New awards, new opportunities to win, at 2022 Australian International Olive Awards

The AUSTRALIAN INTERNATIONAL

Olive Awards ®

Long recognised as Australia’s premiere national olive competition, the Australian International Olive Awards (AIOA) is rapidly cementing its place among the most respected on the international stage.

Since ‘going international’ in 2017, the AIOA has increased its global status as a high-quality competition, and is in turn providing increased recognition and promotion for winning producers across Australia and beyond.

Competition Convenor and Chief Steward Trudie Michels said overseas producers are increasingly keen to achieve in AIOA success.

“We’ve already had a lot of interest via email from international producers,” she said.

“The greater profile of the competition internationally meant we saw an increase in overseas entries last year and it’s definitely growing with each competition. And of course with more international entries, there’s more talk about the competition and more promotion of their AIOA awards, so word just keeps on spreading.

“Our international judging panels are also great ‘ambassadors’ for the competition. Each year we get feedback about how impressed they are with the calibre and quality of entries, and they’re obviously sharing that with their industry peers and colleagues.

“That’s helping to raise the profile of the competition, and also the reputation of the Australian olive industry.” New award categories

The growing popularity of the competition has seen the organising committee make some adjustments to this year’s format, adding new categories to further recognise the wide range of producers entering their products.

“We’ve had a very positive response to the introduction of separate boutique and commercial volume categories for the Best EVOO of Show award, so we’ve decided to extend that to flavoured oil and table olive entries,” Michels said.

“So from this year we will have two additional major awards, and will be presenting Best Flavoured Olive Oil Of Show - Boutique Volume and Best Flavoured Olive Oil Of Show - Commercial Volume, and Best Table Olive Of Show - Boutique Volume and Best Table Olive Of Show - Commercial Volume.

“It recognises the very different methodologies and challenges of small and large scale producers, and provides the opportunity to award the successes of both at each competition.

“And of course it gives entrants an event greater chance of winning one of the ‘business-changing’ major awards.”

Production calculation

Michels confirmed that the AIOA Best in Show awards are calculated on the producer’s total grove production, rather than the volume of the oil or olives that was entered.

The cut-off points for these awards are therefore: • Boutique EVOO producer: 0-5000 litres TOTAL EVOO production • Commercial EVOO producer: 5001+ litres TOTAL EVOO production • Boutique flavoured olive oil producer: 0-2000 litres TOTAL flavoured oil production • Commercial flavoured olive oil producer: 2001+ litres TOTAL flavoured oil production

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2022 AIOA Awards Presentation – we’re doing dinner again! Individual results including medals will be emailed to all entrants in early October, so if you’re a Gold medal winner you’ll know then that you’re in the running for a major award – maybe even one of the coveted AIOA Best of Show titles. And the great news is that we’re all getting together again for the announcement of the 2022 AIOA major awards at the Awards Presentation Dinner, being held in conjunction with the National Industry Conference & Exhibition in Devonport, Tasmania. The event is always a great night of food, wine and festivities, as we celebrate the achievements of this year’s most successful producers - and the fabulous EVOOs, flavoured oils and table olives they’ve produced. Don’t miss your chance to be part of the fun and celebrations: whether you’re a winner or not, you’ll have a great time. Book your tickets on the Conference website -www.nationaloliveconference.com.au.

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2022 Australian International Olive Awards key dates

Entries open - 1 June, so open NOW! Entries close – 26 August

Post deadline - Ensure all Australian entries are posted by 5 August to ensure they arrive on time

Medal winners announced - 3 October Major awards announced - 14 October, at the Awards Gala Presentation Dinner in Devonport, Tasmania (in conjunction with the 2022 AOA National Olive Industry Conference & Trade Exhibition)

• Boutique table olive producer: 0-2000 kgs TOTAL table olive production • Commercial table olive producer: 2000+ TOTAL table olive production

Global judging

Entries in the 2022 AIOA will once again be judged by panels across the globe, providing invaluable international experience and expert feedback for producers. Panels this year will be based in Spain, Italy, Tunisia, NZ and China, with home-based panels in five states of Australia, and all will judge a crosssection of Australian and overseas entries.

Michels said that each of the panels is being hosted by a designated panel leader, who is working directly with her regarding the protocols and methodologies for judging.

“We have chosen highly experienced panel leaders for each country and Australian state,” she said.

“Utilising a specialist judging team, they will receive the oils and other materials and conduct the judging under our strict criteria. The logistics are ‘interesting’ but ensure that, no matter where judging is happening, the competition is run to the highest standards and with total credibility.

“The end result is a truly unbiased, expert appraisal of each and every oil and table olive entry.”

Big year for table olives

One of the most exciting elements of this year’s competition, Michels said, is the table olive competition.

“Given the long preparation time for naturally-fermented olives, we’re always working a year behind with table olive entries, and the disappointing 2020 harvest meant a decrease in entries last year,” she said.

“In contrast, the 2021 harvest was both bumper and great quality, which means we’re looking forward to a lot more entries this year.

“We’ve also seen an increase in the number of producers expanding into table olives, which has coincided with the industry focus on improved knowledge around table olive production and quality, so we’re likely to see some pretty tough competition for the 2022 major awards.”

Feedback and data

While medals and trophies are obviously a desired outcome, Michels said an increasing number of producers are using the AIOA to find out more about the nuances of their oils, and even to assist with product decisions.

“One of the important elements of the AIOA is the comprehensive feedback provided by the judges for each entry,” she said.

“Last year in particular we had many producers that entered multiple entries, and several entered eight or more EVOO entries. A number of them were keen to get feedback about their various oils, many of which were single varietals – where in the past they entered blends - and/or oils made from trees in different geographical locations.

“This is a great way to collect data about different oils, particularly in terms of flavour and intensity parameters, and can assist in making decisions around new products or ones different to what you’re currently producing.”

Results

All entrants will be emailed the results for their entries by 3 October, including any medals won and notification of major award achievements – but not the detail of the latter! For that, winners will have to wait for the big announcements at the presentation dinner.

As we all know, medals on bottles = increased sales, so the results email will also include a link to online decal ordering to ensure winners get their medals as early as possible. Medal certificates will also be posted as soon as possible upon announcement, with major awards presented at the Awards Dinner in mid-October.

Full competition details and entry forms are available on the AIOA website: www. internationaloliveawardsaustralia.com.au. Complete your online entry now and put the postal date for samples in your diary - with an alarm, just to be sure!

Professional product shots available to entrants Entry of the AIOA now comes with yet another benefit – the opportunity to purchase the professional product images taken for the official AIOA Results Booklet. The reflective nature of glass means bottles are a pain to photograph, and good lighting is difficult with any form of any packaging and product shape, so good product shots are hard to achieve for the average grower. And it’s expensive to have them taken professionally, particularly for small producers with only a few products. So the AIOA organising committee has decided that from this year, they will make the official AIOA product images available to entrants at a minimal cost, to assist with marketing and promotion of your products. Taken by a professional photographer, each is a stock shot with a white background. This makes them very versatile, able to be included in any promotional opportunity – for use on your own website, Facebook page or Instagram feed, or provided to media. The artwork is provided in a high-resolution format, so is also suitable for hard print - e.g. magazines and brochures. The cost is $35 (+ GST) per product shot, which can be ordered online when you order your medal decals. What a great opportunity to present your products in a professional light!