2023 BOOM Awards open for entries from 1st November 2022
Soil Association Certification is delighted to open the Best of Organic Market Awards 2023 to entries from 1st November – with this year’s headline sponsor Huboo. The BOOMs, which are the UK’s only organic awards, honour the farms, brands, businesses and people behind the UK’s organic industry and entry is open to all certified organic businesses.
This year entry to the BOOMs is open from Tuesday 1st November for one monthly only – with the closing date of Thursday 1st December at 11.59pm.
Entry is free for any small Soil Association-certified businesses*, in recognition of these challenging times and with generous support from sponsors Huboo, CH&Co, Clearspring, Diversified Communications, English Tea Shop, Natracare, Norlo, Ooooby, Rachel’s Organic, RB Organic Ltd, Robin Appel Ltd. and Yarrah.
Alex Cullen, Commercial & Marketing Director for Soil Association Certification, said: “We are delighted to launch the BOOM Awards 2023. These are the first and only organic awards recognising the fantastic products, services and practitioners of organic in the UK.
“The organic market has exploded since 2019, and despite the current challenging times it continues to show great resilience. We are confident that the market will grow from strength to strength as more consumers choose sustainable and planet friendly products. The organic standard offers people the reassurance that food has been produced in a way that works with nature to protect soil, encourage wildlife and help tackle the climate crisis. The organic brands, retailers and businesses of today demonstrate amazing innovation, even in the face of huge disruptions and challenges.
“The BOOM Awards are an opportunity for organic farm and businesses to showcase their products and new initiatives, celebrate success, generate media coverage and increase sales and listings. Entry is open for just a month until 1st December and we have made entry even simpler so - what are you waiting for?”
The Farming and Business Awards will be judged remotely in May. Finalists will be contacted shortly after the judging to confirm they have been shortlisted for an award, and by the beginning of June 2023 at the latest. The BOOM Awards ceremony taking place on 5th July 2023 in Bristol.
Soil Association Certification Senior Business Development Manager Sophie Kirk said: "Despite the challenges facing farmers and the organic industry, we continue to see extraordinary innovation and diversification amongst organic farm businesses who are raising the bar to deliver efficiencies on farm and environmental and ethical benefits such as biodiversity, animal welfare, carbon capture and soil health. We continue to see new entrants entering the organic sector and are looking forward to seeing a record number of entries for the Best of Organic Farming Awards – over and under 10 hectares.
“The BOOM Awards offer valuable recognition and profile for those farmers at the vanguard of the organic movement and ultimately helps to inspire future generations of farmers to embrace organic and agroecological practices."
2021 Winner of the Best Organic Farming (over 10 hectares), Godminster Farm and company owner Richard Hollingbery said: " We are very proud that we have won the Soil Association BOOM Awards, It has taken 30 years of really hard work. With the publicity that’s come from it, it’s helped put Godminster on the map. We’ve always told a story of the link between the farm and the cheese, it makes it much more farm to fork. It’s a great honour and a great thrill.”
For more information about the awards and all of the categories - please visit https://www.soilassociation.org/boomawards
* Certified organic annual sales under £250K and limited to 2 free entries per business
BOOM Awards Key dates:
Entries open: 1st November 2022 – entries close on 1st December 2022
Judging: Spring 2023
Awards ceremony: 5th July 2023.
Best of Organic Business Awards Categories:
- Farming (over 10 hectares) – Sponsored by Robin Appel Ltd
- Farming (under 10 hectares) – Sponsored by Ooooby
- Eating Out
- Independent retailers – Sponsored by Rachel’s Organic
- Online Retailing – Sponsored by Huboo
- Supermarkets – Sponsored by RB Organic Ltd
- Box Schemes – Sponsored by Clearspring
- Innovations - Sponsored by Natracare
- Sustainable Packaging
- Marketing Campaign
- Food & Drink Start-Ups (Food & Drink Businesses only) – sponsored by Norlo
There are additional awards, which will open in Spring 2023
- Nation’s Favourite Award
- Rising Star Award
- Lifetime Achievement Award
Soil Association Certification is a wholly owned subsidiary which certifies over 70% of all organic products sold in the UK. Certifying organic food and farming since 1973, and more recently, organic textiles, health and beauty products, the team has built up extensive practical experience and provides unrivalled support before, during and after certification. It also audits other schemes within catering and forestry, including the Organic Served Here scheme, and the FSC and PEFC forestry standards internationally, delivering assurances of quality and provenance that industry and consumers can trust. Its new Chief Executive is Dominic Robinson and its independent board is chaired by Nick Buckland. To find out more visit www.soilassociation.org BOOM Awards
The Soil Association Certification BOOM Awards are the UK’s only organic awards, celebrating excellence in organic and recognising quality and success in the organic sector. Entering the BOOM Awards is an opportunity to celebrate with peers and provides a strong platform to network and access marketing materials and assets for brands to promote to customers.
