Prestigious Product Awards Program Returns and Expands with People’s Choice
The Best of NeoCon competition––the industry’s premier awards program recognizing innovation in commercial design across 40-plus categories––will officially open for submissions on March 1. A hallmark of NeoCon since 1990, the juried awards program recognizes outstanding new products across key sectors such as workplace, healthcare, hospitality, and education. Each year, hundreds of entries compete for top honors, including Gold, Silver, and Best of Competition, alongside special accolades for Innovation, Sustainability, and Business Impact. New for 2025, NeoCon attendees will have the opportunity to make their voices heard through the inaugural People’s Choice Awards, allowing them to vote on-site for their favorite Best of NeoCon-winning products.
“Best of NeoCon is the mark of true design excellence for manufacturers and designers––the pinnacle of specifier validation, signaling a product’s impact and market potential,” says Eileen McMorrow, Director of the Best of NeoCon Program. “And, like the groundbreaking products it celebrates, Best of NeoCon continues to evolve with the addition of the People’s Choice Awards. This year, we’re thrilled to give NeoCon attendees a voice alongside our expert jury, further embracing a reflection of the industry’s best and brightest minds––both in the products submitted and in those evaluating them.”
The Best of NeoCon Awards Ceremony will take place on the morning of Monday, June 9, at THE MART in Chicago, kicking off the 56th edition of NeoCon. A longstanding symbol of defining achievement, the program spotlights products shaping the future of the built environment. This year’s winners will join an esteemed roster of past honorees, including leaders like Haworth, Andreu World, Momentum Textiles & Wallcovering, and Davis Furniture.
Juror Selection and Evaluation
A panel of approximately 50 leading architects, designers, facility managers, and industry decision-makers will evaluate all entries in person in the days leading up to NeoCon, which runs June 9-11 at THE MART in Chicago. These expert jurors, to be announced in April, will conduct rigorous hands-on assessments of each new product, upholding the Best of NeoCon’s reputation as the industry’s leading awards program.
The Return of the Business Impact Awards
The Business Impact Awards, first introduced in 2022, will return to recognize products with the greatest potential to impact business effectiveness and success. Entrants may opt into an initial review by facility managers, end-users, real estate planners, and specifiers. Finalists will undergo a second round of evaluation by a panel of top-tier business journalists on-site. Previous jurors have represented notable publications such as Fast Company, Entrepreneur, Crain’s, MSN, Forbes, HR Executive, The Economist, and more.
New for 2025: The People’s Choice Awards
For the first time, attendees will have a chance to participate in the People’s Choice Awards, voting for their favorite Best of NeoCon-winning products. Following the June 9 awards ceremony, winning products will receive a QR code for public voting. Attendees can visit the winning booths and showrooms and cast their votes online via the Best of NeoCon Winners Gallery. Five winners will be announced across social media platforms on Wednesday, June 11.
Submission Rules, Deadlines, and Fees
NeoCon exhibitors are encouraged to submit entries through the Best of NeoCon online portal. Eligible products must have entered the U.S. market since June 2024 and be on display at NeoCon 2025. Products previously entered in Best of NeoCon 2024 are ineligible. Entrants must be NeoCon 2025 exhibitors. Submission deadlines and entry fees are detailed below:
Early entry March 1-31: $900 per entry
Standard entry April 1-30: $1,000 per entry
Late entry May 1-20: $1,100 per entry
Business Impact Opt-In: $250 per entry
More details on the program and entry process can be found at neocon.com/awards/best-of-neocon.
NeoCon 2025 is open to trade, C-Suite executives, and other industry-related professionals and registration is free for all attendees. Register here.
For showroom, exhibitor, and general NeoCon news, images, and real-time information, follow NeoCon on: Instagram (@NeoCon_Shows), LinkedIn (@NeoCon-Shows), and Facebook (@NeoConShows).
2024 Gold Winner: Arcular by Davis Furniture
About NeoCon: NeoCon is the world’s leading platform and most important event for the commercial interiors industry, held each year at THE MART in Chicago. Since launching in 1969, NeoCon has served as the annual gathering place for the commercial design world’s manufacturers, dealers, architects, designers, end-users, design organizations, and media. The three-day event showcases game-changing products and services from more than 400 leading and emerging companies—providing unparalleled access to the latest and most innovative solutions. A robust educational program of keynote presentations and CEU sessions offers world-class expertise and insight into today’s most relevant topics as well as the future of commercial design.
NeoCon® is a registered trademark of Merchandise Mart Properties Inc., a subsidiary of Vornado Realty Trust.
About Best of NeoCon: Best of NeoCon is the official awards program honoring outstanding new products from exhibiting companies across a wide range of verticals. Best of NeoCon features entrants in 40-plus product categories evaluated on-site by a diverse jury of leading architects, designers, specifiers, and facility managers with expertise spanning the commercial, healthcare, education, and hospitality sectors. Entries will be considered for honors for Gold, Silver, Innovation, Sustainability, and the singular honor of Best of Competition. Additionally, the Best of NeoCon jury will nominate products for consideration for a Business Impact Award, which will recognize exceptional solutions through a business-oriented lens.
About THE MART: THE MART is the largest privately held commercial building in the United States: It encompasses 4.2 million gross square feet, spans two city blocks, rises 25 stories, and is visited by an average of 30,000 people each business day (or nearly 10 million people annually).
THE MART serves as the home to Chicago’s most creative and technologically innovative companies, including Motorola Mobility, 1871, PayPal, Avant, and MATTER, as well as Fortune 500 companies Conagra Brands, Allstate, Medline Industries, Beam Suntory, IPG, and Grainger. It is also the largest and most important center for design in North America with more than 250 premier design showrooms offering the latest resources for both residential and commercial markets.