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EU Organic Awards

EU Organic Awards 2026
Categories and awards

The EU organic awards comprise 7 awards across 6 different categories. They acknowledge different actors along the organic value chain that have developed an excellent, innovative, sustainable, and inspiring project producing real added value for organic production and consumption.

The inaugural EU organic awards took place in 2022. Be inspired by previous winners.

Applications for the 2026 edition closed on 26 April 2025 23:59:59 CEST. These awards are non-financial and will be handed over on 23 September 2026, which is EU Organic Day.

Categories and awards

  • a lady holding a dog, and a man holding a crate of tomatoes
    Category 1: Best organic farmer (female) and Best organic farmer (male)

    The objective of this award is to reward a farmer (one female and one male). This award is organised by COPA-COGECA and IFOAM Organics Europe.

    Specific attention will be paid to young farmers’ projects in order to increase their visibility, by showcasing their projects and highlighting their relevance (young farmers are defined as farmers that are maximum 40 years old (at the time of the deadline for the submission of applications).

  • green undulating fields in a rural landscape
    Category 2: Best organic region/bio-district

    The objective of this award is to reward a region or bio-district. This award is organised by the European Committee of the Regions.

  • several red roofed buildings alongside a river
    Category 3: Best organic city

    The objective of this award is to reward a city. This award is organised by European Committee of the Regions.

  • rounds of cheese stacked on shelves
    Category 4: Best organic food processing SME

    The objective of this award is to reward a Small and Medium-sized Enterprise (SME) processing organic products. This award is organised by the European Economic and Social Committee.

  • a lady standing in front of a set of shelves with trays of fruit and vegetables
    Category 5: Best organic food retailer

    The objective of this award is to reward an SME food retailer selling organic products. This award is organised by the European Economic and Social Committee.

     

  • a male chef making the finishing touches to a plate of food
    Category 6: Best organic restaurant/food service

    The objective of this award is to reward an SME restaurant/food service restaurant (standalone or part of a hotel) and/or food service (caterer or canteen) proposing organic certified references in their menu. This award is organised by the European Economic and Social Committee.

Applications

Reasons to apply

Do you want to contribute to the greater public awareness of organic production in the EU? Do you want to contribute to the greater affordability and/or accessibility of organic products in the EU? Have you developed and implemented, or are you still implementing, an excellent, innovative, sustainable, and replicable project for this purpose? Would you like to increase public awareness of the project?

If the answer to any of the above questions is 'yes', you should consider entering for the next edition of the EU organic awards. If you win, you will receive a non-financial recognition award and greater public visibility for your project. So, whether you are:

  • an organic farmer
  • a city or region serving organic meals to patients or pupils or otherwise promoting organic production
  • a business in the organic food chain with a unique approach

- you should think about entering the EU organic awards.

Application process

Applicants for the 2026 EU organic awards were asked to:

  • read the different sections of this website, in particular the eligibility criteria and the award criteria;
  • choose the award category they wished to enter;
  • apply online from 10 February until 26 April 2026 23:59:59 (CEST) UTC+2;
  • provide answers to closed guiding questions (some relating to the four principles of organic and the sustainability pillars), to help the jury to obtain more information about the applicants.
Who can apply

Any actor or institution along the organic value chain with a noteworthy project contributing to the greater affordability and/or accessibility of organic products in the EU can apply. Project promoters must be established or residents in the EU. Applications must be submitted in one of the official EU languages and the projects EU based.

Eligibility criteria

Applications for the EU Organic Awards had to meet the following eligibility criteria:

a) The starting point to apply for one of the awards is the EU organic awards webpage, which links to the online application forms for each of the awards during the required period. Applications had to be submitted by Sunday 26 April 2026, 23:59:59 CEST (UTC+2) at the latest.

