At the 2021 edition of the London International Olive Oil Competitions (IOOCs), prizes were awarded for extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) quality, infused olive oil flavor, EVOOs’ health benefits, and package design. With 924 entries from 35 countries judged by an international jury of 28 tasters, Greek companies took home 233 awards, including 20 platinums.  

Greek extra virgin olive oils awarded platinum prizes—the contest’s top honors--for their superior quality at the London IOOC came from many parts of Greece: Chalkidiki in northern Greece, the Peloponnese peninsula, the eastern Aegean island of Lesvos, and the southern Aegean island of Crete. These Greek EVOOs earned platinum awards: Agriston by Agriston Simple Member Ltd in Chalkidiki, Eclectic Earth by Kasolis Estate in Lesvos, Terra Creta Grand Cru by Terra Creta SA in Crete, and from the Peloponnese, Dorian by the Agricultural Cooperatives' Union - Laconia Greece SA, Mediterre Alea by Mediterre Eurofood SA, and Monogram Maronia by Monogram.  

One of Greece’s platinum award winners, Terra Creta Grand Cru, has collected a particularly impressive set of prizes at numerous international competitions this year. Terra Creta’s many awards include First Prize at the International Olive Council’s prestigious Mario Solinas Quality Award and designation as the Best International Monovarietal at the Leone D’Oro competition in Italy. In addition to its platinum prize at the London IOOC, the company captured a gold award for Terra Creta PDO Kolymvari. Moreover, Terra Creta was ranked one of the top five olive mills in the world for 2021 in the World’s Best Olive Oils ranking. Yet the company is not satisfied to simply add up prizes.  Terra Creta’s team is dedicated to working together with great care to produce large enough quantities of top quality Koroneiki variety EVOO for consumers throughout the world to enjoy.  

In the infused olive oil competition at the London IOOC, Greek products won all but one of the platinum awards, with several Greek companies claiming platinums for more than one flavored oil. For example, Laconiko’s 15 awards in London include platinums for their Lemon Thyme and Rosemary flavored olive oils. The company also captured a gold for Laconiko Olio Nuovo early harvest EVOO’s quality and a silver for its health benefits, as well as additional awards for such flavored oils as Laconiko Pesto, Lemongrass Basil, and Lime. Diamantis Pierrakos emphasizes that his “honest family business” always endeavors to provide consumers with fresh, healthy, tasty olive oils, with their close attention extending from olive cultivation to cold storage and transportation of their oils. This effort has earned Laconiko 120 international awards for quality and health benefits this year alone.  

Another multi-award-winning family business known for both its extra virgin olive oils and its flavored oils is Sakellaropoulos Organic Farms. They added 12 awards—one for each entry in the London IOOC, including three platinums—to their long list of prizes for single-estate, organic olive products, leading to an incredible total of 355. This family business received awards for both their unique flavored olive oil blends and their extra virgin olive oils, including golds for the much-awarded Fyllikon and Agourelaio organic EVOOs. One platinum-award-winning example of their surprising flavor blends is Flavored Gourmet Enigma, with cinnamon, apple, walnuts, honey, sage, and lemon added to organic Koroneiki olive oil.

Taking home six awards for both flavored and extra virgin ACAIA and Aeolian Olive oils, Hellenic Agricultural Enterprises won a platinum for their unusual ACAIA with Grapefruit & Bergamot. Ellie Tragakes told Greek Liquid Gold, “our olive oils meet the highest international standards for quality. We have proven this year after year by the awards we have been consistently winning. Our oils are highly aromatic with a mild, balanced taste” derived from the Kolovi olives native to Lesvos.

Focused on creating a variety of flavored olive oils that can “elevate even the simplest recipe and give the genuine Greek food experience,” according to Ioanna Diamanti, Pellas Nature won two platinums for Organic Drops Basil and Organic Drops Greek Herbs flavored olive oils, as well as a gold prize, at the London IOOC. Diamanti reports that her team overcame “very difficult conditions to earn more awards than any other year.” Most importantly, they have continued “creating healthy, delicious Greek fine food products.”

