Press & Media
Stories from Sicily,
ready to publish.
Everything a journalist, editor, or producer needs to write about Laverde Artisan — without sending an email first. Boilerplate, hi-res imagery, quotes, story angles. Live media kit, updated continuously.
About Laverde Artisan
Laverde Artisan is a London-based importer of single-estate Sicilian olive oil, honey, and lentils, plus single-estate Colombian coffee. The brand operates AI-first, sells direct-to-consumer via Shopify and to UK delicatessens, gastropubs, hotels, and corporate gifting clients, and holds a 5-star FSA Food Hygiene Rating. In 2026 the brand won two Great Taste Awards and was shortlisted as a finalist in the Great British Food Awards.
Awards & recognition
Independently judged. All results verifiable through the awarding bodies.
Café Madrigal Colombian Coffee — 2 stars
Awarded 2 stars, the "Outstanding" tier of the Guild of Fine Food's Great Taste Awards, judged blind by a panel of chefs, buyers, food writers and retailers. Single-estate Risaralda, Colombia. 83+ SCA.
Villalba Black Lentils — 1 star
Awarded 1 star in the same blind judging round. Small-grain black lentils from the Sicilian interior, imported direct.
Biancolilla Extra Virgin Olive Oil — Kitchen Condiments
Shortlisted as a finalist in the Kitchen Condiments category. Winners announced at the awards ceremony, October 2026.
Laverde Artisan is a listed producer in the Guild of Fine Food producer directory. Award results can be confirmed directly with the Guild of Fine Food and with Great British Food Awards.
Boilerplate copy
Four sizes — copy and paste the one that fits your article.
Laverde Artisan imports single-estate Biancolilla olive oil and wildflower honey from one family in Sicily, direct to London. Great Taste Awards 2026 winner. 5-star FSA rated.
Laverde Artisan imports single-estate extra virgin olive oil, honey, and Villalba lentils from one family in Caltanissetta, Sicily, plus single-estate Colombian coffee. Direct from grove to UK consumers and trade buyers. Winner of two Great Taste Awards 2026. 5-star FSA Food Hygiene Rating. Customer-validated at 4.9★ across 270+ reviews.
Laverde Artisan is a London-based premium food brand importing single-estate Biancolilla extra virgin olive oil, wildflower and Sulla honey, and Villalba black lentils from one family producer in Caltanissetta, Sicily, plus single-estate Café Madrigal coffee from Risaralda, Colombia. The brand operates AI-first with a direct-from-grove supply chain, no brokers, and a 5-star FSA Food Hygiene Rating. A Great Taste Awards 2026 winner — 2 stars for Café Madrigal coffee, 1 star for Villalba black lentils — and a Great British Food Awards 2026 finalist. Validated by 270+ customer reviews at 4.9★ and stocked in 30+ independent London retailers.
Laverde Artisan is a London-based premium fine-food importer. The brand imports Biancolilla extra virgin olive oil cold-pressed within hours of a single November harvest, wildflower and Sulla monofloral honey from the same family apiary, and Villalba black lentils from the Sicilian interior, plus single-estate Café Madrigal coffee from a Colombian roaster in Risaralda. Laverde Artisan operates AI-first as a lean solo founder team, importing directly with no brokers or distributors between the grove and the UK consumer. In 2026 the brand won two Great Taste Awards — 2 stars, the Outstanding tier, for Café Madrigal Colombian coffee, and 1 star for Villalba black lentils — and its Biancolilla extra virgin olive oil was shortlisted as a finalist in the Great British Food Awards, Kitchen Condiments category, with winners announced in October 2026. The brand holds a 5-star FSA Food Hygiene Rating awarded by the London Borough of Hackney, and has been accepted into Made Smarter London and Grow London Local. Customer-validated at 4.9★ across 270+ Google reviews, stocked in 30+ independent London retailers, active on Faire, Delli, and RangeMe, and selling direct via laverdeartisan.com.
Key facts at a glance
Story angles, pre-pitched
We've done the editorial work for you. Pick the angle that fits your masthead and the brief is half-written.
- A Colombian coffee in a Sicilian brand just won 2 stars at Great Taste. Why the only non-Sicilian product in the range belongs there — and what a blind judging panel confirmed about the single-estate standard.
- Why some Sicilian producers reject DOP, IGP, and Organic. The case for direct relationship over third-party certification, and what that means for premium buyers.
- The Westfield pop-up that validated a premium Sicilian brand from zero. Four weeks in Westfield White City, 270+ Google reviews, validated SKU strategy that contradicts received e-commerce wisdom.
- How AI is changing how solo founders build premium food brands. The case study — 13 AI agents, 10 human roles planned, one founder, two Great Taste Awards in the first year.
- The logo hidden behind two daughters' faces. The personal story behind the brand mark — a family tribute embedded in the visual identity.
- Why November-only harvest and the case against blending. One harvest a year. No blends across vintages. The opposite of how most commercial olive oil reaches market — and why the trade-off is worth it.
Want a different angle? Email press@laverdeartisan.com. We respond in four hours business day.
Pre-approved quotes
Attributed to, Founder & Director, Laverde Artisan Ltd. Approved for publication without prior contact.
