For five days last month, 90 Greek companies exhibited their olive oil at what may be the world's largest food exhibition, SIAL Paris. Among 7,200 exhibitors, Greek extra virgin olive oils attracted the attention of many of the 310,000 professionals attending the exhibition. Greek olive oil company representatives discussed the expo with Greek Liquid Gold.
According to its press release, with visitors from 119 countries this year, “the World’s Leading Food Exhibition … SIAL Paris promoted more than 400,000 products over an area equivalent to more than 100 supermarkets laid out end-to-end!” Emmanouil Karpadakis of Terra Creta added that this expo “is a very important fair not only for the big companies that wish to expand their clientele, but also for the smaller companies, as a key step in their development.”
Like other Greek companies, Terra Creta has participated in SIAL Paris several times, both to meet current customers and find new collaborators. Everyone “from businesspeople to buyers and from shop owners to chefs, every professional who is interested in the food business or looking for new products visits SIAL,” according to Karpadakis. John Anairousis and Ellie Tragakes add that Hellenic Agricultural Enterprises representatives were impressed to encounter high level “executives from supermarket chains, distributor companies, and importers.”
Anairousis and Tragakes found the exhibition “very worthwhile, as it helped us introduce our products to international buyers and gave us the opportunity to meet them in person and explain to them the competitive advantages of our company and brands.” Karpadakis also believes fairs like SIAL offer “a good opportunity to present new products and get the visitor’s feedback.” Moreover, Thanos Kloutsiniotis of Ladolea finds SIAL Paris useful for learning about “new products and ideas.”
News and New Products
Kloutsiniotis reported to Greek Liquid Gold that visitors were impressed by the design of Ladolea’s small handmade ceramic pots of extra virgin olive oil (EVOO), which are updated versions of ancient Corinthian vessels used by Olympic athletes who covered their bodies with olive oil. Visitors “were amazed by the taste, too.”
Hellenic Agricultural Enterprises’ (HAE’s) Anairousis and Tragakes explained that professionals who tasted their products “were thrilled with our ACAIA olive oil, which is our most awarded EVOO, while many also showed great interest in our more competitively priced Aeolian Olive brand,” all made from the unique Kolovi olives of Lesvos. HAE also presented their ACAIA olives and tapenades and introduced their new Ceraon wines and Hebe sweet preserves, which attracted noteworthy interest.
This year, Terra Creta presented their new Grand Cru EVOO, which “is produced using an innovative approach from the olive tree to the olive mill and has a tasting profile beyond expectation,” according to Karpadakis. In addition, Terra Creta’s 42 Premium Blend EVOO was short-listed as a finalist for this year’s SIAL Innovation award. It is an unusual blend of oils made from an astonishing 42 different olive varieties grown in Chania, Crete.
Offering fresh early harvest EVOO made from Athinolia and Koutsourelia variety olives, E-la-won was featured in a report on the exhibition by a French news agency. Ioannis Kampouris told Greek Liquid Gold that E-la-won olive oil was also used in a SIAL Paris olive oil tasting by French chefs, journalists, and food bloggers. This year, after receiving an environmental award for supporting the circular economy and sustainable development, E-la-won introduced natural Greek soaps made of older pure olive oil (now "recycled" for soap-making). VIP customers can opt for a luxury version of this olive oil soap with a 22 carat gold coating.
Evi Psounou Prodromou of Yanni’s Olive Grove explained that they proffered their very fresh early harvest Chalkidiki EVOO, as well as their “new innovative candy and honey olive snack,” which is made with green and black Chalkidiki table olives. Prodromou told Greek Liquid Gold these exceptional “new products are perfect for healthy snacking,” with “the salty, the sour, and the sweet taste harmonically combined. They are 100% natural, with very low salt content,” pitted and sliced, with no sugar or preservatives added.
Importance of Exhibitions, Progress of Greece
Prodromou believes “it is very important for Greek EVOO companies to attend exhibitions,” both in Greece and abroad, to give buyers a chance to get to know them in person, try their products, and see if they persevere and succeed with their business. “Every important client wants to see if the EVOO producer remains in the market and to check his progress” over the years; repeated meetings at expos allow a trusting relationship to develop.
At SIAL Paris for the third time this year, Prodromou was delighted “to see many Greek olive oil production companies there, but the greatest news was that we met many Greek EVOO companies which were there for the first time as exhibitors,” indicating progress for Greece, which she also saw in the participation of Greek olive companies and their major industry association.
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Thanks to each company mentioned for the photo of their stand and/or participants, and to Ioannis Kampouris for the photo of the Region of Attica booth.