The Aptonia team celebrates its success at the Decathlon awards

A patented bottle that allows the user to choose between plain water and energy drink won the award for top innovation at the annual awards of one of the world’s biggest outdoors and sports retailers.

Aptonia’s Double Use system switches between water and isotonic drink simply by adjusting the drinking spout.

The design was voted top product at the innovations awards held each year by Decathlon in its home town of Lille in northern France.

The Double Use system was runaway winner in the vote, receiving 2,737 of the total of more than 4,000 votes from the audience of 3,600 and worldwide online viewers.

Decathlon holds the annual event to encourage innovation from teams in its own brands. This year’s gathering was the 11th.

The Aptonia Double Use system allows both plain water and sports drink to be drawn from the same bottle

Caroline Lanigan, Aptonia brand manager, said: “It’s a wonderful moment for a brand.

“Developing a product is a lot of stress, emotion and work. After two years, here is the result. A simple product but which changes practice and use. We are very proud.”

A Decathlon spokesperson said: “During prolonged sporting activity, hydration requirements can vary.

“Between water and sports drink, it’s sometimes difficult to know what to take with you. With the Double Use system, you can choose what to drink in one click: you can switch between water and different strength sports drinks thanks to three concentration options and an exclusive pod system.

“So, looking for energy when you only have water or for refreshment when your bottle is filled with sports drink is a thing of the past. With the Double Use System you no longer have to choose.”

The Aptonia Double Use system uses sports drink 'pods' to allow different concentrations of energy solution to be drawn

Second place in Decathlon’s awards, in front of an audience of 2,000 employees, 200 industrial partners, 70 journalists and 50 customers, went to the Quechua brand’s Fresh and Black tent concept, which keeps campers cooler and reduces sunlight penetration to prolong a peaceful sleep in the morning.

Third most popular was Nabaiji’s Selfit swimming goggles, a modular system that allows the user to buy goggle frames along with different lens inserts, including mirrored ones for swimming in bright sunshine, tinted ones for general outdoor swimming, or different strength dioptre lenses to correct myopia.

The Double Use system will go on sale in Decathlon’s UK stores early next year. The bottle is expected to sell for about £6 and the pods for 50p each.

Decathlon, founded in 1979 in Lille, has 19 stores in the UK, and will open its 20th on Tyneside next month. It also has an online retail site.

Its outdoor brand Quechua accounts for about a third of sales in its British stores. About 1,000 staff work for its UK operation, with the company employing 69,000 globally.

• grough took a look behind the scenes at Decathlon’s research and development headquarters and global hub this week and will bring you our view of this huge operation soon.