Launched in 1988, the Industry Awards lunch is now the biggest social event in the calendar for the diy, hardware, garden and housewares market. Hundreds of industry leader pack into each year’s lunch to applaud the cream of the year’s new product launches – and to network, to entertain clients, and to reward key staff and colleagues.

Consistent winners over the years include industry giants like Black & Decker, Dulux, Polycell, Henkel, Plasplugs, Scotts, Bayer Garden and Akzo Nobel. But the awards have helped many small suppliers as well. A tiny company making security hardware had tried fruitlessly to interest major buyers, until one of its products was named a winner – and Homebase were on the phone almost immediately. “Winning this award put us on the map,” the owner told us a little later.

The 2009 awards are open to any new product first launched to the trade between January and December 2008, and entry forms will be published from November 2008 onwards, on diyweek.net and in DIY Week, Hardware & Garden Review and Housewares Magazine.

To see the full list of 2008 winners, click here.