The tasting sessions continue as part of the 50th anniversary celebrations of the founding of the Goya factory in Seville. On June 19, we received a visit from the Board of Directors and members of the Spanish Association of Table Olive Exporters and Industrialists (Asemesa).
After the initial work session, the members of the association presided by José Ignacio Montaño Díaz participated in a tasting course led by Goya España’s quality manager, Antonio Martín.
The course began with a corporate presentation by the General Manager of Goya España and secretary of Asemesa, Antonio Carrasco, after which the representatives of the table olive exporting sector received the necessary instructions to become “extra virgin olive oil tasters”.
Thank you for your visit!
- The Sevillian bullring welcomed more than 650 guests, from the regional and local administration, business organizations, workers, customers and suppliers.
- The company celebrates its 50th anniversary as one of the leading exporters of Spanish olive oils and olives to the five continents.
On the night of June 25, the Real Maestranza de Caballería bullring hosted the 50th Anniversary Gala of the foundation of the Goya España factory in Alcalá de Guadaíra (Seville).
After the initial reception, the 650 guests invited to the gala – presented by journalists Toñi Moreno and Manu Sánchez- were treated to some very emotional moments. The first of these was the projection of a video tribute in which the workers who have formed part of the “Goya España family” throughout these five decades told its founder, Antonio Unanue, about the evolution of the factory since its installation in Alcalá de Guadaíra in 1974.
This was followed by the General Manager of Goya España, Antonio Carrasco, who, after warmly welcoming the guests, reviewed the history of the company, highlighting its main values.
After his speech, the Vice-counselor of Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development of Andalusia, Consolación Vera, highlighted the value of Goya España in the business fabric of the province as one of the main exporters of olive oils and table olives.
The final touch to the speeches was provided by the vice-president of Goya Foods, Joseph Pérez, and the CEO of the company, Robert Unanue, CEO of the company, son of the founder, and third generation Unanue, who, after an emotional memory of his father, insisted on the family character of the company and its constant attention to the community whenever it needs it.
With a strong Andalusian accent, Goya España’s 50th Anniversary Gala paid tribute to the company’s roots, with flamenco and Andalusian horses as protagonists, and a masterful performance by the Argentina singer, bringing Spain and the Caribbean, Goya Spain and Goya Foods together with her voice. Because If it’s Goya…, It has to be good!
On June 13, the Chamber of Commerce of Seville presented its awards at the 5th Edition of the Night of the Economy and Business, during an emotional event held at the Teatro Cartuja Center Cite. The event was sponsored by CAIXABANK and with the collaboration of Antea Prevención, Gàrantia and Cremades & Calvo Sotelo.
On this occasion, four awards were given to Sevillian companies, a recognition to the business trajectory and six “anniversary awards”, among which was our company on the occasion of its 50th anniversary of foundation:
● INTERNATIONALIZATION AWARD: SCALPERS.
● INNOVATION AWARD: GALGUS
● STARTUP AWARD: COVERMANAGER
● EMBLEMATIC PROJECT AWARD: “ANTIGUA FÁBRICA DE TABACOS DE SEVILLA”.
ANNIVERSARY AWARD
● 50TH ANNIVERSARY: GRUPO CONCESUR
● 50 ANIVERSARIO: GRUPO CONCESUR
● 50TH ANNIVERSARY: GOYA ESPAÑA
● 70TH ANNIVERSARY: CASA ROBLES
● 120 ANIVERSARIO: CRUZCAMPO
● 150TH ANNIVERSARY: GORDILLO’S CAL DE MORÓN
RECOGNITION OF BUSINESS CAREER: José Luis Manzanares Japón, president and founder of AYESA.
The meeting was chaired by the Minister of Presidency, Interior, Social Dialogue and Administrative Simplification, Antonio Sanz; the the Minister of Economy, Finance and Public Funds,Carolina España; the Minister of Industry, Energy and Mines,Jorge Paradela; the president of the Chamber of Commerce of Seville,Francisco Herrero; the third deputy mayor and president of the City Council Plenary,Álvaro Pimentel; and the general director of the Chamber of Commerce of Spain, Inmaculada Riera.
The sponsors of the event were the director of Corporate Banking in Western Andalusia of Caixabank, Guillermo Martín; the commercial director of Caixabank in Seville, Ana Belén Morales; the president of Antea Prevención, Joaquín Caro Ledesma; the general manager of Garántia, Antonio Vega; and the managing partner of Cremades & Calvo Sotelo, Francisco José Fernández.
