SUBCON23: Meet the winners of the Subway® & IPC Asia Pacific Vendor Awards

From the 19^th – 21^st May more than 1000 Subway franchisees, vendors and business partners came together to celebrate SUBCON23. A jam-packed, energy and excitement filled weekend at Melbourne’s Convention Centre. 

After too many years (COVID) apart, it was a long overdue event. With familiar face and fresh faces, the first night’s Trade Show was all about people, with everyone’s passion and energy reminding everyone of the ‘power of many’.

Across SUBCON23, we shared a journey of growth, learning, and collaboration.The calibre of speakers, industry experts and leaders were exceptional, and their wisdom (and humour) will undoubtedly shape the future success of our franchise network.

This event would not have been possible without the support of our generous sponsors. And to our vendor partners from across Australia and New Zealand who created the Trade Show to showcase their products, services and innovations.

Its easy to attend such a meticulously planned and seamless event and forget the Subway®convention organising team whose attention to detail created an exceptional experience for the entire weekend.

Thank you to everyone who could attend. Your dedication and passion are the lifeblood of our success. Together, we will continue to drive innovation, exceed expectations, and build a brighter future for our franchise network.

SUBCON23 was also about celebrating our collective achievements.

At the Subway®&IPCAsia Pacific Vendor Awards and Gala Awards Dinner we recognised the exceptional performance of our valued vendors, their teams and their remarkable contributions to the Brand's growth.

It’s our honour to show IPC Asia Pacific’s appreciation for everyone’s hard work, dedication, and commitment.

So, let’s meet the deserved winners of the Subway®&IPCAsia PacificVendor of the Year Awards.

These awards celebrate and recognise our vendor’s contributions to a year of delivering fresh and forward-thinking products and services to Subway® franchisees in Australia, New Zealand – and often into Asia too.

Congratulations to Suprima Bakeries, the winners of our most prestigious award, Subway®&IPC Asia Pacific Vendor of the Year Award.  This award is presented for their consistency of supply, quality, innovation, and outstanding service.

Suprima Bakeries were presented their award at the SUBCON23 Gala Awards Dinner. Congratulations to our nominees Detpak and Baiada.

As part of the awards process, we filmed three videos to showcase what each company has done to earn their nomination. You can watch our Subway®& IPC Asia Pacific Vendor of the Year Awardsnominee videos here.

Congratulations to all the other winners of the Subway®&IPC Asia Pacific Vendor Award this year.

Here are this year’s deserved winners.  Scroll down to read more about these awards, and why our winners are so special.

All the photos from SUBCON23 can also be viewed and downloaded here.

Detpak with their Vendor of the Year nomination and Tom Hilder who won the Excellence in Customer Service Award

Congratulations to Baiada for their Vendor of the Year nomination and the Product Development Award

Bidfood won Supply Chain Partner of the Year with  Jessica Xu and Naukhez Haider winning awards for Excellence in Customer Service 

Newly Weds Foods took out the Product Development Award and Michelle Bintcliffe received an Excellence in Customer Service Award 

Well done Energy Alliance for their Special Recognition Award and Sam Wallace was recognised with an Excellence in Customer Service Award 

Congratulations Kogome for the Sustainability Award

Great work Unifresh for their Special Recognition Award

Sharpline took home the Product Development Award – Equipment

Kian's Edmund Lu was recognised for his Excellence in Customer Service

True Food's Robert Nackoski won a Special Recognition Award

Congratulations McCormick Foods on the Product Development Award

Metropolitan Computers took out the Technolgy Vendor Award

Suprima's Alan Hilton won an Award for Excellence in Customer Service

Celebrating their 100 years in business, The Yarrows Family won a Special Recognition Award

Learn a little more about our awards and what makes our winners so special.

Excellence in Customer Service recognises those who go above and beyond expected levels of support and service for the brand every single day. Choosing a single winner is not possible in this category and we recognise a number of individuals who have shown that, on every level, they provide excellent, authentic, transparent, dedicated and committed customer service. Congratulations to:
·       Edmund Lu – Kian Furniture 
·       Tom Hilder – Detpak
·       Alan Hilton from Suprima Bakeries
·       Naukez Haider – Bidfood
·       Michelle Bintcliffe - Newly Weds Foods (Australia)
·       Corinne Kiernan (Leaderbrands Produce LTD)
·       Jessica Xu – Bidfood

We also recognise Excellence in Customer Service by a company.  

These businesses have provided a superior level of company-wide support, and continually find new ways to respond to the demands of the Subway® and IPC Asia Pacific teams, in order to meet the needs of Subway® franchisees.

