Western Grocer Serving the industry since 1916
SIAL Canada took place May 9th-11th at the Enercare Centre in Toronto. The show is the only event of its kind in Canada, bringing together more than 1,000 national and international exhibitors from 50 countries and welcoming more than 20,000 professional visitors from Canada, the United States and 60 other countries.
Innovation Awards
One of the biggest focuses was the prestigious Innovation Awards, with four grand prize winners announced.
The gold medal went to Millennia Tea Inc for their product Frozen Superfood Tea, a raw organic tea made from camelia sinesis with flash freezing preserving nutrients selected for the new format and functional benefit of flash frozen raw tea.
The silver medal went to Loc Industries Inc. for their product Plant Based Egg Substitutes from Yumgo by Alternative Kitchen, a plant-based range allergen-free powdered egg substitute in a resealable pack, selected for the full plant-based egg substitute range for foodservice.
The bronze medal went to La Presserie for their line Cold Pressed Cocktails Mixers, a frozen mocktail base with cold-pressed ingredients, selected for the frozen to seal in freshness of ingredients, and the wide range of cocktail preparations.
A special award went to Kingston Aluminum Technology Inc. (KAT) for their sustainable product Shaped Aluminum Bottles for beverages using less aluminium, selected for the process that uses less aluminum for shaped bottles and more accessible for smaller brands.
Olive Oil Competition
For this 17th edition of the SIAL Canada international extra virgin olive oil competition, the 15 best extra virgin olive oils submitted by producers from around the world were selected to be crowned Gold, Silver and Bronze in the Ripe Fruity, Light, Medium, Intense and Aromatic categories. The competition brings together a total of 77 olive oils from 12 countries, spread over 5 continents (Africa, North America, South America, Asia and Europe).
”The Olive d’or competition has just concluded its 17th edition in Toronto this year. This competition is really unique in the world of competitions because it takes place in a country that does not produce olive oil. This is to say that olive oil is still a real craze for its uses in cooking and for its health benefits. The Canadian market is still a buoyant market in terms of consumption and its development potential. I can say that the quality of the oils in competition was incredible and the level of competition remarkable”,, said Christine Chelan Owner of Château Virant, Olive Oils and jury president.
Cheese Competition
Following its success in 2022 in Montreal, this competition dedicated to cheeses was back for its 3rd edition in Toronto. The jury, chaired by Gurth Pretty and composed of 18 cheese industry professionals, evaluated 231 cheeses from 8 countries in 25 categories.
“The International Cheese Competition by SIAL Canada is an excellent opportunity for all cheesemakers to submit their cheese for evaluation and feedback by cheese professionals. It is the only competition in Canada where cheese from across the world can be judged in their respective categories and compete for the coveted title of Grand Champion. For the 2023 edition, I am pleased to announce that Ontario, Prince Edward Island, Quebec, New York, Maine, Vermont and Dutch cheese won. Personally, the 231 cheeses submitted from eight countries were all winners”, said Gurth M. Pretty, jury president.
Pitch Competition
The highly anticipated Pitch Competition featured 15 exhibitors from the Start-Up Village, a space sponsored by the City of Toronto. An innovative format, where start-ups competed against each other and had 3 minutes to seduce the jury in two categories: Food & Beverage and Technology & Service. This competition was particularly important to SIAL Canada and its partners Niagara College Canada, Nielsen IQ, Mitacs, Farm Credit Canada (FCC), the City of Toronto, Group KenBri, Jonluca Neal and Sobeys, who want to support the succession and development of start-up companies.
”It is positively shocking to see what start-ups bring to the Pitch competition and I was amazed by the potential and rapid business growth of entrepreneurs. Innovators were not just satisfying customer demands, but they were also conscious of environmental sustainability and community economic driver solutions. The pitch competition is a true platform that enable innovators to present novel concepts to key jury members for identification of challenges and opportunities”, said Dr. Ana Cristina Vega Lugo Scientific Director – Niagara College Canada, jury president.
