached Best Collaboration Award winner press release here

Outstanding Marketing

The QCS Outstanding Marketing Awards honor industry members and supply partner organizations whose creative integrated marketing campaigns have stood out and earned attention in the ever-changing food and beverage industry. These awards were judged on merit by an independent panel of marketing experts.

The QCS member winner for this year’s Integrated Marketing Campaign category is:

• MDVA Cooperative Association, Reston, Virginia: “If the Milk was any Fresher, You’d Have a Cow” campaign

The QCS supply partner winner for this year’s Integrated Marketing Campaign category is:

• Sharefield Captive, McKinney, Texas: “Captive Re-Brand” campaign

–Read the attached Outstanding Marketing Award winner press release here

QCS Quality Awards

Irving B. Weber Award

The winner of the 2022 Irving B. Weber Award is:

• Umpqua Dairy Products Company, Roseburg, Oregon

Dairy Quality Excellence (DQE)

The winners of our Dairy Quality Excellence awards have shown an exceptional ability to navigate these obstacles while maintaining superior product quality in the categories of Fluid Milk, Extended Shelf Life (ESL) and Aseptic Milk, Cultured Products, and Ice Cream. QCS Dairy Quality Excellence Awards recognize the top-quality performers in the QCS Purchasing Cooperative’s Quality & Food Safety Program and is based on scores achieved in monthly product testing. The winners of the 2022 Dairy Quality Excellence Awards are:

• ESL & Aseptic Product Category: Alqueria Dairy, Medellin, Columbia (view press release)
• Fluid Milk Category: Prairie Farms Dairy, Dubuque, Iowa (view press release)
• Cultured Products Category: Umpqua Dairy Products Company, Roseburg, Oregon (view press release)
• Ice Cream: Lochmead Dairy, Junction City, Oregon (view press release)

-Read the attached Dairy Quality Excellence (DQE) winners’ press release here

Merit Awards

The Merit of Excellence Awards is presented in the following categories: fluid milk, ice cream, and cultured products. Because our Merit of Excellence Award compliance levels are well above industry standards, this creates a significant but rewarding challenge.

The winners of the 2022 Merit of Excellence Awards for Cultured Products are:

• Hiland Dairy Foods Company, Norman, Oklahoma
• Hiland Dairy Foods Company, Wichita, Kansas
• Prairie Farms Dairy, Inc., Quincy, Illinois

The winners of the 2022 Merit of Excellence Awards for Fluid Milk Products are:

• Alqueria Dairy Freska Leche, Bucaramanga, Colombia
• Alqueria Dairy, Cajica, Colombia
• Alqueria Dairy, Medellin, Colombia
• Alqueria Dairy, Palmira, Colombia
• Hiland Dairy Foods Company, Fort Smith, Arkansas
• Hiland Dairy Foods Company, Kansas City, Missouri
• Hiland Dairy Foods Company, Little Rock, Arkansas
• Hiland Dairy Foods Company, Omaha, Nebraska
• Hiland Dairy Foods Company, Springfield, Missouri
• Prairie Farms Dairy, Inc., Dubuque, Iowa
• Prairie Farms Dairy, Inc. Olney, Illinois
• Umpqua Dairy Products Company, Roseburg, Oregon

The winners of the 2022 Merit of Excellence Awards for Ice Cream Products are:

• Belfonte Ice Cream & Dairy Foods Company, Kansas City, Missouri
• Hiland Dairy Foods Company, Springfield, Missouri
• Hiland Dairy Foods Company, Tyler, Texas
• Umpqua Dairy Products Company, Roseburg, Oregon

Egg Nog Award – 2022

This annual contest takes place during the height of Egg Nog season in December. The evaluations were based on consumer preference and conducted by a diverse panel of individuals including the staff of Mérieux NutriSciences Lab. Scores were based on body, appearance, and flavor.

• Oberweis Dairy received the scores for the best regular Egg Nog. View the press release here.
• Royal Crest Dairy received the top scores for the best lite Egg Nog for the third year in a row. View the press release here.

Orange Juice Product Contest

• Hiland Dairy Foods, Little Rock, Arkansas

Plant Assessment Award

The QCS Quality & Food Safety Plant Assessment Awards are granted to participants that achieve a formal Quality and Food Safety Audit score of 96% or higher. These annual assessments are quite rigorous – some may say ‘brutal’ – and are conducted by an accredited, approved third-party food safety auditing firm. Plants receiving this award have demonstrated a level of organizational excellence and quality assurance that is not only commendable but also assures that QCS Members represent the highest standards in the industry. View the Press Release for the winners of the 2022 Plant Assessment.