Recognition of the Sevillian business network
The president of the Chamber of Commerce of Seville, Francisco Herrero stressed that with the distinctions awarded on this anniversary “we intend to recognize the work well done by companies that have proven their worth in different areas and that stand out in key sectors of our economy”. Thus, he praised the work of entrepreneurs: “you are the real generators of employment, and wealth thanks to your effort and courage, and your commitment to society you show, day by day, that you are able to get out of the difficult situations that you have to live,” said Francisco Herrero.
Finally, Herrero had words of gratitude for “the trust placed by the 290 companies that are part of the Club and the Chamber Foundation, for remaining loyal to our institution”.
For his part, the third deputy mayor and president of the Seville City Council Plenary, Alvaro Pimentel,explained that “in the Night of the Economy and Business we have the best example of the professionalism, capacity and potential of the Sevillian business sector and I can think of no better host than the Chamber of Commerce, a fundamental entity for the Sevillian economy. With its work, the Chamber not only provides advice to Sevillian companies as a meeting place and information to entrepreneurs, but also develops an essential work in attracting new opportunities for the economic growth of Seville”.
Finally, the Minister of the Presidency, Antonio Sanz Antonio Sanz has closed the meeting and in his speech stressed that “public administration can not go down one sidewalk and private enterprise on the other”, defending the “public-private partnership for society to move forward”, while thanked the work of Andalusian companies for the tenacity, work and business culture they defend.
Goya Organics EVOO reaches the Top 100 of the Evooleum Guide and receives “Grand Mention” for Great Producers in Sol D’Oro.
Our premium extra virgin olive oil GOYA® Organics continues to receive international awards. The 29th edition of the BIOL competition has once again awarded an “extra gold medal” to Organics, recognizing the quality of our organic olive oil.
With this medal, GOYA® Organics oil accumulates a total of 6 awards at Biol since 2018, the first year in which it was submitted to the competition.
The twenty-ninth edition of BIOL, organized together with Biolitalia, an association of producers and with the sponsorship of MASAF, the Department of Agriculture of the Region of Apulia, the Chamber of Commerce of Bari and the Municipality of Bari, saw the participation of 483 oils: 53 non-European, 130 European and 300 Italian (access to the BIOL 2024 guide).
Evooleum and Sol D’Oro
Along with the award won at BIOL, GOYA® Organics has entered the Top 100 of Evooleum, a ranking of the best 100 EVOOs worldwide. Each year, the Evooleum tasting panel evaluates the organoleptic quality of the samples presented, which allows them to elaborate this ranking with the best oils in their different categories, varieties and countries, in which Organics has 89 points. Organics will also appear in the Evooleum Guide, with information on the various award-winning extra virgin olive oils.
Finally, the quality and characteristics of Organics have also received recognition from the Sol D’Oro Northern Hemisphere competition, with a Great Mention in the “Big Producers” category. This new category aims to recognize and reward the activity developed by large manufacturing companies. The 22nd edition of Sol D’Oro has registered a high participation of international extra virgin olive oils, with 450 samples coming also from Italy, Spain, France, Portugal, Croatia, Slovenia, Greece, Turkey, Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia.
About GOYA® Organics
Within the line of organic products with USDA Organic certification, our premium organic oil, recognized with 138 national and international awards, stands out for its highly complex sensory profile in which notes of freshly cut grass, green tomato and green apple predominate.
We continue to share the awards won by Goya oils. The University of Zurich has awarded a total of four prizes to GOYA® Unico, Organics, Robusto and Goya extra virgin olive oil in the 2024 edition of its Olive Oil Awards.
As in the 2023 edition, GOYA® Unico retained its gold medal. Organics and Robusto won bronze medals and GOYA® Extra Virgin was once again among the oils most valued by consumers, winning the “Olio” award from the public.
The 2024 edition of the University of Zurich awards was attended by 102 samples from countries such as Spain, Italy, Portugal and Greece, Albania, Japan, Croatia, Tunisia and Turkey.
Considered one of the leading oil competitions in Europe, the Zurich Olive Oil Awards began in 2002, organized by a group of tasters from the Food and Beverage Institute of the University of Zurich. Every year, the taste of the participating olive oils provides an interesting and comprehensive insight into the consumer’s expectations of extra virgin olive oils and the actual sensory quality of olive oil on the market.
