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Torres Brandy Zero Challenge to return in March
The Zero Challenge competition, run by Juan Torres Master Distillers, will come back for its third year, with the final taking place in Barcelona on the weekend of 25-27 March.
The 2025 edition is believed to be the biggest Torres Zero Challenge yet with entrants hailing from 11 countries: the US, the UK, Canada, Mexico, Spain, Italy, Norway, Finland, Romania, South Korea and China.
Participants from each country will compete in national finals throughout February, with the winners going on to the global final in Barcelona, Spain, where the Torres Brandy House is based.
Regarding the challenge’s return, Christian Visalli, global commercial director of spirits at Torres Brandy, said: “We are extremely pleased with the positive progress that Torres Brandy Zero Challenge has made since its inception. The fundamental objective remains: to provide the on-trade community an opportunity to pause for a moment and consider how they can contribute to a more sustainable approach in their businesses.
There has been a tweak to the format for 2025, however, which Visalli explained: “While our initiative initially included a cocktail competition where participants presented their creations alongside their sustainability projects, we have made a significant change this year. We decided to eliminate the cocktail presentation to shift greater emphasis on the projects themselves.
“This adjustment allows us to welcome a wider range of participants from the hospitality industry, not just cocktail experts, but also professionals from bars, hotels, and restaurants. We are excited to see innovative projects this year and are eager to bring the winning idea to life.”
At the three-day event in Barcelona, the finalists will present a sustainably minded project that they feel can enhance both environmental and social sustainability in the hospitality industry to an international panel of judges.
The winner will earn a €30,000 (US$31,398) cash prize to turn the project into a reality.
Torres said the projects should address ‘specific socio-environmental challenges’ and ‘have a measurable impact related to the reduction of CO2 emissions or waste, recycling of materials or social inclusion’.
The projects will be assessed on four aspects: the idea (what problem it addresses, the relevance of the proposed solution and whether its application is feasible); sustainability (measurable impact, environmental awareness and future commitment); the business plan (financial viability, profitability and execution); and future growth (the scalability and reproducibility of the idea).
Mexico’s José Alberto del Toro was crowned the champion last year for his sustainable glass bottle initiative.
The project, titled ‘Zero workshop: Giving a second chance’, aimed to bypass traditional recycling to cut carbon emissions. It featured a space in a bar where discarded glass bottles are reused and turned into glasses, lamps, ashtrays, cups or barware.
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