Only complete applications (all sections filled in) submitted via the online platform by the deadline were considered once the application period closed.

b) Applications had to be in one of the official EU languages.

c) Applicants were required to be legal or natural persons established or resident in one of the 27 Member States of the EU.

d) The project submitted had to be EU based and refer clearly to one of the 6 award categories/7 awards. The same project could not be submitted for several award categories/awards. Each applicant could only apply for one single award. The maximum number of applications per award was one.

e) The winners of the previous editions cannot re-apply for the 2026 edition. The non-winning finalists of the previous editions could re-apply for the 2026 edition.

f) The project was required to either have been fully implemented already or be in a sufficiently mature state so as to enable the jury to assess it (i.e. physical implementation should be advanced enough to demonstrate the achievement of the objectives).

g) Specific eligibility criteria for each award category:

  • Best organic farmer (female) and Best organic farmer (male): Certified accordingly to the Regulation (EU) 2018/848 of 30 May 2018 on organic production and labelling of organic products and repealing Council Regulation (EC) No 834/2007;
  • Best organic region/bio-district: A ‘bio-district’ was defined as a geographical area where farmers, the public, tourist operators, associations and public authorities enter into an agreement for the sustainable management of local resources, based on organic principles and practices. Organic region had no specific eligibility criteria;
  • Best organic city: No specific eligibility criteria; in case the city operates one or more organic farms or stores, proof of their organic certification had to be provided. This proof had to be a valid certificate at the moment of submission;
  • Best organic food processing SME: Enterprise certified according to Regulation (EU) 2018/848, and having 100% organic production and complying with the SME definition (an enterprise that employs fewer than 250 persons and has an annual turnover not exceeding EUR 50 million, and /or an annual balance sheet total not exceeding EUR 43 million). Cooperatives were understood as enterprises. Processing was understood as defined by Regulation (EU) No 852/2004;
  • Best organic food retailers: Enterprise certified according to Regulation (EU) 2018/848 and having 100% organic certified references on sale (excluding non-food products or food products for which there is no organic availability) and complying with the SME definition (an enterprise that employs fewer than 250 persons and has an annual turnover not exceeding EUR 50 million, and/or an annual balance sheet total not exceeding EUR 43 million). Cooperatives were understood as enterprises;
  • Best organic restaurant/food service: Enterprise having 100% organic certified references in their menu, where possible and complying with the SME definition (an enterprise that employs fewer than 250 persons and has an annual turnover not exceeding EUR 50 million, and/or an annual balance sheet total not exceeding EUR 43 million). Cooperatives were understood as enterprises.
Award criteria

All eligible applications were assessed by the EU Organic Awards jury against the following horizontal award criteria:

  • Excellence: The awardee was required to have developed an excellent initiative producing real added value for organic production. This meant good results and impact of the project in relation to its initial objectives. Projects needed to demonstrate their impact on the area and territory concerned and show their results against the initially set targets and objectives.
  • Innovative character of the project in the selected award category: Projects could not be "business as usual", but had to demonstrate new approaches, new organisational methods, or the development of new (or significantly) improved results for organics. The criteria for measuring the innovative character for each category were described in more detail in the dedicated section of the category.
  • Sustainability pillars (environmental, social and economic) of the project: Projects needed to demonstrate their sustainability and their future as a self-standing initiative or project detailing how their project meets each pillar of sustainability in 3 different sub-sections.
  • Transferability and possibility to replicate the project elsewhere in the EU: The project needed to demonstrate that it represented good practice in a wider (EU) context and that it inspires or could inspire other places. The project also needed to show good ways of communicating its goals and results.
  • Young farmer (category 1): in order to give more visibility to young farmers, in case of equivalent points in the final scoring, preference was given to farmers who are maximum 40 years old.

The applicants were asked guiding questions, developed in relation to the four principles of organic agriculture and the sustainability pillars, as well as a project summary. These questions helped the applicants to better structure their answers and the jury to obtain more data about the applicants.

Timeline

  1. 10 February 2026

    Launch of the application period for the awards

  2. 26 April 2026

    Deadline for the submission of applications: 26 April 2026, 23:59:59 CEST (UTC+2).

  3. June 2026

    Awards evaluation decision

  4. 23 September 2026

    Awards ceremony

Be inspired by the winners

Meet the winners of the 2025 edition. Watch the full recording of the fourth EU organic awards ceremony that took place in Brussels.

