We counted almost 600 votes and Lukas von Grebmer from Swedish start-up Six Beverages was the clear winner, taking a 49.31% share. Congratulations to Lukas, who we’ll be contacting for reaction and an interview – he’ll also receive a personalized BeverageDaily.com hamper full of goodies.
Commiserations and congratulations to our Runner-Up, Gregory Bentley from The Coca-Cola Company, who won the hearts and minds of 29.13% of you; Tyler Balliet, the charismatic co-founder of Second Glass/Wine Riot came in a respectable third, with just over 7% of the vote.
Check out our infographic for the full standings below, and look out for our imminent interview with Lukas. To refresh your memories, here’s the nomination blurb that made you all sit up and listen:
“Lukas von Grebmer from Swedish start-up ‘Six Beverages’ has responsibility for new product development, and came up with the idea of a functional beverage called ‘Akuō’ based on green tea that serves the purpose of enhancing cognitive function.
“Despite having no background in this area he read himself into the topic from scratch, established connections with experts and was responsible for the co-development of the product with Sensient Flavors.
“Peter Widell, a 23-year industry veteran (general manager at Sensient Flavors Scandinavia AB), said of his work with von Grebmer: “From brief to production of this sort of complicated and functional product I can say this was the fastest development of a project I have experienced as long as I can remember.”