SIAL unveils 2025 Innovation, Cheese Competition winners
SIAL Canada has revealed its 2025 Innovation and International Cheese Competition winners.
The competitions took place during SIAL’s trade show in Toronto, held April 29 to May 1 at the Enercare Centre.
Read on to find out which products and brands were recognized this year.
Innovation
Gold: Buttery-Flavoured Camelina Oil
Oliméga - Signé Caméline
Silver: Amazake Cocoa Spread
La brasserie San-Ô Saké | San-Ô
Bronze: Farina Di Pomodoro
Sapori Antichi - Casa Muraca
Packaging: Box: Fried Style Rice
Floating Leaf Fine Foods
The Rice Stuff Box
"This year’s SIAL Innovation finalists showed that indulgence and wellness are no longer opposites—they coexist,” said Jo-Ann McArthur, co-chair of the SIAL Innovation jury for SIAL Canada 2025, in a press release. “We saw a new wave of products that are ‘better for you’ without sacrificing taste. Clean labels, upcycled ingredients, and bold global flavours stood out—but it’s the storytelling behind each product, from farm to table, that really connected. Consumers are looking for more than just ingredients—they want meaning."
International Cheese Competition
This international biennial Competition dedicated exclusively to cheese returns for its fourth edition in Toronto.
The jury, composed of 14 professionals from the cheese industry, evaluated 205 cheeses from 10 countries across 27 categories.
A new category was introduced for 2025: Best Canadian Cow’s Milk Cheese, presented by Dairy Farmers of Canada. Winning in the category was Stonetown Artisan Cheese of Saint Marys, Ont.
The Quebec Dairy Processors Association (Conseil des industriels laitiers du Québec, CILQ), was also awarded a special medal for the Best Quebec Farmstead Cheese, selected from among cheeses certified under Quebec’s ‘’Fromage fermier’’ designation.
In a statement, Gurth M. Pretty, Sial jury chair, said: “The 2025 edition of the International Cheese Competition by SIAL Canada was a great success! The 14 cheese professionals, who volunteered to be aesthetic and technical judges, tasted each of these champions, to vote by secret ballot, which cheese they as individuals, was their favourite. It was a close vote yet Grand Trunk cheese, from Ontario's Stonetown Artisan Cheese, was selected as the Grand Champion. All of the cheese submitted were champions in my eyes. Thank you to all the cheese companies for submitting their cheese to the competition."
