Privacy Policy

Last updated: 16 August 2026

1. Who We Are

The European Private Label Awards(“EPLA” or the “Awards”) are organised by Madison Publications Ltd, 3 AdelaideStreet, Dún Laoghaire, Co. Dublin, A96 D6P8, Ireland.

Madison Publications Ltd is thedata controller responsible for personal data collected throughprivatelabelawards.com (the “Website”), the EPLA entry process and associatedAwards communications and activities.

For questions about this PrivacyPolicy or how we use personal data, please contact:

privacy@esmmagazine.com

2. Scope of ThisPrivacy Policy

This Privacy Policy explains how wecollect, use, store and protect personal data relating to:

  • visitors to the Website;
  • people registering for or submitting Entries to the Awards;
  • representatives of retailers, manufacturers, producers and suppliers;
  • judges, assessors and other individuals involved in the Awards;
  • people who contact us about EPLA; and
  • people who choose to receive marketing or other communications from us.

We process personal data inaccordance with the General Data Protection Regulation (“GDPR”), the DataProtection Act 2018 and other applicable data protection and electroniccommunications legislation.

3. Personal DataWe May Collect

Depending on how you interact withus, we may collect:

  • your name;
  • job title;
  • company or organisation;
  • email address;
  • telephone number;
  • postal or business address;
  • country;
  • account and registration information;
  • correspondence with us;
  • Entry and Awards administration information;
  • invoicing and transaction information;
  • marketing and communication preferences;
  • information you provide when making an enquiry or contacting us;
  • IP address, browser and device information;
  • Website usage information; and
  • information collected through cookies and similar technologies where applicable.

Where payment is made through athird-party payment provider, payment-card information may be processeddirectly by that provider. We may receive information relating to thetransaction, such as payment status, amount and transaction reference, withoutreceiving full payment-card details.

Product, retailer, supplier andcompany information will not normally constitute personal data unless itidentifies or relates to an identifiable individual.

4. How We CollectPersonal Data

We may collect personal data:

  • directly from you when you register, submit an Entry, make a payment, contact us or otherwise interact with EPLA;
  • from another person within your organisation where they nominate you as an Awards contact;
  • from a retailer, manufacturer, producer or supplier in connection with an Entry;
  • through our Website and Entry Platform;
  • through our social media platforms;
  • through service providers acting on our behalf; and
  • from publicly available business sources where appropriate.

If you provide us with personaldata relating to another person, you should ensure that you are entitled toprovide that information to us.

5. How and Why WeUse Personal Data

We may use personal data to:

  • create and administer Entrant accounts;
  • process and administer Entries;
  • process payments and issue invoices;
  • communicate with Entrants and other Awards contacts;
  • provide Entry confirmations and status information;
  • provide sample-delivery instructions;
  • send reminders relating to incomplete Entries, payments, samples or Awards deadlines;
  • administer judging and the Awards process;
  • communicate with judges and assessors;
  • respond to enquiries and provide support;
  • verify Entries where appropriate;
  • manage Awards results and Recognition;
  • publish and promote Awards results where appropriate;
  • administer and protect the Website and Entry Platform;
  • maintain business and financial records;
  • prevent misuse, fraud or security incidents;
  • improve the Website and Awards process;
  • comply with legal and regulatory obligations; and
  • where permitted, provide information about EPLA, European Supermarket Magazine and other relevant publications, products, services and events operated by Madison Publications Ltd.

Awards-related operationalcommunications, including Entry, payment, sample, judging and resultscommunications, are part of administering participation in the Awards and areseparate from unrelated marketing communications.

6. Our Legal Basesfor Processing

Depending on the circumstances, weprocess personal data on one or more of the following legal bases:

Contract

Where processing is necessary toenter into or perform a contract, including registering an Entrant, processingan Entry, taking payment and administering participation in the Awards.