2025 Winners and finalists

Best organic farmer (female)

Winner

  • Ms Albina Yasinskaya, Rozino organic farm, Rozino, Plovdiv region, Bulgaria

Finalists

  • Ms Sonia Meirhaeghe, SEP Terobio, Fauges, Aube, France
  • Ms Kaisa Rautakannel, Kuorttisen Luomukanala (organic poultry farm), Lappeenranta, South Karelia, Finland

Best organic farmer (male)

Winner

  • Mr Lieven Devreese, Het Polderved, Knokke-Heist, Flanders, Belgium

Finalists

  • Mr József Büki, Velence-Bio Kft., Velence, Fejér county, Hungary
  • Mr Stefan Romstorfer, Neuland.bio, Raggendorf, Lower Austria, Austria

Best organic region/bio-district

Winner

  • Võru County, Estonia

Finalists

  • Bamberger Land Eco model, Bamberg, Bavaria, Germany
  • Region of Murcia, Spain

Best organic city

Winner

  • Valpaços, Alto Tâmega, Vila Real, Portugal

Finalists

  • Chaves, Alto Tâmega, Vila Real, Portugal
  • Bio-Stadt Bonn, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany

Best organic food processing SME

Winner

  • Joseph Brotmanufaktur GmbH, Burgschleinitz, Lower Austria, Austria

Finalists

  • Herta Bio Apicole SRL, Galeș, Sibiu, Transilvania, Romania
  • Cantero de Letur, S.A, Albacete province, Castilla-La Mancha, Spain

Best organic food retailer

Winner

  • Radis&Bona eG, Regensburg, Bavaria, Germany

Finalists

  • Din drag de Bucovina Flying Market, Suceava county, Romania
  • Kornblume Brinker GmbH, Lingen, Lower Saxony, Germany

Best organic restaurant/food service

Winner

  • Peskesi restaurant, Heraklion, Crete, Greece

Finalists

  • Biohotel St. Daniel, Štanjel, Primórska region, Slovenia
  • Zotter Schokolade GmbH, Riegersburg, Styria, Austria
2024 Winners and finalists

Best organic farmer (female)

Winner

  • Reinhild Frech-Emmelmann, Reinsaat GmbH, St. Leonhard am Hornerwald, Lower Austria, Austria

Finalists

  • Blagovesta Vasilieva, The wild farm (ДИВАТА ФЕРМА), Gorno Pole, Eastern Rhodopes, Bulgaria
  • Caroline Devillers, Bel Go Bio, Hollogne-sur-Geer, province of Liège, Belgique

Best organic farmer (male)

Winner

  • Benny Schöpf, Kartoffelkombinat, München, Bavaria, Germany

Finalists

  • Gianpaolo Mancini, Il sentiero del Riccio, Sicignano degli Alburni, Salerno, Italy
  • Tommi Hasu, LuomuMattinen, Oravala, Kouvola, Finland

Best organic region

Winner

  • South Savo, Finland

Finalists

  • Comunidade Intermunicipal do Alto Tâmega e Barroso, Chaves, Portugal
  • Comunidad autónoma de Castilla - La Mancha, Spain

Best organic city

Winner 

  • BioStadt Bremen, Germany

Finalists

  • Cascais, Lisbon district, Portugal
  • Las Rozas, Community of Madrid, Spain

Best organic “bio-district”

Winner

  • Sörmland Bio-district, Sörmland, Sweden

Finalists

  • Distretto del Cibo Monregalese – Cebano, Cuneo, Piedmont, Italia
  • Bioregião de S. Pedro do Sul, Viseu district, Beira alta, Portugal

Best organic food processing SME (Small and Medium Enterprises)

Winner

  • Gino Girolomoni Cooperativa Agricola, Isola del Piano, Montebello, Marche, Italy

Finalists

  • Biologon GmbH, Hochfilzen, Tyrol, Austria
  • Organic veggie food GmbH/SOTO organic specialities, Bad Endorf, Bavaria, Germany

Best organic food retailer

Winner

  • SAiFRESC, Catarroja, Valencian Community, Spain

Finalists

  • BIOGAST GmbH, Zwettl, Lower Austria, Austria
  • Coolanowle Organic Meats, Ballickmoyler, County Laois, Ireland

Best organic restaurant/food service

Winner

  • Kalf & Hansen, Stockholm, Sweden

Finalists

  • B2 Bio pur GmbH, Binsdorf, Baden-Württemberg, Germany
  • Biohotel St. Daniel, Štanjel, Primórska region, Slovenia
2023 Winners and finalists

Best organic farmer (female)

Winner

  • Clara Benito Pacheco (Entrelobas) - Serrada de la Fuente, Spain

Finalists

  • Małgorzata Pucer (Pasiekapucer) - Barciany, Poland
  • Céline Clenet (La Casseline) - Cassel, France

