Another year comes to an end in which the pandemic has continued to cast its shadow over our lives; however, despite all the bad news, we end the year with the positive feeling of having done a good job. This has only been possible thanks to the sterling efforts made on a daily basis by the whole team at Aceitunas Torrent and also by our clients, suppliers and partners who have accompanied us every step along the way.
What has 2021 meant for us? ‘Overcoming challenges’ would be the best answer! Clear proof of this lies in the awards (Product of the Year, Spanish Food Award, Córdoba SME of the Year Award and DHL Awards finalists) and recognitions (Instituto Cerdá and Anuga Top Innovation) which we have received.
Another major achievement has been that we have managed to attend in person and participate in such important professional fairs as Gulfood, Foodex and Anuga. And then there are our valued final consumers, who can now choose from our innovative product ranges, Oliva Clan and The Coolives, in large stores and marketplaces in over 8 countries, or while they are zooming through the airways enjoying the on-board menus of airlines such as Iberia, Air Europa and Level.
Looking back al 2021
In January, our range of flavoured olives for children, Oliva Clan, was recognized by consumers as Product of the Year 2021 in the children’s snack category of the Great Innovation Award.
In February, we were present at the 26th edition of Gulfood, the first food and drink fair to be held face-to-face this year. Our presence there, for the eighth consecutive year, is driven by the large market share held by Aceitunas Torrent in the Middle East markets.
The next fair we took part in was Foodex Japan, which took place on March 9 -12 in Tokyo. This is the largest agri-food fair in Japan and the Asia-Pacific region for a professional audience. It gave us the chance to confirm the ongoing love affair between products made in Andalusia and the Japanese consumer.
In that month, we were also recognized by the Institut Cerdà, for our ‘Oliva Clan’ and ‘The Coolives’ product ranges, as one of the twenty most innovative projects launched in 2020, thus strengthening our position as the most innovative table olive company in Spain.
In the middle of summer, in July, Aceitunas Torrent won the Food Award of Spain 2020 in the Food Internationalization category, an award granted by the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, which recognizes our international record and commitment to innovation within the Spanish food sector.
The intense August heat proved no obstacle to our most adventurous olives, Oliva Clan, being brought closer to kids from Córdoba during the local stage of the Spanish Cycling Tour ‘La Vuelta’. In addition, Aceitunas Torrent was selected, due to our international projection and our position of representing a quality Spanish product, to present our products at the Spanish Pavilion showroom at the 2020 Dubai Universal Exposition, which, due to the pandemic, in running from October 1, 2021 to March 31, 2022. It gives us great pride to be the only table olive company present at this exhibition and we relish the opportunity it has given us to reach thousands of people of different nationalities.
This brings us to October, when The Coolives was internationally recognized as one of the ten best food innovations. This prestigious award was granted by Anuga, the benchmark worldwide fair for the agri-food industry, in which we were selected from over 1,300 participants, with The Coolives being the only Spanish product among the winners.
Finally, near the end of the year, in November, we were given an award much closer to home when Aceitunas Torrent was voted SME of the Year 2021 in Córdoba. This recognition entitles us to qualify for the parallel award on a national level, the winner of which will be chosen in the first quarter of 2022.
To this long list, we have to add other major milestones for us, such as being finalists in the DHL Export Awards 2020.
So, 2021 for us has been a thrilling year, full of challenges and rewards. For 2022, we would ask for more of the same – after all, this is the only way we know how to do things!