Legitimate interests

Where processing is necessary forour legitimate business interests, including operating and improving theAwards, communicating with business contacts, administering judging,maintaining records, protecting our systems, managing our business and promotingEPLA.

Where we rely on legitimateinterests, we consider those interests against the rights and interests of theindividuals concerned.

Legal obligation

Where processing is necessary tocomply with legal, taxation, accounting, regulatory or other obligations.

Consent

Where we rely on consent, includingfor certain marketing communications, cookies or similar technologies whereconsent is required.

Where processing is based onconsent, you may withdraw that consent at any time.

7. MarketingCommunications

From time to time, we may sendinformation about EPLA, European Supermarket Magazine or other relevantpublications, products, services and events operated by Madison PublicationsLtd where permitted by applicable law.

Where consent is required, we willobtain consent before sending marketing communications.

You can stop receiving marketingcommunications at any time by using the unsubscribe facility included in therelevant communication or by contacting:

privacy@esmmagazine.com

Opting out of marketing does notprevent us from sending communications reasonably necessary to administer anEntry or participation in the Awards.

8. Awards Resultsand Publicity

Information concerning Products,retailers, manufacturers, producers, suppliers and Awards Recognition may bepublished as part of the operation, reporting and promotion of EPLA inaccordance with the Awards Terms & Conditions.

This may include:

  • Product names;
  • Product and packaging images;
  • company names;
  • retailer names;
  • manufacturer, producer or supplier names;
  • country;
  • category;
  • Awards year; and
  • Recognition received.

We do not normally publish thepersonal contact details of Entrants.

Awards results, associated Productinformation and related editorial material may remain publicly available aspart of the historical EPLA archive.

9. SharingPersonal Data

We may share personal data wherereasonably necessary with:

  • employees and authorised personnel of Madison Publications Ltd;
  • Checkout Ireland Ltd, where it provides administrative, operational or other outsourced services to EPLA and processes personal data on our behalf;
  • providers of our Awards Entry Platform;
  • payment-processing providers;
  • website hosting and technology providers;
  • email, cloud-storage and communications providers;
  • CRM and business administration providers;
  • judges, assessors and other persons involved in administering the Awards where relevant;
  • analytics and advertising providers where those services are enabled and lawfully used;
  • accountants, auditors, legal advisers and other professional advisers;
  • suppliers and contractors processing information on our behalf; and
  • government bodies, regulators, courts or law-enforcement authorities where disclosure is required or permitted by law.

Where Checkout Ireland Ltd oranother service provider processes personal data on our behalf and on ourinstructions, it acts as an outsourced service provider or data processor inrelation to that processing.

Service providers processingpersonal data on our behalf are required to handle that informationappropriately and only for authorised purposes.

We do not sell personal data tothird parties.

10. InternationalTransfers

Some of the service providers weuse may process personal data outside the European Economic Area (“EEA”).

Where personal data is transferredoutside the EEA, we will use an appropriate lawful transfer mechanism whererequired, which may include:

  • a European Commission adequacy decision;
  • European Commission approved Standard Contractual Clauses; or
  • another transfer mechanism permitted under applicable data protection law.

We take appropriate steps to ensurethat personal data transferred internationally receives the protection requiredby applicable data protection law.

11. How Long WeKeep Personal Data

We keep personal data only for aslong as reasonably necessary for the purposes for which it was collected.

This may include retaininginformation where necessary to:

  • administer the Awards;
  • maintain appropriate business and financial records;
  • comply with legal, accounting and taxation requirements;
  • deal with enquiries or disputes;
  • establish, exercise or defend legal claims; and
  • maintain appropriate historical records of the Awards.

Limited information associated withAwards Entries, results and Recognition may be retained for longer periodswhere necessary to maintain the historical EPLA archive and an accurate recordof past Awards.

Where a person opts out ofmarketing, we may retain limited information necessary to record and respectthat preference.

We may delete or anonymise personaldata when it is no longer reasonably required.

