RUN by Soil Association Certification, the UK’s largest organic certification body, the Best of Organic Market (BOOM) awards are a chance to celebrate the very best of organic food and drink and the people producing it.

Demand for organic has been increasing rapidly, with organic sales growing consistently for the last seven years, according to Soil Association Certification’s Organic Market Report.

The BOOM Awards, now in their third year, celebrate what’s currently happening in the market, as well as the innovators shaping the future of food and farming. For the first time, the BOOM awards will be sponsored, as Soil Association Certification partners with Abel & Cole to celebrate the best of organic. The organic grocer will stock the top three products in the Best New Product category (pending commercial viability).

The awards are open to all organic producers and businesses across a wide range of categories. Farm produce, judged blind purely on taste and quality, includes categories for best of organic fresh produce, dairy, meat and box scheme.

2017’s awards saw a record number of entries, with winners including Higher Hacknell organic farm’s Sirloin Steak, Abel & Cole’s whole organic Guernsey Milk and Shillingford Organics’ box scheme.

Prizes are not just awarded for products found in the shops. The Best Organic Farmer award is open for nominations from industry figures, as well as the public. The award will recognise a farmer that has made an exceptional commitment to organic in 2018 through the ways they farm their own land, or on a larger scale through driving innovation and change in the sector. Riverford founder Guy Watson took the gong home in 2017.

Voting on the awards will be independent panels of expert judges from the organic industry, food writers, chefs and bloggers.

Also joining Soil Association Certification to celebrate the brightest organic businesses in the UK as 2019’s “BOOMbassador” is Thomasina Miers. The Masterchef winner and co-founder of Wahaca, the UK’s first carbon-neutral restaurant chain, will take part in judging and open the prestigious award ceremony on June 26.

Thomasina said: “I’m thrilled to be joining Soil Association Certification to celebrate the best that the organic market has to offer and I’m looking forward to seeing the people and businesses that are creating change within the food industry.

“Sustainability is at the heart of everything we do at Wahaca, and the organic movement’s commitment to creating a food system that produces high quality and sustainable food and drink fits neatly with our ambitions for the future of food.”

Entries for the BOOM awards close on February 28, with judging taking place between April 30 and May 3, ahead of an awards night on June 26.

Clare McDermott, Business Development Director for Soil Association Certification, said: “The organic market is booming, with more people than ever looking for, talking about and choosing organic. Small steps can make a big difference in promoting a better world, and by choosing organic shoppers are playing their part in supporting a more sustainable food system, working with nature to protect the soil, encourage wildlife, avoid antibiotics and reduce pesticide use.

“Organic farmers and producers have always been innovators and pioneers, and hundreds of products have been launched in the last year alone. The BOOM awards get bigger and bigger each year and are our chance to make some noise about organic, celebrating the amazing food and drink that organic offers.

“These awards are a UK-wide showcase of organic, so I’d encourage any organic business to enter and give themselves a chance to be recognised as the best that organic has to offer.”

Emma Healey, Marketing Director at Abel & Cole, said: “We wanted to be part of the BOOM awards because supporting and celebrating organic heroes is our bread and butter; we look forward to getting to know their stories and celebrating the products and achievements they’re most proud of.”

A full list of categories, sub-categories and how to enter is on the Soil Association website at www.soilassociation.org/boomawards/