The Consumer Marketing Awards (CMA Awards) announces the winners of the 2025 program and a special new Icon of the Year nod to Michelin. Fourteen marketers have been recognized for their compelling work on consumer packaged goods that range from spirits and functional beverages to fine stationery, science and spiritual driven wellness,  beauty breakthroughs, playtime picks, home and pet must-haves and crave-worthy snack foods. The award, inspired by Ralph Waldo Emerson’s famed essay “On Self Reliance,” the CMAs honor human creativity, freedom and independence and entry fees are paid-forward to the next great generation of marketing minds in university entrepreneurship programs to fuel their marketing plans. An initial $5,000 was seeded to the scholarship courtesy of Los Angeles-based Kearny Real Estate company. CMA judges include visionaries from the worlds of television production, advertising, fashion, infomercials, omni-channel marketing, licensing and inventions, media and consumer behavior. Submissions for the 2026 awards are now open; marketers are invited to apply here. The 2025 winners include:

Icon of the Year – The Michelin Guide – The Consumer Marketing Awards proudly names The Michelin Guide the winner of this prestigious award, honoring a brand whose marketing has reshaped culture. Introduced in 1926, the Michelin Guide began awarding stars to French fine-dining establishments as part of a visionary “tires-to-table” strategy to encourage people to drive farther and, in turn, use more tires. By 1931, the one-, two-, and three-star hierarchy was established, laying the foundation for a global system of 18,000+ rarified culinary experiences that can be had today.  What began as a brilliant demand-generation idea has evolved into a cultural force that fueled pop-culture. From food personalities like Julia Child to Anthony Bourdain and Apple TV’s Knife Edge: Chasing Michelin Stars with Jesse Burgess, the Michelin Star also helped to transform cheffing into a glamorous career and elevated foodie culture. For these reasons and more Michelin is cemented in place as one of the greatest marketing icons of all time and earns our deepest respect, admiration, and awe.

 

Best Line Extension – Absolut Vodka – For expanding the globally iconic spirits brand into the ready-to-drink category, with the launch of Absolut Ready-to-Serve Cocktails. They were recognized for combining innovative flavors with a new convenient format while maintaining Absolut’s unmistakable identity, premium quality, and cultural relevance.

 

Best Launch Strategy – Drink TRIP – For masterfully introducing a line of magnesium-infused beverages from Europe to the U.S. market—anchored by a powerful partnership with the leading mindfulness and habit-building app, CALM. We were drawn to the brand’s use of white-space packaging, enticing flavor profiles, modern wellness messaging and thoughtful educational initiatives.

 

Best Logo – Fine Moments – For a clean, modern logo rooted in minimalist design and smart typography. The brand did a great job of instantly communicating the brand’s thoughtful take on an old fashioned, now trendy, gesture of the hand-written note. Their mark appeals to the intentionality of the brand and a new customer base.

 

Best Mission – Zenos Health – For championing the biohacking movement through a mission rooted in personal responsibility and science-backed wellness. The brand empowers customers with personalized, evidence-driven supplements and health tracking, delivered through a refined, design-led packaging system that elevates the category and makes optimal living easy to understand and adopt.

 

Best Packaging – Reflective Tarot – For a packaging experience that creates a sense of discovery to perfectly mirror the mindset of a consumer drawn to intention, ritual, and modern spirituality. The super premium die-cut presentation box opens to reveal rich textured papers, luminous holographic card stock, and exquisite, museum-quality card illustrations. The copy and fonts recall the elegance of past times; artfully penned quill and ink.

 

Best Positioning – DAISE Beauty – For carving out a modern beauty lane that has resonated deeply for tweens rooted in mood-matching. We cannot get enough of their pop neon pink and yellow vibe and bouncy, imaginative marketing that follows through from site to shelf. The pun-derived name brilliantly captures what their teeny bopper customer may feel from day-to-day; moments that invite a fizzy vanilla bath bomb – that happen to be cute and collectible.

 

Best Publicity Placements – Squishmallows – has achieved remarkable PR velocity, transforming from a toy brand into a cultural phenomenon. With hundreds of millions of media impressions and over 10 billion views on TikTok, the brand gets nonstop and viral coverage across national media, gift guides, and social platforms. The result is sustained, compounding visibility that continually renews itself rather than spiking and fading.

 

Best PR Event – Zenos Health – Their Health Summit in the UAE stands out as a next-generation gathering that blends cutting-edge science with immersive, culturally rich experiences. Focused on biohacking it convenes world-class experts and positions the region as a hub for personalized wellness. We love the exotic setting—the marketing is so evocative you can sense the soft, warm desert winds on your cheek while taking a deep dive to discover the secrets of optimal living.

 

Best Social Campaign – Purity Coffee – for their on-trend educational campaign about the importance of clean, mold-free coffee. Using Reels, short-form videos featuring high affinity influencers and plugged-in music, the brand breaks down complex ideas —like mycotoxins, origin farming,  lab testing and leaves you feeling cozy. The brewing demos are enticing and the captions poignant. The scroll-stopping content paired with searchable educational hashtags and authentic user-generated posts builds trust and loyalty.

 

Best Tagline – SoapStandle – wins this category for turning a modern annoyance into an instantly memorable line. As premium – and expensive – bar soaps surge in popularity over liquid, traditional soap dishes let cherished bars dissolve into goo. ‘The Goo Stops Here’ delivers a Polaroid-clear mental image of both the problem and the solution—witty, visual, and impossible to forget.”

 

Unique Selling Proposition – PetSafe – for powerfully building and scaling on their heritage without losing sight or diluting what they do best: keeping dogs and cats safe, healthy, happy, and well-trained. Born in 1991 as the premier electronic pet fence company, their USP has only become more solid after 34 years and 200+ products later.

 

Best Cause Marketing – World Vision – for their deeply human, action-driven marketing. Operating in nearly 100 countries, reaching 35.2 million, including 19 million children, we can really feel their impact through campaigns like the Global 6K for Water. Supporters are asked to walk, run, or roll six kilometers—the average distance women and children in many communities travel daily to collect unsafe water. Their campaign ties together first world personal action to measurable clean-water outcomes that fuels fundraising and reinforces trust.

 

Best Multicultural Marketing – Siete Foods – for bringing Indigenous and Mexican American food traditions into the modern mainstream in more than 37,000 U.S. grocery stores, generating hundreds of millions in retail sales and ultimately a $1.2 billion acquisition by PepsiCo. Their transformation of heritage ingredients like cassava, chickpea, and almond flour into craveable, on-trend snacks celebrates culture with authenticity. We love their family-led storytelling and design-forward packaging that proves that culturally rooted, better-for-you foods can scale nationally and resonate with everyday consumers.

 

Best Product Design – Asobu – for an adorable kids line born from a simple insight: children drink more when a product feels like a friend. That idea sparked bold, friendly colorway designs inspired by toys. Each beverage bottle is topped with playful character heads made of soft-touch silicone that invites interaction and emotional connection. We are so impressed with this kid-first thinking that also uses durable stainless steel interiors and food-safe materials that parents trust.

About: Founded by Consumer Product Events, the Consumer Marketing Awards draw on nearly 40 years of hands-on consumer product marketing experience, evaluating and elevating the strategies behind tens of thousands of products brought to market. The annual program honors the most effective, creative, and culturally relevant consumer packaged goods marketing campaigns, judged by a panel of legendary industry leaders who have shaped the modern CPG landscape. Designed as a pay-it-forward initiative, CMA entry fees support scholarships for university students enrolled in entrepreneurship programs across the United States—investing in the next generation of product innovators and marketers.

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