The objective is to develop a continuous research on the quality of each product category related to olive oil, to provide effective information to participants in olive oil competitions and/or olive oil producers on the sensory properties of the oils, and even to enhance the transparency of the olive oil market for consumers.
Coinciding with the Day of the Hospitalized Child and the European Mental Health Week, El Gancho Children’s Foundation presented “El Espacio Azul” in Seville on May 13th. “El Espacio Azul”. This space, located in the Virgen del Rocío University Hospital, is equipped with a 360-degree projection system for immersive reality therapies that will help to improve the emotional wellbeing of children and young people in Andalusia.
In the implementation of this first “Blue Space”, El Gancho has had the collaboration of Goya Spain, which has exclusively sponsored its installation, within the #GoyaCares program promoted by Goya Foods.
The inaugural ceremony of the first “Espacio Azul” was attended by the general manager of Goya España, Antonio Carrasco, together with the assistant manager of the Virgen del Rocío Hospital, Jesús Rodríguez, the director of the Andalusian Mental Health Plan, Benedicto Crespo, and the coordinator of the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Unit of the Virgen del Rocío Hospital, Miguel Ruiz.
As highlighted by Antonio Carrasco, Goya Spain was convinced of its active implication in the project after the first meeting with the president of the Foundation, Marta Baturone: “The challenge of the “Blue Space” has become a challenge for the family that makes up Goya Spain, which this year celebrates its 50th anniversary of establishment. With this collaboration we will be able to help “other families” in Andalusia and the professionals who accompany them, so that they can count on this new space where they can learn to manage crisis and/or stress situations”.
Friendly space
In Andalusia, more than 350,000 children and adolescents (1 in 7 between the ages of 10 and 19) suffer from a mental health disorder, 47% more since 2020. Faced with this reality, El Gancho Infantil Foundation is committed to reversing this situation by helping to bring to Andalusia the only projector in the world that projects in 360 degrees to perform therapies with immersive reality, the MK2. This tool, with a platform of more than 200 videos, will help to improve the emotional well-being of children and their cognitive stimulation.
The “Blue Space” is a safe and friendly space, from 25 to 80 m2, for children with mental health disorders and other pathologies such as oncology, neurosurgery or in cases of patients with long and complex surgeries to learn how to manage situations of anxiety, crisis and stress. In addition, it will also be available for healthcare professionals who experience moments of increased stress in their working lives. In short, as the mental health coordinator of the Hospital Virgen del Rocío emphasized in his presentation, “it is a friendly innovation that can have an impact on mental health or emotions, not only for minors, this is transversal to the whole hospital”.
With the support of the General Department of Mental Health of the Regional Ministry of Health and Consumer Affairs and the Andalusian Health Service, eight Child and Adolescent Mental Health Units in Andalusia will have this space in their hospitals to implement these therapies with immersive reality, which will help to facilitate the daily work of the professionals. Thus, the Virgen del Rocío Children’s Hospital in Seville will carry out a first acceptability study during these first six months, which will confirm the positive results for its implementation in the rest of the community.
CSR and Goya
With the priority objective of promoting the general welfare of the community, Goya Spain develops different collaborative actions within the #GoyaCares and #GoyaGives programs. Thus, it collaborates with different organizations such as the Seville Food Bank and associations in Alcalá de Guadaíra such as the Paz y Bien Association, Caritas or the San Juan de Dios Center.
As part of the events to commemorate the 50th anniversary of its establishment, Goya España has programmed a calendar of tasting courses for professional groups from different sectors. Last April, Goya’s facilities in Alcalá de Guadaíra hosted one of these training sessions for doctors from different specialties.
After the presentation of the company and its main indicators by the general manager of Goya Spain, Antonio Carrasco,the group of more than fifty doctors learned how to identify extra virgin olive oil, thanks to the indications of Goya’s Quality Assurance Manager, Antonio Martín..
Due to the professional profile of the group, the tasting course also had the participation of Wenceslao Moreda, head scientist of the Institute of Fat of the CSIC, who gave an interesting presentation on the presence of vegetable fats in the diet and their influence on health. With an extensive research career related to olive oil, Moreda is responsible for the OLEUM project of the Horizon 2020 program, which aims to solve the problems of quality and authenticity of olive oil.
After this first session, Goya España will continue with its program of tasting courses to raise awareness of the benefits of consuming extra virgin olive oil.