Best organic farmer (male)

Winner

  • Thomas Moschos (Moschos Farm) – Kastoria, Greece

Finalists

  • Roberto Giadone (Natura Iblea) - Ispica, Sicily, Italy
  • Mikhaylo Haliv (Tomelloso) - Ciudad Real, Spain

Best organic region

Winner

  • Burgenland, Austria

Finalists

  • Dordogne, France
  • Centre-Val de Loire, France

Best organic city

Winner

  • Stadt Wien, Austria

Finalists

  • BioStadt Bremen, Germany
  • Hajdúnánás, Hungary

Best organic “bio-district”

Winner

  • Idanha-a-Nova, Beira Baixa, Portugal

Finalists

  • Bio Região de S. Pedro do Sul, Viseu district, Portugal
  • Biodistretto della Via Amerina e delle Forre, Civita Castellana, Italy

Best organic food processing SME

Winner

  • The Merry Mill - Vicarstown, County Laois, Ireland

Finalists

  • Fürstenhof GmbH - Finkenthal, Germany
  • Ekološka kmetija Kukenberger – Trebnje, Slovenia

Best organic food retailer

Winner

  • Gut Wulksfelde– Tangstedt, Hamburg, Germany

Finalists

  • Valle y Vega Cooperativa Agroecológica de Granada - Churriana de la Vega, Andalucia, Spain
  • NaturaSì Conegliano – Conegliano, Veneto, Italy

Best organic restaurant/food service

Winner

  • Luftburg - Kolariks Freizeitbetriebe GmbH - Vienna, Austria

Finalists

  • Trnulja Country Estate - Ljubljana, Slovenia
  • Biohotel St. Daniel - Štanjel, Slovenia
2022 Winners and finalists

Best organic farmer (female)

Winner

  • Nazaret Mateos Álvarez (Entresetas) – Paredes de Nava, Palencia, Spain

Finalists

  • Katharina Lichtmannsperger (VLG Obervetterbachgut) – Thalgau, Salzburg, Austria
  • Sara Vezza (Azienda Agricola Sara Vezza) – Localitá Castelletto, Monforte d’Alba, Piemonte,Italy

Best organic farmer (male)

Winner

  • David Pejić (Zrno eko imanje) – Dubrava, Zagreb County, Croatia

Finalists

  • Gianpaolo Mancini (Il Sentiero del Riccio) – Sicignano degli Alburni, Salerno, Campania, Italy
  • TomKass (Kass-Haff S.àrl) – Rollingen, Luxembourg

Best organic region

Winner

  • Occitanie, France

Finalists

  • Centre-Val de Loire, France
  • Comunitat Valenciana, Spain

Best organic city

Winner

  • Gemeinde Seeham am Obertrumer See, Salzburg, Austria

Finalists

  • Municipality of Troyan, Bulgaria
  • Stadt Wien, Austria

Best organic bio-district

Winner

  • Associazione Bio-Distretto Cilento – Campania, Italy

Finalists

  • Association Biovallée – Eurre, France
  • Centro Municipal Cultura e Desenvolvimento de Ihanha-a-Nova – Centro region, Portugal

Best organic SME

Winner

  • Goodvenience.bio GmbH – Magdala, Thuringia, Germany

Finalists

  • Gino Girolomoni Cooperativa Agricola – Isola del Piano, Pesaro and Urbino province, Italy
  • Labonca Biohof GmbH – Burgau, Styria, Austria

Best organic retailer

Winner

  • La ferme à l’arbre de Liège – Lantin, Liège, Belgium

Finalists

  • Ecoveritas SA – Barcelona, Spain
  • Bio MERCATO, seiVital GmbH – Kempten, Bavaria, Germany

Best organic restaurant

Winner

  • Lilla Bjers HB – Visby, Gotland Island, Sweden

Finalists

  • Trattino – Lyon, France
  • Restaurant Luftburg (Kolariks Freizeitbetriebe GesmbH) - Kolarik im Prater – Wien, Austria
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Commissioner for Agriculture and Food Christophe Hansen opening the EU Organic Awards 2025

About the EU organic awards

The Vision for Agriculture and Food underlines that sustainability and farming can go hand in hand, and organic farming serves as a prime example of this. Its environmental credentials are clear: Organic farming encourages the responsible use of energy and natural resources, the preservation of regional ecological balances, the enhancement of soil fertility, the maintenance of water quality, rich biodiversity and high standards of animal welfare.