Awarded for both flavor and health benefits, Liokareas EVOOs and infused oils earned 12 prizes in London. Highlights include platinum awards for Liokareas Cold Fused Oregano and Estate Grown Orange flavored olive oils. As Peter Liokareas explains, “our fruit and herb oils are unique since they are simply cold-fused Agrumato style with our local fruits and herbs”—that is, the olives are crushed along with the fruit or herbs to make the flavored oil naturally, with no artificial flavorings or additives. The “extreme level of care and high attention to detail” for their extra virgin olive oils also yielded a gold Health Claim prize for Liokareas High Phenolic extra virgin olive oil at the London IOOC. This followed its first place ranking at the World Best Healthy EVOO Contest in Spain.

The London IOOC’s Health Claim competition is unusual in combining a chemical analysis (70% of the score) with a professional tasting (30%). Each oil is analyzed to determine the levels of the major phenolic compounds considered under EU Regulation 432/2012 regarding olive oil’s health benefits. Awards go only to oils with enough phenols that they are likely to maintain such health benefits (if properly stored) for 12 months.

One of just three platinums in the Health Claim competition was awarded to Hypereleon Gold from the G-Team. Dimitrios Mourlas explained to Greek Liquid Gold that Hypereleon is “a premium Greek organic unfiltered, extremely early harvested and cold extracted EVOO” from ancient olive trees grown at a high altitude in Arcadia, Peloponnese. “Rigid scientific quality controls and special procedures” ensure “the top quality and highest phenolic content” that has brought the G-Team more than 44 international awards for health benefits and flavor. According to Mourlas, their 30 health benefit awards come from “all the internationally recognized high phenolic EVOO competitions,” including first place for total phenolic content from the World Best Healthy EVOO Contest 2021 and Best of Polyphenols at the Japan Olive Oil Prize (JOOP).

With strong showings in the health benefits, infused olive oil, and EVOO quality competitions at the London IOOCs, Greek olive oil producers are now looking forward to the new harvest that will start soon for early harvesters.

Platinum Awards for Greek Companies

(Flavored, Health Claim, and EVOO Quality Awards)

Acaia Grapefruit & Bergamot – Hellenic Agricultural Enterprises
Agriston – Agriston Simple Member Ltd.
Dorian – Agricultural Cooperatives' Union - Laconia Greece S.A.
Eclectic Earth – Kasolis Estate
Eleagnos – Think Greece
Enigma Flavored Gourmet – Sakellaropoulos Organic Farms
Green & Blu with Black Truffle – Nikolakopoulos Bros.
Hypereleon Gold - The Golden Juice – D.Mourlas & Co. - G Team
Laconiko Lemon Thyme – Laconiko
Laconiko Rosemary – Laconiko
Liokareas Cold Fused Oregano – Liokareas
Liokareas Estate Grown Orange – Liokareas
Masterpiece Blend with Pimento, Cloves, Nutmeg & Cinnamon – Sakellaropoulos Organic Farms
Mavroudis Gourmet Chili – S.E. Mavroudis Bros. Co.
Mediterre Alea – Mediterre Eurofood S.A.
Monogram Maronia – Monogram
Organic Drops - Basil – Pellas Nature P. Co.
Organic Drops - Greek Herbs – Pellas Nature P. Co.
Syllektikon Gourmet with Orange, Lemon & Thyme – Sakellaropoulos Organic Farms
Terra Creta Grand Cru – Terra Creta S.A.

