Kenari Nuts Receive Best New Product Award at BIOFACH 2023
WHAT, WHEN, and WHERE
ORGANIC KENARI NUTS AT Biofach nuremberg 2023,
on 14-17 february 2023, booth 3a-506
Kawanasi is the pioneer, leading manufacturer, and specialist of Wild Harvested Indonesian Organic Kenari Nuts! Kawanasi brings the Indonesian best-kept secret nut to the world.
Come & discover our wild Harvested Organic Kenari Nuts and East Forest Kenari Nuts.
We will also present information on:
All about organic Kenari Nuts and its significance “ the signifikenari”!
location
Zoom and follow the maps
Come to “Hall 3A”
Come to “Booth 3A-506”
Come to our booth “Kawanasi”
WHat WE WILL OFFER
RETAIL Packaging
See you soon! Stay safe and healthy!
Originally published: 2023 · Last updated: August 2026
In 2023, Kenari Nuts received the Best New Product Award at BIOFACH, winning the Grocery Products, Snacks & Sweets category.
The recognition came at a significant moment in Kenari's international development.
After years of market development, organic certification and work toward European market access, Kenari had reached an important regulatory milestone with EU Novel Food approval.
BIOFACH 2023 therefore marked more than another international exhibition.
It was a moment when Kenari was being introduced to the European organic market with both regulatory approval and independent recognition from the organic food industry.
Recognition From the International Organic Food Community
BIOFACH is one of the major international meeting points for the organic food industry, bringing together organic producers, brands, buyers, retailers and other professionals.
The 2023 Best New Product Awards provided visitors with the opportunity to vote for their favorite products presented at the BIOFACH Novelty Stand.
Nearly 36,000 trade visitors attended the combined BIOFACH and VIVANESS event in 2023, and visitors could vote for products across seven BIOFACH categories.
Kenari Nuts was selected as the winner in:
Grocery Products, Snacks & Sweets
The official BIOFACH results list Kenari nuts as the winning product in this category.
A Significant Recognition for an Unfamiliar Nut
The award was particularly meaningful because Kenari was still a relatively unfamiliar nut in international markets.
Consumers and food professionals already know established categories such as almonds, cashews, macadamias and hazelnuts.
Kenari entered the market from a different position.
It is a forest-origin nut from Indonesia that had been developed for international consumers only in recent years.
Receiving recognition in a category dedicated to grocery products, snacks and sweets provided an external indication that Kenari could compete for attention within an established international organic food market.
Kawanasi's historical award documentation identifies the 2023 BIOFACH recognition as a significant first for an Indonesian product and company in this award context.
From Organic Certification to European Market Access
The award was also the result of a much longer development process.
The international journey had begun several years earlier.
2018
Kenari Nuts were introduced internationally at SIAL Paris.
2019
Kawanasi achieved organic certification and began developing export markets.
2020
Kenari was introduced to the international organic market at BIOFACH Nuremberg.
2021
Kawanasi presented Kenari in greater depth through BIOFACH Special.
2022
Kenari returned to SIAL Paris as international market development continued.
2023
Kenari received EU Novel Food approval and achieved international recognition at BIOFACH.
The 2023 milestone therefore connected two different aspects of international market development:
regulatory readiness and market recognition.
EU Novel Food Approval
For Kenari, European market access involved an additional challenge because the nut was not an established food in the European Union.
Kawanasi therefore pursued the EU Novel Food authorization process.
The process involved developing the technical and scientific information required to support the application and demonstrating the necessary safety information for European market access.
In March 2023, Kenari Nuts received EU Novel Food approval.
The Anuga 2023 product catalogue later documented the approval and described East Forest Kenari Nuts as being introduced to the European market in four flavors.
This made 2023 a major transition point:
Kenari was no longer only being presented as an emerging Indonesian nut. It had entered the regulatory framework required for sale in the European Union.
Four Kenari Products at BIOFACH
The BIOFACH recognition covered Kenari products presented in the grocery, snacks and sweets category.
The four products were:
Unsalted
Sea Salt
Spicy Salted Caramel
Cacao Cinnamon
These products represented an important step in demonstrating how Kenari could be developed beyond a single basic nut product.
The collection allowed visitors to experience the natural character of Kenari alongside different flavor profiles, while keeping the nut itself at the center.
The current East Forest collection continues this approach: starting with Kenari and developing different products and flavors around its distinctive characteristics.
What the Award Meant for Kenari
For a new food category, recognition is valuable for several reasons.
First, it helps introduce the product to people who may never have encountered it before.
Second, recognition from an established international organic food event can provide additional credibility when approaching buyers, retailers and food businesses.
And third, it helps demonstrate that a relatively unfamiliar ingredient can participate in the same market conversations as more established products.
For Kenari, this was particularly relevant.
The challenge was never simply to sell another nut.
It was to build awareness and understanding of a nut that most international consumers had never encountered.
The BIOFACH award helped provide an important point of external validation in that process.
What It Meant for East Forest
For East Forest, the award represented recognition of the way Kenari had been developed into a consumer product.
The objective behind East Forest was to allow people to experience Kenari through carefully developed products while preserving the characteristics that make the nut distinctive.
The current East Forest positioning remains centered on Kenari itself:
“What makes East Forest different begins with Kenari itself.”
The BIOFACH recognition therefore sits at the intersection of two developments:
Kenari as an ingredient
and
East Forest as a product expression of Kenari.
The recognition encouraged further development of the category and subsequent products.
From One Award to a Continuing Journey
BIOFACH 2023 was not the only recognition Kenari received that year.
Later in 2023, Kenari Nuts were also recognized at Anuga's Taste Innovation Show, where the Unsalted variant received Top Innovation in the Fine Food category. The official Anuga material documents Kenari Nuts among the products featured in the 2023 innovation program.
Together, these recognitions demonstrated growing international interest in Kenari.
They also marked a change in the nature of Kawanasi's international work.
The earlier years had been largely about introducing Kenari and explaining what it was.
By 2023, the focus was increasingly on developing products, entering international markets and demonstrating what Kenari could become.
A New Chapter for Kenari
The BIOFACH 2023 recognition represents an important point in the history of Kenari Nuts.
An unfamiliar Indonesian forest nut had progressed through:
international introduction
→ organic certification
→ international organic market development
→ Novel Food authorization
→ European market entry
→ international product recognition
The journey did not end with the award.
It created a stronger foundation for the next stage: introducing Kenari to more consumers, developing new products and exploring its potential as an ingredient beyond snacking.