Heineken crowns winners of Ideas Brewery Crowdsourcing Platform 60+ Challenge

Fahrenheit +60, Easy Star Bottle and Extra Lagered Vintage Top 3 Best Ideas

Amsterdam - Today HEINEKEN unveiled the winning ideas for its 60+ Challenge, a three month global innovation challenge for creatives, innovators and designers. Each taking home a share of $10,000, the three winning ideas appealed directly to the target market of the over 60s, taking into consideration both packaging and taste. The high quality of the six concepts that were shortlisted in an earlier phase of the Challenge made the judging process incredibly tough.

Tony Dianoff, from Finland, was awarded first place with Fahrenheit +60, a range of beers brewed differently to give great new tastes with a great story to tell. In second place came Nathan Gabriele (USA) with an innovative labeling idea, while Charles McGregor’s (Australia) wine-inspired beer recipe was third.

The challenge built on consumer insights identified in a previous Ideas Brewery contest earlier this year, and saw creative minds from around the world submit fresh ideas to enhance the drinking experience for the 60+ consumer. The ideas took into consideration the distinctive attitudes and needs of this group.

By the end of the Challenge, almost 150 ideas were submitted online at www.ideasbrewery.com, which were then reduced to a shortlist of six finalists, who impressed the multi-functional HEINEKEN judging team.

The six shortlist candidates were invited to the HEINEKEN headquarters in Amsterdam for a two and a half day workshop, where they collaborated with HEINEKEN innovation experts and external coaches to fine-tune their ideas. The candidates built their initial ideas into full concepts and the workshop culminated with them pitching them to the official jury. Alex Goh (designtaxi.com), Dominic Wilcox (speed creator), Daniel Quinn (Happen) and Paul Stanger and Bram Westenbrink of HEINEKEN judged all six pitches based on four criteria: innovativeness, technical feasibility, commercial feasibility and the pitch presentation.

Fahrenheit +60 was awarded the top prize due to its roots in the art of beer making, its ease of execution and because it provides a great platform for story-telling. Above all, the quality of Tony Dianoff’s concept was seen as highly innovative and campaign-able.

Talking about the challenge, HEINEKEN Global Innovation Manager Paul Stanger said: “Tony Dianoff really impressed the whole judging panel. He clearly understood the Challenge and the needs of the 60+ market. We’re looking forward to taking this project further, following our co-creation workshop, to see if we can bring the idea into reality. We were particularly struck by Tony’s use of the insight that the 60+ consumer want to discover new tastes and the way he achieved this within our established brewing process. ”

Tony Dianoff said: “When I saw the Ideas Brewery 60+ Challenge, I knew I had to enter. I spent weeks researching the over 60’s before I even put pen to paper, and this helped me create Fahrenheit +60. What’s so intriguing about this group is that so few people look to them specifically, so it was rich territory for a creative concept. The chance to work with HEINEKEN on my creative idea is very exciting, and I’m looking forward to seeing the results.”

Paul Stanger continued: “Innovation is a key pillar for HEINEKEN. We strive to be a forward thinking company, creating products and experiences that our customers are asking for. The Ideas Brewery crowd sourcing initiative is one of the Open Innovation initiatives within the company. The platform allows us to interact with creative minds around the world, to make sure that we are always on the front foot.”

For more information about upcoming Ideas Brewery Challenges, sign up to the Ideas Brewery newsletter by visiting www.ideasbrewery.com/Account/Signup

Check out the workshop for yourself: www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fcal1wsoA8c&feature=youtu.be



About Ideas Brewery

HEINEKEN believes that great ideas and innovative solutions can come from anywhere. They come from within an organization and from outside. That’s why HEINEKEN launched the www.ideasbrewery.com, an innovative platform where creative and innovators of HEINEKEN are set creative challenges that can help shape the future of the company.

About HEINEKEN

HEINEKEN is a proud, independent global brewer committed to surprise and excite consumers with its brands and products everywhere. The brand that bears the founder’s family name - Heineken® - is available in almost every country on the globe and is the world’s most valuable international premium beer brand. The Company’s aim is to be a leading brewer in each of the markets in which it operates and to have the world’s most valuable brand portfolio. HEINEKEN wants to win in all markets with Heineken® and with a full brand portfolio in markets of choice. The Company is present in over 70 countries and operates more than 165 breweries.

HEINEKEN is Europe’s largest brewer and the world’s third largest by volume. HEINEKEN is committed to the responsible marketing and consumption of its more than 250 international premium, regional, local and specialty beers and ciders. These include Heineken®, Amstel, Anchor, Biere Larue, Bintang, Birra Moretti, Cruzcampo, Desperados, Dos Equis, Foster’s, Newcastle Brown Ale, Ochota, Primus, Sagres, Sol, Star, Strongbow, Tecate, Tiger and Zywiec. Our leading joint venture brands include Cristal and Kingfisher. The number of people employed is over 85,000. Heineken N.V. and Heineken Holding N.V. shares are listed on the NYSE Euronext in Amsterdam. Prices for the ordinary shares may be accessed on Bloomberg under the symbols HEIA NA and HEIO NA and on the Reuter Equities 2000 Service under HEIN.AS and HEIO.AS. HEINEKEN has two sponsored level 1 American Depositary Receipt (ADR) programmes: Heineken N.V. (OTC: HEINY) and Heineken Holding N.V. (OTC: HKHHY). Most recent information is available on HEINEKEN’s website: www.theHEINEKENcompany.com.