The economic and business case of organic farming is equally important. The share of land farmed organically in the EU has been growing steadily to attain currently around 17 million hectares (11% of the total agriculture land).

Organic farming has also become a driver for generational renewal as underscored in the Commission’s Strategy for generational renewal in agriculture  and the organic share among young farmers is far higher (20.7%) than for all farms combined (11.9%).  EU initiatives in favour of organic farming not only create the conditions for the long-term and sustainable competitiveness of rural areas but also open up new opportunities for the generation renewal in agriculture.

To support further growth of organic production in the EU, the Commission has adopted the Action Plan for the Development of Organic Production in March 2021, including the launch of annual awards. They aim to reward the best and most innovative organic actors, contributing to the reduction of agriculture’s impact on the environment and climate.

Organisers

The EU organic awards are jointly organised by the European Commission, the European Economic and Social Committee, the European Committee of the Region, COPA-COGECA  and IFOAM Organics Europe.

The jury deciding on the final winners comprised representatives of:

  • The European Commission,
  • The European Economic and Social Committee,
  • The European Committee of the Regions,
  • COPA-COGECA,
  • IFOAM Organics Europe,
  • The European Parliament and
  • The Council of the European Union.

Organic farming, aquaculture and food in the EU

Regulation (EU) 2018/848 states in recital 1 that “Organic production is an overall system of farm management and food production that combines best environmental and climate action practices, a high level of biodiversity, the preservation of natural resources and the application of high animal welfare standards and high production standards in line with the demand of a growing number of consumers for products produced using natural substances and processes”.

Organic production is increasing in the EU. In 2022, 10.5% of EU agricultural land was under organic farming. This equalled 16.9 million hectares, up from 9.5 million hectares in 2012, a 79% increase. The countries accounting for most of the EU agricultural land under organic farming were France (2.9 billion hectares, 17% of the EU total), Spain (2.7 billion hectares, 15.8% of the EU total), Italy (2.3 billion hectares, 13.9% of the total) and Germany (1.6 billion hectares, 9.7% of the EU total) as per Eurostat organic farming statistics.

Across the entire value chain, almost 435,000 organic producers and over 89,000 organic processors were active in the EU. Organic farmers benefit from the price premiums that organic products fetch on the market and the rapidly growing final consumer demand for organic products. In 2023, the EU market accounted for 46.5 billion euro in a global market of 136.4 billion euro, second after the US market accounting for 59 billion. Large markets in the EU are Germany (16.1 billion) euro and France (12.1 billion euro), as per FIBL statistics.

Per capita consumer expenditure on organic products is highest in Denmark (362 EUR, equivalent to 11.8% of grocery shopping) and Luxembourg (228 EUR, equivalent to 7.2% of grocery shopping), as per FIBL statistics.

Consumer awareness of the EU organic logo is increasing. In 2024, 56% of Eurobarometer survey respondents recognised the logo, compared to 27% in 2017. 79% of survey respondents believe that organic products are more environmentally friendly and respect higher animal welfare standards.

Food for Europe podcast episodes

A selection of the Food for Europe podcast episodes are dedicated to organic farming in the EU. All the episodes of the "Food for Europe" podcast are released in English, French and German.

Documents

  • 10 FEBRUARY 2026
Leaflet: EU Organic Awards 2026
English
(HTML)
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  • 10 FEBRUARY 2026
EU Organic Awards – practical guide
English
(179.34 KB - PDF)
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  • 10 FEBRUARY 2026
EU Organic Awards – general introduction
English
(164.08 KB - PDF)
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  • 10 FEBRUARY 2026
EU Organic Awards – privacy statement
English
(227.67 KB - PDF)
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Related links

Organics at a glance

At a glance information on EU organic policy, the organic logo and legislation relating to the organic sector, as well as frequently asked questions.

Organic action plan

This plan aims to drive investment and innovation in organic farming and boost demand for organic food. Check out what has been achieved so far.

The future of organics

Information on the new organic legislation in force since January 2022, the consultation that was held about the new law and the action plan for organics.

Organic farming

Policy, rules, organic certifications, support and criteria for organic farming.

Events

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News

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