GOYA® Unico Extra Virgin Olive Oil has been awarded the silver medal in the light green fruity category of the Ovibeja 2024 contest, highlighting once again the exceptional quality of our gourmet EVOO. This recent recognition is added to the 2nd finalist in the packers category in the Mario Solinas Quality Awards of the International Olive Council.
At Ovibeja 2024, the silver medal for the light green fruity EVOO means the return of Goya Unico to the podium of this contest after the gold medal obtained in 2021 in the medium green fruity category.
In addition, Goya Unico has been the second finalist in the packers category of the Mario Solinas Quality Awards 2024. Thus, Unico is positioned one more year in the top olive oils in the world according to the International Olive Oil Council, after the first prize obtained in the 2023 edition.
With these two new recognitions to our gourmet olive oil (which in the last 10 years has won 134 awards), Goya España reinforces its commitment to bring to its consumers the best extra virgin olive oils with 100% Spanish origin with more than 300 international awards. more than 300 international awards.
One of the pillars of the Goya Chair focuses on promoting research in the agri-food industry. Thus, after sponsoring publications on predictive maintenance of equipment (from refrigeration units to conveyor belts) and production in the wine sector, the Goya Chair has sponsored the research “Design of intelligent modular children’s furniture”. From an eco-design perspective, the work, published in the journal DYNA, addresses the design of children’s furniture, an intelligent cradle, which adjusts to the needs of the first stage of life, including sensors and components that improve the baby’s rest, and which, in turn, incorporates modularity in its design to be able to adapt to the following stages of the child up to 12 years of age.
The second publication sponsored by the Goya Chair studies the expected quality of nougat as a function of the shape and color of the package by means of an ANOVA analysis. A survey was carried out among 122 participants from Spain and Mexico. The main conclusion is that a package with a combination of three shapes (rectangle, square and triangle) and colors (yellow, orange and red) increases the emotions of admiration, satisfaction, pleasant surprise, attraction, fascination and joy of consumers.
The Escuela Superior del Aceite de Oliva (ESAO) has announced the winners and finalists of its official awards, the ESAO Awards, which aim to serve as a benchmark for marketers, producers, packers and cooperatives.
In this eighth edition, Goya EVOOs have been recognized a total of 2 awards and 3 mentions as finalists.
In the category of “Best EVOO Packer/Trader”, GOYA® Extra Virgin Olive Oil ranked 1st prize, followed by GOYA® Organics, which ranked 2nd prize. GOYA® Unico was a finalist.
In addition to these awards, GOYA® Garlic and GOYA® Truffle flavored oils are finalists in the “Best Olive Oil Seasoning” category.
Goya Olive Oils
Goya Extra Virgin Olive Oils GOYA® Extra Virgin Olive Oil is made from completely healthy olives that have no defects. At the GOYA Spain factory in Seville, more than 2,000 samples of extra virgin olive oil produced from the best raw material, olives from Andalusia, one of the world’s leading olive oil producing regions, are tasted each year. From these samples, Goya selects the highest quality ones with which the coupages are created, achieving the different personalities of the oils to cover all consumer uses.
Goya España currently exports four extra virgin olive oils: GOYA® Extra Virgin Olive Oil, Unico, Organics and Robusto.
Each of these EVOOs has its own organoleptic characteristics, its personality for different uses, which has led them to obtain more than 300 international awards. GOYA® Extra Virgin Olive Oil is the most versatile oil due to its aromatic complexity between green and ripe fruitiness and its balance between spiciness and bitterness, unlike the other three, which are green fruity. The green fruity group includes GOYA® Robusto (intense green fruitiness) and GOYA® Unico and Organics, Goya’s Premium AOVEs, which stand out, among other qualities, for their great complexity of aromatic nuances.
The 7th edition of the ESAO Awards is characterized by the outstanding quality of the oils presented. This was confirmed by the technical director of ESAO and responsible for the awards, Susana Romera, who thanked the sector for its commitment to the excellence of Extra Virgin Olive Oils.
The ESAO Awards represent an important economic and social boost for the oil industry. As ESAO’s executive director, Marta González, highlights, “these awards provide producers, cooperatives and packers with a platform to promote their products nationally and internationally, which can result in increased sales and commercial opportunities. In addition, by promoting quality and innovation, the ESAO Awards contribute to the sustainable development and global promotion of the olive sector.”