Gold Quality Awards for Greek Companies’ Extra Virgin Olive Oils

Agricultural Cooperative Eleonas – Vatsiko         
Agricultural Cooperative of Imera – Imera Olive Oil   
Agropoly Pylou S.A. – Agropoly PDO Kalamata         
Agrovim S.A. – Iliada Organic         
Agrovim S.A. – Iliada Kalamata PDO         
Andriotis Dimitrios – Kopos EVOO         
Androulakis Eftichios - Pamako – Pamako Premium Organic Mountain Monovarietal
Androulakis Eftichios - Pamako – Pamako Premium Organic Mountain Blend     
Aretakis Konstantinos – Monologue          
Elaiourgiki N. & E. Vlassopoulos Co. – Epsilon Precious         
Ellis Farm – Eliama Premium     
Evita - Chatzispasou Eleni – Evita         
F.H.L. I. Kiriakidis Marbles – Granites S.A. – Blessed Products Bio Δ9     
Gaea Products S.A. – Gaea Fresh         
Golden Tree - Zotou Eleni – Golden Tree         
Hellenic Agricultural Enterprises – Aeolian   
Karras Trade – Karras' Farm Premium   
Kidonakis Bros G.P. – Syllogi Harvesting         
Klampanos Dimitrios – Olive Valley         
Kyklopas Olive Oil Mill- Argyri Kelidi S.A. – Kyklopas PDO Makris     
Maria G. Sgourou – Skoutari         
Maria Micheli – Konos         
Markellos Olive – Soligea Premium         
Markellos Olive – Soligea Organic         
Mediterre Eurofood S.A. – Mediterre Omphacium Organic   
Mediterre Eurofood S.A. – Mediterre Lena   
Mediterre Eurofood S.A. – Mediterre Olymp Olympia PGI    
Monogram – Monogram Koroneiki         
Olive Mill Alexandros Voukoureslis Nikolaos S.A. – Alexandros Special Edition
Olive Mill Alexandros Voukoureslis Nikolaos S.A. – Alexandros Black Edition     
Olix Oil Ltd. – Eleonas Monastic     
Olix Oil Ltd. – Eleonas Vatopediou Bio     
Olix Oil Ltd. – Olix Oil Ladelia Premium     
Olix Oil Ltd. – Olix Oil Koroneiki Premium     
Olix Oil Ltd. – Nate Authentic Taste - Pure Manaki Variety     
Olix Oil Ltd. – Nate Authentic Taste - Our Signature Blend     
Olix Oil Ltd. – Nate Authentic Taste - Pure Koroneiki Variety     
Olix Oil Ltd. – Nate Authentic Taste Premium Quality     
Olix Oil Ltd. – Nate Pure Health with High Polyphenolic Content     
Olympian Green International S.A. – Oly Oil Traditional    
Olympian Green International S.A. – Ktima Louiza Organic     
Panagiota Nikoloulia – Elegia         
Pangaio Manufahktur – Aoron         
Papadellis Olive Oil – Sapfo         
Rafteli Protouli – Aegean Gold         
S.E. Mavroudis Bros. Co. – Mavroudis Corfu Family EVOO   
Sakellaropoulos Organic Farms – Fyllikon First Harvest Organic EVOO     
Sakellaropoulos Organic Farms – Agourelaio Early Harvest Organic EVOO     
Sons of Emmanouil Protogerakis G.P. – 0.2 Liokarpi     
Terra Creta S.A. – Terra Creta PDO Kolymvari     
Think Greece – Eleagnos     
Trifilia Single Member P.C. – Trifilia Premium     
Tzaro Jaques Sequin - Athina Theodorakopoulou – Tzaro    
Voliotis Apostolos – Olive Oil of Pilion         

For the complete list of awarded Greek olive oils, see the London IOOC website.

All businesses, organizations, and competitions involved with Greek olive oil, the Mediterranean diet, and/or agrotourism or food tourism in Greece, as well as others interested in supporting Greeks working in these sectors, are invited to consider the advertising and sponsorship opportunities on the Greek Liquid Gold: Authentic Extra Virgin Olive Oil website. The only wide-ranging English-language site focused on news and information from the Greek olive oil world, it has helped companies reach consumers in more than 215 countries around the globe.