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Final stretch of the EVOOLEUM Awards: This is why you should register for the Best EVOO Quality Contest in the World

Less than five weeks from the end of the registration period of the next edition of the International Contest for the Quality of Extra Virgin Olive Oil EVOOLEUM Awards, we speak with Juan A. Peñamil and José María Penco, editor of the EVOOLEUM Guide and director of the contest, respectively, about the arguments that make EVOOLEUM a different and unique Contest in the world.

Let's start by talking about the great impact obtained by the media communication campaign developed by Mercacei Publishing Group about the EVOOLEUM Contest and Guide. What are the keys that explain such success?
Juan A. Peñamil: EVOOLEUM has achieved something incredible and unprecedented: that all media and consumers end the year talking about EVOO. The unprecedented campaign that we have carried out has allowed EVOOLEUM to have starred in the digital cover of the most important and prestigious press (El País, El Mundo, ABC...), as well as the majority of radios and televisions (TVE, Cadena SER, RNE...), highlighting the quality of the 100 best EVOOs in the world and the extra virgin culture. We are speaking about more than 100 million impacts, equivalent to an approximate audience of 12 million people, and an economic value of 600,000 euros, figures unthinkable so far, not only in our sector, but in the agri-food and gastronomic field in general. During the month of December, thousands of consumers went to the stores asking for “the best extra virgin in the world,” as confirmed by those responsible for the most representative stores and delis.
José Mª Penco: Today, the EVOOLEUM Guide is the true international reference in terms of EVOO, as is the Parker Guide in wine. And this is a matter of pride for us -AEMO and Mercacei Publishing Group- as organizers of the Contest. But, above all, it is a huge boost for the producers and companies that have placed their extra virgins in the EVOOLEUM TOP100, which have the best possible promotional platform and that increase their sales substantially once the results are published. Above all, we are happy for them, because it represents the best recognition of their work, effort, and their unequivocal commitment to quality.


How is EVOOLEUM different from other competitions and what are its core strengths?
José Mª Penco: There are three aspects that distinguish us from others. In the first place, our proven international vocation, both in competing brands and in the jury that values ​​them. Second, the absolute rigor of the evaluation process, the most objective possible, which offers all the guarantees. Finally, it is worth highlighting the intense post-contest work, which culminates in the publication of the EVOOLEUM World’s TOP100 Extra Virgin Olive Oils Guide, pioneer and unique in the world, which brings the oils chosen to the Olympus of Excellence.
Juan A. Peñamil: Apart from what José María points out, the main difference and one of its great strengths is the intense promotion of the contest and its results, beyond the registration period. When the TOP100 is published, it is when we begin to work. And all producers benefit from this work, all of them experience an authentic boom in sales and brand image, as well as the consumer himself.


Any news in this fifth edition?
José Mª Penco: We have increased up to 25 our team of renowned tasters in our jury, compared to the 20 members of the previous editions. This is due to the increasing number of samples, which forces us to increase the number of judges in order to guarantee an evaluation as objective as possible in our intense tasting sessions.
Also, in this edition we will carry out a complete analysis of all the phenolic compounds of the TOP100, with the collaboration of the University of Córdoba, and in the EVOOLEUM Guide we will highlight through a new icon those that result in higher concentrations, that is, the healthiest ones.


Why should an EVOO brand register for the EVOOLEUM Awards?
José Mª Penco: In just five years, EVOOLEUM has become synonymous with rigor, objectivity and prestige. Here there is no catch. And we are not the ones who say it, but the producers who are submitted to the Contest. For them, being part of the select club that is our TOP100 is a reason for pride, recognition and brand awareness. And a significant increase in sales, of course, which we celebrate.
Juan A. Peñamil: Because the producer is going to participate in a unique competition in the world that results in a Guide and an app with an equally unique international projection and distribution.


The registration period ends on February 27. What forecasts do you handle in this final stretch?
José Mª Penco: Certainly, we are very satisfied with the rhythm of inscriptions, which are surpassing, once again, those of the previous edition. And we also celebrate that the origin of the oils submitted to the contest is increasingly varied, since we are receiving samples from destinations as far away as China, Japan or Argentina. All of this makes us think that in this fifth edition we will exceed twenty countries, which offers even more diversity and uniqueness to the contest.


Why is the EVOOLEUM Guide, published in English and Spanish, considered the most influential in the world?
Juan A. Peñamil: Because there is no editorial product of this nature on the market that values the best EVOOs in the world and spreads the healthy and gastronomic culture around the extra virgin. A practical and pedagogical Guide that is distributed directly -7,000 copies- among importers, coaches and chefs from around the world, including 2,000 Michelin-starred restaurants and those belonging to The World's 50 Best Restaurants list, in addition of gourmet shops and delis around the world. Not forgetting the EVOOLEUM app, totally free and that in the previous edition obtained 85,000 downloads, a super cool tool available anywhere in the world that allows you to consult the contents of the Guide and the 100 best EVOOs of the world at a glance.


To conclude, let's talk about the EVOOLEUM Awards Gala, which in just two editions has already become the event of the year in the sector...
Juan A. Peñamil: We are very pleased that the EVOOLEUM Best of Class Awards Gala has become, as they constantly repeat to me, one of the most unique and glamorous events in the sector. An event in which we also deliver the EVOOLEUM Packaging Awards and the Special EVOO Ambassador Award, which in the last edition went to chef Diego Guerrero (two Michelin stars) and the film director Isabel Coixet, both great lovers of the extra virgin. We always try to choose a modern and attractive space, such as EVOO itself, and for us it was an honor that in the last edition the Spanish Minister of Agriculture and the Andalusian Minister of Agriculture attended, among many other personalities, because it highlights the power of attraction that extra virgin olive oil exerts, the authentic SUPERFOOD of the 21st century.

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