Page 20 - Retail World Magazine Jan/Feb 2021 TOB

EVENT STORIES BEHIND THE STARS OF SA FOOD AND BEVERAGE Retail World profiles success stories from the 2020 South Australian Premier’s Food and Beverage Award winners. Hall of Fame Award - Mitolo Family Farms. W ith a record attendance at Food South Australia’s awards night gala dinner, the state’s food and beverage industry came together in November for the first time since Covid-19 hit, celebrating the achievements and navigation of a difficult year. Held at the Adelaide Convention Centre, the gala dinner is promoted as the largest event in the SA industry’s calendar. The SA Premier’s Food and Beverage Awards program presents opportunities to enable businesses to learn from winners and understand how to apply the lessons to their own enterprises. The program’s Hall of Fame Breakfast event is held each year in February and features a Q&A session with the most recent inductee into the award winners Hall of Fame. Representatives of previous inductees also attend the event and give their time to network with industry professionals and share their insights into developing a successful food and beverage business. Each year, Food SA hosts a tour of selected award-winning businesses to give food and beverage manufacturers an opportunity to view premises and operations, including presentations on how these businesses have achieved their success, what worked and what didn’t, and what they learnt along the way. BUSINESS EXCELLENCE AWARD Sponsored by Visy Businesses with more than 15 full-time equivalent staff: Sundrop Farms Sundrop Farms was established in 2009 to provide a solution to global food shortages by enabling farming in arid locations using the earth’s natural resources – sun and seawater – for growing high quality produce in an environmentally sustainable manner. By directly addressing industry supply constraints and building a positive presence in regional communities through local employment and engagement, Sundrop Farms has become a pioneer in sustainable agriculture. Businesses with up to 15 full-time equivalent staff: Goolwa PipiCo Goolwa PipiCo pioneered pipis as a premium seafood. This wholly SA owned and operated harvesting, processing and marketing company has now grown to be Australia’s largest pipi producer, committed to sustainable and ethical harvesting practices, increasing its 18 RETAIL WORLD JAN/FEB, 2021