Before the trophies are handed out at Ghana’s most prestigious evening in beverages, the sector gathered first for a reckoning.
The Ghana Beverage Awards Industry Forum convened on Wednesday, March 18, at Silverbird Cinemas in Accra, bringing together government officials, manufacturers, sustainability advocates, distributors, and entrepreneurs for the forum’s first ever in-person edition. The event is a centrepiece of the official run-up activities to the 10th anniversary GBA ceremony, widely regarded as Ghana’s most rigorous annual celebration of beverage excellence, with nominations open across categories spanning Beer of the Year, Carbonated Soft Drink of the Year, New Beverage of the Year, Sustainability Champion of the Year, and more.
The timing is deliberate. With the landmark 10th edition raising the competitive stakes higher than any previous year, the industry is being challenged not just to produce great drinks, but to produce them responsibly, at scale, and for a continental market.
This year’s forum theme, “Powering a Resilient and Eco-Friendly Beverage Industry through 24-Hour Operations for Job Creation and AfCFTA Competitiveness,” crystallises the twin pressures facing Ghanaian producers as they position for the African Continental Free Trade Area, whose secretariat is headquartered right in Accra.
“The Industry Forum is designed to bring together key stakeholders to have meaningful conversations about the future of the beverage sector. As the industry evolves, it is important that sustainability, innovation, and policy alignment remain central to the conversation, particularly as Ghana positions itself within the AfCFTA market and the emerging 24-hour economy framework,” said Emma Wenani, Chief Director at Global Media Alliance, organisers of the GBA.
Her words carry particular weight this year. When GBA launched its 10th anniversary on November 26, 2025, at Global Media Alliance’s premises in Dzorwulu, Accra, CEO Ernest Boateng delivered what amounted to a manifesto for the industry’s next decade.
“Sustainability is no longer an option, it is now a business imperative. The next decade of growth must be anchored on responsible sourcing, eco-friendly packaging, and community investment,” Boateng stated.
That mandate is reflected directly in the Sustainability Champion of the Year category, won at the 2024 GBA by Voltic Natural Mineral Water for its environmental leadership, which has quietly become one of the most closely watched awards on the night. Prof. Charles Tortoe, Chairman of the GBA Technical Committee, set the tone for the 10th edition at the November launch.
“This year, the stakes are higher. A 10th-anniversary award is a legacy award. The technical committee is committed to a process that is transparent, scientific, and fair. We will be looking for brands that have not only performed well in the year under review but have demonstrated the consistency befitting a decade of growth.”
The forum’s speaker lineup mirrored that mandate. Saeed A. Farocco, Acting Director for the Manufacturing and Industry Unit at Ghana’s Environmental Protection Agency, spoke to the regulatory frameworks tightening around sustainable production, a signal to brands that green compliance is now a licensing reality, not merely an awards category. Circular economy advocate Makafui Awuku of McKingtorch Africa pressed producers to embed responsible packaging into core operations rather than treat it as a marketing afterthought. As Drinkabl has reported, Africa’s beverage sector is building serious continental momentum, but the brands that will endure are those building for longevity, not just volume.
Ishmael Nii Amanor Dodoo, Director of Partnerships at the 24 Hour Economy and Accelerated Export Development Secretariat, turned attention to opportunity, outlining what round-the-clock production could mean for Ghana’s ability to compete for AfCFTA shelf space, more output, more jobs, and a more consistent export proposition for Ghanaian brands travelling across the continent.
Samuel Aggrey, General Secretary of the Food and Beverage Association of Ghana, one of GBA’s own institutional supporters alongside the Consumer Protection Agency, the Food Research Institute under CSIR, and the Ministry of Trade and Industry, kept the conversation grounded in distribution realities, supply chain access, market reach, and quality assurance from factory gate to consumer’s hand.
The 10th GBA promises to be the most competitive in the scheme’s history. Bel-Cola, produced by Blow Chem Industries, claimed the coveted Product of the Year at the 2024 edition, a standard that this year’s nominees will need to clear or surpass in what organisers have positioned as a legacy-defining year.
The GBA ceremony, due to crown 2026 winners later this year, represents a decade of an awards platform that started as a simple industry recognition scheme and has grown, in the words of its own technical chair, into “a brand of excellence” that is increasingly visible well beyond Ghana’s borders.
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