You couldn’t ask for a better demonstration of Turbo Tango’s USP.

The master of ceremonies, sweltering under the bright lights at yesterday’s Sial d’Or awards ceremony, was handed a bottle of the aerosol-powered soft drink by the Britvic team as they collected the prize for the judges’ favourite UK innovation. Cue a moment of confusion, a poorly aimed nozzle, a jet of foam square in the shoulder - and waves of laughter from an audience watching their host being, quite literally, Tango’d.

The ceremony, held at the Sial 2012 exhibition just outside Paris, was an opportunity for the winners of the Sial d’Or competition, announced in May, to be formally presented with their awards by exhibition manager Olivia Milan-Grosbois. The prizes are intended to identify and reward innovations that have become major retail successes in their national food markets. As well as the country-specific award, Turbo Tango - which sprays a foamy orange jet straight into the mouth - won the non-alcoholic beverages category.

Ian Nundy, international marketing manager for Britvic International, said the product had been selling well, but explained that it was currently coming off shelves because the company had opted to make it a seasonal limited edition to keep the concept fresh. “We are looking at what to do next year, but at the moment it’s a closely guarded secret,” he said, suggesting one option might be to introduce different flavours to the original Tango orange.

Britvic has been one of 5,900 companies exhibiting at Sial 2012. “The reaction at the stand to Turbo Tango has been superb,” added Britvic International general manager Simon Owen. “Don’t be surprised if it makes its way into international markets.”

The UK was the only one of the 29 participating countries to claim two category winners. Kraft Foods, now Mondelez International, came top in the sweet grocery products category for its Guzzle Puzzle, launched in July 2011.

The global Sial d’Or prize, announced at the ceremony, went to Hungarian supplier PLP Seafood Hungary for its Selfish Trout with herb butter, an oven-ready portion of fresh fish vacuum-packed for a longer shelf life.

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