12. Security

We use appropriate technical andorganisational measures designed to protect personal data against accidental orunlawful destruction, loss, alteration, unauthorised disclosure or access.

Access to personal data isrestricted where appropriate to employees, contractors and service providerswho require access for legitimate business purposes.

No electronic or internet-basedsystem can be guaranteed to be completely secure, but we take reasonablemeasures to protect personal data under our control.

13. Your DataProtection Rights

Subject to applicable law and anyrelevant exemptions, you may have the right to:

  • request access to personal data we hold about you;
  • request correction of inaccurate or incomplete personal data;
  • request deletion of personal data;
  • request restriction of the processing of personal data;
  • object to certain processing, including processing based on legitimate interests;
  • object at any time to processing for direct-marketing purposes;
  • request the transfer of certain personal data to you or another organisation where the right to data portability applies;
  • withdraw consent at any time where processing is based on consent; and
  • make a complaint to the Data Protection Commission.

These rights and the transparencyrequirements around them are reflected in the DPC's current GDPR guidance.

Withdrawing consent does not affectthe lawfulness of processing carried out before consent was withdrawn.

To exercise any of these rights,contact:

privacy@esmmagazine.com

We may request informationreasonably necessary to confirm your identity before responding to a request.

14. AutomatedDecision-Making

We do not use personal data to makesolely automated decisions that produce legal effects or similarly significanteffects on individuals.

Awards judging and Recognition arenot determined solely by automated processing of personal data.

15. Cookies andSimilar Technologies

The Website may use cookies andsimilar technologies to:

  • provide essential Website functionality;
  • maintain security;
  • remember user preferences;
  • administer account or Entry Platform functionality;
  • understand how visitors use the Website;
  • measure Website performance;
  • measure advertising effectiveness; and
  • support advertising or remarketing activities where enabled.

Strictly necessary cookies may beused where required for the operation and security of the Website.

Non-essential analytics,advertising and similar cookies will be used subject to applicable consentrequirements and the choices made by visitors through the Website's cookiecontrols.

Where such technologies areenabled, third-party providers may process online identifiers, deviceinformation and information concerning interactions with the Website.

Visitors may manage or withdrawtheir cookie choices through the cookie controls available on the Website andthrough their browser settings.

16. Analytics andAdvertising Services

Where enabled and subject toapplicable consent requirements, we may use third-party analytics andadvertising technologies to understand Website usage, measure the effectivenessof our communications and advertising and reach relevant business audiences.

These may include services providedby platforms such as Google, LinkedIn and Meta.

The particular technologies used onthe Website may change from time to time. Where required, information aboutcookies and tracking technologies in use will be provided through ourcookie-management system or Cookie Policy.

Third-party providers may processinformation in accordance with their own privacy policies in circumstanceswhere they act as independent controllers.

17. Social Media

EPLA may operate accounts or pageson social media platforms including LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram and X.

When you interact with EPLA througha social media platform, that platform may also collect and process informationabout you in accordance with its own privacy policy and account settings.

We recommend reviewing the privacyinformation provided by the social media platforms you use.

18. Third-PartyWebsites

The Website may contain links towebsites or services operated by third parties.

We are not responsible for theprivacy practices of third-party websites or services. You should review therelevant third party's privacy information before providing personal datathrough those services.

19. Complaints

If you have concerns about how weprocess your personal data, please contact us at:

privacy@esmmagazine.com

You also have the right to make acomplaint to the Data Protection Commission , Ireland's independent dataprotection supervisory authority.

20. Changes toThis Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policyfrom time to time, including to reflect changes to EPLA, the Website, ourservices, technologies we use or applicable legal requirements.

The current version will bepublished on the Website together with the date on which it was last updated.

21. Contact Us

For questions about this PrivacyPolicy, requests concerning personal data or other data protection matters,contact:

Madison Publications Ltd
3 Adelaide Street
Dún Laoghaire
Co. Dublin
A96 D6P8
Ireland

Email: privacy@esmmagazine.com