“We entered blind judging because we wanted an answer we hadn't written ourselves. Two stars for the coffee and one for the lentils came from a panel that had no idea whose product they were tasting. That's the only kind of validation worth putting on a label.”
“Single-estate is rarer because it's harder to source, more expensive per litre, and produces less. We accept those constraints because the product justifies them: every lot tastes of where and when it came from.”
“We import directly from one family in Caltanissetta. There is no broker between the grove and the United Kingdom. That isn't marketing copy — it's the structural reason customers come back for the second bottle.”
“We don't claim DOP, IGP, or Organic. We claim only what is independently verifiable: single-estate, single-varietal Biancolilla, single-harvest November, family producer, Caltanissetta Sicily. Everything on that list can be evidenced on request.”
“The premium fine-food category in the UK is full of brands selling provenance as a marketing concept rather than a verifiable fact. We've chosen the harder path because the buyers who care about the difference can tell the difference.”
Tasting notes
Sommelier-grade copy, written by the founder. Use as published or quote directly.
Biancolilla Extra Virgin Olive Oil Great British Food Awards 2026 finalist
Delicate rather than aggressive, with notes of fresh almond, green tomato, and a soft pepper finish on the throat. The older, gentler Sicilian style — not the bitter, grassy profile that has become fashionable in the last decade. A finishing oil that elevates without dominating.
Multifloral Wildflower Honey
Produced by hives placed across the same Caltanissetta land where the olives grow. The bees forage freely across whatever is in flower that season, producing a honey that varies subtly between harvests — a sign of authenticity, not a defect.
Sulla Monofloral Honey
From Sulla coronaria in late-spring bloom. Delicate, almost floral character with a clean, light finish. Narrow harvest window, small yields, allocated to the kind of buyer who pairs honey with cheese and cares about the difference.
Café Madrigal Colombian Coffee Great Taste 2026 · 2 stars
Single-estate Risaralda, 1,600–1,900m altitude, 83+ SCA. Bright acidity, soft body, notes of stone fruit and brown sugar. The Colombian exception in an otherwise Sicilian range — included because the producer met the same single-estate standard we set for Sicily. Awarded 2 stars, the Outstanding tier, at Great Taste 2026.
Villalba Black Lentils Great Taste 2026 · 1 star
Small-grain, slow-cooking. Firm bite that holds shape, earthy almost-truffled character on the finish. Production allocated to a small list of restaurants, food halls, and premium grocers — a halo product, not a volume play. Awarded 1 star at Great Taste 2026.
Editorial calendar hooks
Each month has a story. Plan ahead.
- November — New olive harvest just landed in London. First-bottling-of-the-year angle.
- December — Premium Sicilian gift hampers, corporate gifting, and the office-perk angle (Café Madrigal subscription programmes).
- February — Valentine's collection and the wedding-gift verticals. FSA inspection anniversary.
- March / April — Spring openings, gastropub menu refresh season, Sulla honey harvest.
- May / June — Outdoor entertaining, alfresco kitchens, premium picnic format (drip-bag coffee + 100ml EVOO).
- July — Great Taste Awards 2026 results confirmed: 2 stars for Café Madrigal, 1 star for Villalba black lentils. Standing press hook.
- October — Great British Food Awards 2026 ceremony. Biancolilla EVOO shortlisted in Kitchen Condiments, result pending. Pre-harvest editorial window.
Spokesperson availability
The Founder & Director is available for an interview in English or Spanish, by phone, video, or in person in London. Comfortable in print, podcast, broadcast, and panel formats. Best topics:
- Winning Great Taste in year one — what blind judging tells a founder that customers can't
- The AI-native founder — how 13 AI agents run a premium food brand
- Single-estate sourcing and the case against DOP / IGP / Organic certification
- The corporate-to-artisan founder pivot
- UK D2C fine food, compliance, and how a small brand competes with category incumbents
- The Sicilian fine-food category and what UK buyers are actually willing to pay for
Press contact response time: 4 hours business day. Same-day for breaking stories. Weekend WhatsApp for time-sensitive bookings.
Download the live media kit
Hi-resolution product photography (white background and lifestyle), brand logos (PNG transparent and SVG vector), Sicily and grove photography, founder portraits, award badges, brand guidelines, and current factsheet. Drive folder updated continuously — always pull the latest version.
DRIVE · Live folder · Updated continuously Laverde Artisan Press & Media Kit Hi-res product photography · brand logos · award badges · Sicily & grove imagery · founder portraits · brand guidelinesCompliance documents for fact-checkers
Editors and fact-checkers verifying awards, provenance, sourcing, or food-safety claims can pull our published statements and third-party records directly:
- Guild of Fine Food producer directory listing — independent verification of Great Taste Awards 2026 results
- Food Safety & Compliance Statement — FSA inspection, allergen, traceability, recall protocols
- Sourcing & Provenance Statement — single-estate principle, producer relationship, harvest specifics, what we don't claim and why
- Modern Slavery & Human Trafficking Statement — supply chain ethics, due diligence, risk assessment
- FSA Food Hygiene rating, independently verifiable
Press contact
The fastest way to reach us. Mention deadline and outlet — we prioritise the queue.
Page last reviewed 14 August 2026 · Laverde Artisan Ltd · Company No. 16480058 · VAT GB500005280 · 71-75 Shelton Street, Covent Garden, London WC2H 9JQ