Woolworths received 65 awards, including ten Agri-Expo Qualité Awards, at the 2016 South African Dairy Championships.

The winners were announced recently at a gala dinner in Cape Town.

Woolworths won 36 first-prize awards out of a total of 97 product categories. Of the 23 Qualité Awards given, Woolworths dairy products received ten, nine of which were for products exclusive to Woolworths stores.

Of the over 800 dairy products that are entered from across the country annually, only a very limited number receive the prestigious Qualité Award—a mark that denotes excellence in the dairy industry, and the only symbol of exceptional quality for dairy in South Africa. A Qualité emblem is only awarded if a specific minimum number of points have been achieved on the international scorecard and the product with the highest score overall is awarded the Dairy Product of the Year. 

The Dalewood “Fromage Huguenot”, a cheese produced in the Western Cape, has been named as South Africa’s best dairy product of the year for 2016.

Taking up more than half of the entries, the cheese category is annually the most dominant in the championships. Of the honours awarded in 2016 for cheese and butter, 24 first prizes were presented to Woolworths, which included eight Qualité Awards. Woolworths offers over 130 different varieties of cheese.

“We take great pride in stocking the most innovative and delicious dairy products possible,” says Woolworths managing director of food Spencer Sonn. “Developed in collaboration with top local suppliers and our in-house experts, many of these products are exclusive to Woolworths and we are delighted to be recognised for our efforts,” he says.