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Our Marketing and Innovation Awards are panel-based awards celebrating forward-thinking companies that provide the best examples of work to improve farm animal welfare and to promote higher welfare, sustainable food choices.
The Best Innovation Award recognises companies that have developed a successful project or innovation that has delivered measurable benefits to the lives of farm animals.
The Best Marketing Award celebrates companies that have delivered an impactful, creative and far-reaching consumer marketing campaign, communicating the importance of farm animal welfare and promoting products from higher welfare systems. The award also covers marketing initiatives that communicate the need to reduce meat, eggs and dairy consumption or promote more regenerative farming practices.
2024 Best Marketing Award
The 2024 Best Marketing Award was presented to Dutch dairy company Kalverliefde for their comprehensive campaign across television, radio, and social media which made a strong impact in the Dutch market.
It successfully raised awareness of their unique policy of keeping calves with their mothers for up to three months, beautifully captured by their heartfelt tagline: ‘First the calf, then us.’
Watch the TV ad below.
More than just product promotion, the campaign educated consumers with a thoughtful and positive message about the importance of animal welfare.
Janina van der Drift, Founder and CEO at Kalverliefde said: "At Kalverliefde, we are committed to working with small-scale organic and biodynamic farmers who allow calves to stay with their mothers for about three months—an uncommon practice in the dairy industry.
By fostering a natural, humane, and regenerative environment, we have built a trusted brand that resonates with consumers seeking responsibly produced dairy. Our commitment ensures that cows and calves thrive in environments that promote their well-being.
Through our thoughtful marketing campaigns, we have raised awareness and educated consumers on ethical dairy farming, and we are honoured to have received the Best Marketing Award for this impactful initiative."
2024 Best Innovation Award
Innovation is key to meaningful change, and Zonvarken in the Netherlands exemplified this by winning the Best Innovation Award.
Their unique pig farming model prioritises the highest standards of animal welfare while benefiting the environment and supporting farmers.
Their concept revolves around small-scale, replicable farms where pigs are raised in family groups with access to outdoor spaces, allowing them to express natural behaviours such as rooting, foraging and wallowing.
The sows enjoy spacious cage-free housing and free farrowing on straw, promoting their well-being.
Sustainability is central to this model, as their feed comes from human food by-products, resulting in a highly eco-friendly, low-emission system.
The small-scale operations, structured processes, and premium pricing ensure Zonvarken farmers a stable and decent income.
August Offenberg, Co-Founder of Zonvarken said: "Zonvarken is an innovative cooperative that combines exceptional animal welfare with sustainable, low-emission farming. Our pigs are raised in family groups with access to indoor and outdoor spaces, free farrowing on straw, and natural environments. By using human food waste for feed and maintaining naturally ventilated barns with green roofs, we create a system that benefits the animals, the environment, and provides farmers with a stable income. We are honoured to receive the Best Innovation Award from Compassion in World Farming, recognizing our forward-thinking approach. This future-fit model is one that not only benefits all but also deserves strong government support."
Other Innovation category awards
Three additional companies deserve special recognition in the Innovation category this year, reflecting the outstanding quality of the entries, all of which came from the aquaculture sector.
One of them was Swiss-based Regal Springs who received the first ever Aquaculture Innovation Award for implementing humane electrical stunning methods across their entire tilapia production in Honduras, Indonesia and Mexico.
Albert Heijn in the Netherlands and Marks & Spencer in the UK each received Special Recognition Awards for advancing shrimp welfare in their supply chains, notably for eliminating the cruel practice of eyestalk ablation, traditionally used to boost egg production.