And our winners of the Excellence in Customer Service to a Company Award are:
·       Detpak
·       The Energy Alliance

Product Development Award - Developing new products is vital to the ongoing success of the Subway® brand. The work to support new promotional offers, supply chain challenges and rising costs are all part of product development which is now critical to staying relevant and competitive.

This year, we have three winners in this category who have all brought innovation, dedication and out of the box thinking to the table. They invest their time and resources to develop many new products in conjunction with the New Product Development team. All three have had successful new products launch into the market with guests giving them the big thumbs up.

The winners of the Product Development Award 2023 are:
·       Baiada
·       McCormick Foods
·       Newly Weds Foods (Australia)

Product Development Award – Equipment. This award recognises an equipment supplier who brought development and innovation to the table. As the Subway brand transformation was brought to life in Asia Pacific equipment suppliers were crucial to support more localised solutions that fit the brief and were cost effective.

From sanitiser stations to the latest integrated front counter 3PD pickup station, Albert and the team at Sharpline take a hands on approach to assist in design and development of solutions fit for Subway.
·       Congratulations Sharpline

Subway Systems Australia FSQA Award - Product quality is one of the most critical elements of the Subway® guest experience, and this next award recognises a vendor whose continuity and consistency over the past year has been second to none. 

They have been a proactive partner in developing product improvements in bread. They have consistently produced the product to exceptional quality standards. They have also been involved in creating new and existing products for our marketing promotions and continue to be highly engaged when given new product briefs.
·       The winner of the Subway Systems Australia FSQA Awards is Suprima 

Supply Chain Partner Award - Subway®, with its highly dispersed geographic reach, has one of the most complex delivery models in the world. An effective supply chain is critical to daily operations. The Supply Chain Partner Award is given to a company that has set a very high standard in terms of service levels, attitude, Franchisee focus and the willingness to provide IPC Asia Pacific with assistance and support whenever it’s needed. 

This year the Award goes to a distributor who has again, over the last year, proactively supported the Subway® business in all of these ways - and more. They have made great efforts to understand the Subway® business to ensure seamless operation.
·       Congratulations to the winner of the Supply Chain Partner Awards for 2023: Bidfood

Sustainability Award - This award reflects our joint commitment to providing a wide range of great tasting food choices, whilst also reducing their environmental footprint. The sustainability award recognises those Vendors who create sustainable business practices while reducing costs and/or improving quality. This year the award goes to a Vendor who has a continuous focus on sustainability, implementing innovative ways to reduce the impacts of their operations. 
·       Congratulations to Kagome 

Technology Vendor Award - More and more of what is inside a Subway® Restaurant relies on technology solutions that both can meet the ever-changing needs of our guests and drive operational excellence for franchisees. Over the past few years we’ve worked with a range of vendors to launch new and exciting technology solutions on behalf of the brand from digital menu boards to inventory management.

As new technology products and services are introduced, our role in supporting Restaurants to ensure they are working, installed, and maintained grows every day.  
·       This year the Technology Award winner is Metro Computers

Special Recognition Awards: This year the team have asked me to also acknowledge the efforts of four others which will each receive a special recognition award. 

The first award acknowledges the contributions of a company that has been instrumental in ensuring fresh produce reached franchisees throughout Western Australia. They have been given this special recognition award for quickly stepping up and ensuring stock around the region. 
·       Congratulations to Unifresh

Our second Recognition award goes to a person for their support and assistance during supply shortages ensuring Subway were not impacted. Rob and his team have done a fantastic job to proactively look for alternative options when faced with raw material challenges. They’ve worked closely with us and been relied upon to secure quality product.
·       Congratulations to Rob Nackoski from True Foods

Another individual who deserves special recognition for their work supporting franchisee save money on one of their biggest costs - energy. 

Sam from Energy Alliance gets a special recognition award this year. Sam has been instrumental in driving profitable outcomes for franchisees. The work that Sam and the team have done over the past year to secure pricing when faced with major energy price hikes has been fantastic.
·       Congratulations to Sam Wallace from Energy Alliance

Our final award goes to a vendor who has a rich history with Subway and later this year will celebrate being in business for 100 years. 

Yarrows is one of the largest remaining independently owned bakeries in New Zealand, owned and operated by the third generation of Yarrows - John and Rosaleen and the fourth generation Phillip. They bring new innovate products to the market and provide our world-renowned Subway Bread.
·       Congratulations to the Yarrows Family