Sustain Public Show

Winning a medal in the Organic Expo & Green Show Awards has many benefits - one of which is the great FREE PR you can get.

For example Olive Green Organics won not just 1 medal but 7 and was recently featured in the September 16 Grocery & Natural Merchandiser Newsletter which is sent to thousands of retailers. 

Here's the article...

Supplier Profile: Olive Green's great organic, gluten-free recipe

Increasing demand for allergy-free and gluten-free products offering nigh nutrition has put Revesby, Sydney-based Olive Green Organics in a good position. It is one of Australia's best-known suppliers of Andean organic, high-protein packaged foods based on seeds and grains such as Amaranth and Quinoa. At the recent 2010 Organic Expo & Green Show Awards, Olive Green Organics won two Gold Awards: Best Pantry Staple Food for Andean Grains Mix 454g and Best Allergens Free Food for Andean Pops - Chocolate 250g; and five Silver Awards for: Quiona & Rice Pasta; Smoke Organic Trout Fillets in Olive Oil; Organic Trout Fillets in Mountain Water; Andean Pops Coconut & Honey; and Baby Anelli with Vegetables.

"This has never happened before and we entered seven products and walked away with seven gold or silver awards," general manager Antonio Ramos says. "This year the awards better reflect the diversity of the organic market and helping was that the calibre of the judges on the judging panel was very high." Mr Ramos is traveling to Peru in September where he will attend the Expo Alimentaria Peru expo being held in Lima, September 21-23. He will also travel to Lake Arapa in the Andean mountains of Peru to visit the organic trout operation. One of Olive Green Organics newest lines is a Smoked Organic Trout Fillets in 160g cans, which comes from Lake Arapa, 3820 metres up and is a fish-farmed rainbow trout.

The company was founded in late 2004 by Mr Ramos's partner, Camilla Mahony, a director of the company. Mr Ramos, whose interest in health and nutrition was sparked after studying environmental science at university in Sydney, has run the company for the past five years. Originally the company imported organic food from Italy. In 2005, Mr Ramos met Coronilla and Irupana after bringing in Irupana pastas and snacks. He decided to design the company's own brand and products, Olive Green Organics, importing good quality and highly nutritious foods catering for allergies.

Products are sourced primarily from Bolivian suppliers Coronilla and Irupana. Mr Ramos points out that all products leave Bolivia valued-added as they are packaged locally that is a form of fair trade. As well, products are 100% certified organic by Peru-based Biolatina, which has an office in Bolivia.

"The principle of Olive Green Organics is to trade fairly by helping the local producers and suppliers to export a finished product with an aggregate value adding that helps with all local activities at Irupana and Coronilla from the farmer through to the loading dock," he says. "We pay a premium for good quality from both suppliers and products such as quinoa and amaranth flour, flakes and puffed products. With Irupana, we source high-quality stone ground quinoa flour that is very clean." In September last year, Coronilla SA was granted 'Fair for life', a brand neutral third party certification programme for social accountability and fair trade in agricultural, manufacturing and trading operations. Coronilla's products were found to meet the requirements for 'For Life - IMO Social Responsibility' Certification. The Institute for Marketology (IMO) is a Swiss-based, European organic and fair trade certification agency.

The gluten-free market is growing rapidly and Mr Ramos says his product range is perfectly positioned as his rice, quinoa and amaranth products are naturally gluten free and come with a high nutritional content. "We are delivering highly nutritious and foods to the market that cater for a wide variety of dietary needs. They are not only good for you but are allergen-free and tasty, and are not packed with sugar or salt," Mr Ramos says. Amaranth (18.2) and quinoa(16.2) have the highest protein content per 100g serve as measured by USDA organic in a comparison of the nutritional profile of some mainstream gluten-free foods. "Amaranth is very high in protein and harder to mill properly in processing and a little bit harder to cook," he says. Sales growth for Irupana and Coronilla-sourced products was better than 10% in Australia last year in both unit and dollar value sales. "The exchange rate in 2009 was a 50% difference for European products and 40% for South American products," he says. "But the Australian dollar to the US dollar is now better and makes products more accessible for the local consumer of organics."

Looking at mainstream trends motivating or impacting on Australian consumers, Mr Ramos says these are health awareness, and people suffering from food intolerances to gluten, nuts, dairy, sesame and salicylates. "Another trend is where chefs are seen cooking with the products that creates increasing consumer awareness of quinoa and amaranth and the nutritional profile," he says. Mr Ramos says he enjoys a great personal relationship with Coronilla and Irupana in South America and he wishes to develop and promote Olive Green Organics' products and their 'trading fairly' socially responsible approach. He says it's pleasing to see the growing 'food as medicine' trend that improves people's health and wellbeing. "What is really encouraging is that we are seeing specialist stores, naturopaths and medical practitioners recommending our foods to customers and patients."

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