World
As registration for the Southern Hemisphere portion of the 2024 NYIOOC World Olive Oil Competition closes on September 1st, first-time winners reflect on their debut awards’ impact on their brands.
“The win has helped to promote our brand to customers that may not have been familiar with us,” said Dimitrios Komninos, the owner of Laconia-based Dimitri Olive Farms.
“We now have a broader reach, not only in the United States but also globally,” he added. “We feel truly honored to receive an award, especially since it was our first time entering a competition.”
See Also:2024 NYIOOC CoverageSituated on the southern tip of the Peloponnese peninsula, the 200-year-old farm’s producers earned a Silver Award for a medium-intensity unfiltered Koroneiki. “It’s important to know where your olive oil is coming from,” Komninos said.
The award was especially gratifying after a challenging season for Dimitri Olive Farms. “Like many farmers, we faced staffing issues and drought,” Komninos said.
On the other side of the Ionian Sea, the producers behind Olio Infiore celebrated their first-ever World Competition accolade, earning a Gold Award for an organic medium-intensity Coratina.
Owner Tommaso Fiore said the Apulian producer plans to use the award to help market its extra virgin olive oil ahead of the upcoming season.
“We hope the recognition can become a showcase to allow our products to be known in the North American market,” he said. “It represents our dream for the near future.”
“We will continue to work with passion and dedication to always offer the best to our customers,” Fiore added. “We are always open to new collaborations and opportunities to grow and further enhance our product. We hope this recognition is just the beginning of something new, and we are grateful to NYIOOC for allowing it.”
Along with the marketing angle, Fiore said the award validates the hard work and dedication required to produce world-class olive oil and motivates him to do better next year.
“It’s a motivation to do better for our brand, strengthening our reputation as producers of high-quality extra virgin olive oil,” he said. “For me, this one is special since it opens new paths for growth.”
Fiore added that the award also helps promote the southern region of Puglia — Italy’s largest olive oil-producing region — as a destination for quality extra virgin olive oil rather than bulk olive oil.
“We can leverage the characteristics of our olives, starting from Coratina, and bring to life high-quality products that can compete with everybody in the world,” Fiore said. “This can be achieved through a ‘magical’ mix of tradition, innovation and skills.”
Along with Mediterranean producers, Canadian importer Cibo Previ was awarded for the first time at the 2024 NYIOOC, earning two Gold Awards for a medium-intensity Mariolo and its Itrana, packaged under the EVOO Previ and EVOO Previ Bimbi brands.
“The awards have impacted my brand in that it resonates with my customers,” said owner Sabrina Rea. “Receiving this prestigious recognition was an absolute joy. I’m deeply grateful, as it represents years of dedication to promoting the highest quality oil in the world.”
“This honor strengthens my conviction to innovate and advocate for positive aging continually,” she added. “It also fuels my commitment to providing North Americans with opportunities to enhance their health through this exceptional, natural product.”
Rea said that due to harsh weather conditions during Italy’s 2023/24 harvest, she was required to pay extra attention to sourcing her brand’s oils. “As the importer of a private-label extra virgin olive oil, you have to make sure to deliver what you describe,” she said.
“Every olive oil-producing region has its unique blessings,” Rea added. “Crafting exceptionally high phenolic olive oil that strikes the perfect balance of robustness without excessive bitterness is akin to creating a masterpiece. Cibo Previ is that masterpiece, and I am honored to present it to the world because a strong community starts with a healthy community.”
She believes the NYIOOC award will help communicate the quality of the extra virgin olive oil and justify the extreme measures she takes to ensure its quality when transporting it from Italy to Canada.
On the other side of the world, the owner of Japan’s Harvest Farm celebrated his debut World Competition accolade, a Gold Award for its Virgin Valley brand, a medium-intensity blend of Frantoio, Leccino, Pendolino and Taggiasca olives.
Owner Yoshinori Shikamoto said receiving an award enables the company to promote the high quality of its extra virgin olive oil. The win also demonstrates that the quality of Japanese extra virgin olive oil is improving.
Harvest Farm earned the award in its third year of production. After entering the competition for the first time, Shikamoto said he was inspired “to receive such an honorable award.”
“We regenerated abandoned farmland that had turned into forest into an olive grove,” he said. “Over several years, we expanded the land and began growing olives, which allowed us to produce extra virgin olive oil.
“I would like to continue to improve my skills and work hard to make good extra virgin olive oil,” he added. “I will use this award as encouragement to work harder.”
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