2022 Australian Organic
Industry Awards
Winners
Celebrating Excellence in the Organic Industry
Congratulations to the 2022 Winners
On behalf of AOL, we’d like to congratulate the winners of the 8th Australian Organic Industry Awards!
Our Awards Ceremony was held at Crowne Plaza Hunter Valley on Friday 25 November, with the winners spanning an impressive and diverse range of certified organic products from fresh produce, dairy and meat, to pantry items and pharmaceutical ingredients.
AOL Chief Executive Officer, Niki Ford, said the Awards were an opportunity to recognise excellence and diversity within organics, and applauded the winners for their contribution to the nation’s $2 billion industry.
“The standard of these awards continues to reach new heights, and this year’s winners demonstrate innovation and leadership within the organic sector and how it continues to progress and evolve,” Ms Ford said.
View the full media release at the link below.
Australian Organic Industry Awards 2022 Winners
Brand of the Year
Kialla Pure Foods
Kialla Pure Foods is a pioneer in organic processing, operating from the Darling Downs region of Queensland since 1988. In 2022, the Kialla team has launched more than 22 items in the big 2 major retailers, achieving over 5000 new distribution points and resulting in an 80% increase over 2021 retail sales.
Business of the Year
Dr. Oetker Queen Australia
Dr Oetker Queen Australia is a world-leader in premium organic vanilla products, a staple in many Australian kitchens for 125 years. The business uses organic vanilla beans as their main starting raw material for multiple products, including organic extracts, pastes and bean pods.
Farmer of the Year
Brendon Hoyle
Brendon is one of the directors at Ashbern Farms, who grow organic winter strawberries near the Glass House Mountains on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast. He has worked with entomologists, deploys beneficial insects and even uses an innovative bug vacuum to control fruit flies and Rutherglen bugs.
Innovation Award
Marinova Pty Ltd
Marinova is regarded as the global leader in fucoidan science. The company studies, develops and manufactures fucoidan compounds, which are found in select species of brown seaweed. The output is used for a range of nutritional, pharmaceutical and skin care applications.
New Product of the Year
The Organic Milk Co – Organic Cheddar Block
With their 400g Organic Cheddar Block, The Organic Milk Co have bought an everyday staple to consumers on a national scale, with the new product available in more than 650 stores across Australia. This kind of availability is unprecedented for Australian sourced and produced organic dairy products.
Organic Woman of the Year
Georgia Beattie – Bulla Park
Georgia Beattie is CEO of Australia’s largest organic mushroom farm, Bulla Park. A 2021 Nuffield Scholar, Georgia has held board positions in agricultural companies and worked to change constitutions and codes of conduct to reflect a goal of 50:50 gender distribution.
Retailer of the Year
Coles Supermarkets
The major retailer has expanded their organic section in all stores, as well as refreshing their branding on more than 72 products. All organic fresh produce items now display their certification mark, while an ‘In Conversion’ tier has been added to support new growers and increase volume for consumers.
Young Organic Leader of the Year
Andrew McIlwain – Green Camel
Andrew McIlwain is GM and Agronomy Manager for Sydney-based Green Camel Organic Produce, which grows tomatoes, baby cucumbers, raspberries, and barramundi from 2.5 hectares of commercial glasshouses. Andrew is a keen spokesperson for organics within Protected Cropping.
Chairman's Award
Kane Busch – Busch Organics
Kane Busch oversees business operations for Busch Organics, a family farming business on the Mitchell River Flats west of Bairnsdale. As a fourth-generation farmer, Kane has worked tirelessly to build the certified organic business, which supplies vegetables to mainstream retailers, produce markets and processors from over 400 acres of certified organic farmland.
Hall of Fame
Alister Ferguson
As a student at Orange Agricultural College in the 1990s, Alister Ferguson wrote his PhD thesis about organic beef, and went on to help build one of the world’s biggest and most successful organic businesses, Arcadian Organic & Natural Meat Co. As Chief Executive Officer, Alister presided over a period of significant business growth in both domestic and export markets.