Canadian Company Brings New Recognition to Cretan Olive Oils

Summary

Panagiotis Tsiriotakis founded Acropolis Organics in Toronto to bring authen­tic Greek olive oil to North America, empha­siz­ing fam­ily, her­itage, and crafts­man­ship. The com­pany has won mul­ti­ple Gold Awards at the NYIOOC World Olive Oil Competition and focuses on organic farm­ing prac­tices to pre­serve the fresh­ness and fla­vor of their olive oil. Tsiriotakis remains com­mit­ted to his fam­i­ly’s legacy and hopes to pass it on to his son.

From Crete to Canada, Acropolis Organics has built its rep­u­ta­tion on bring­ing the mer­its of Cretan olive oil to North America, with founder Panagiotis Tsiriotakis empha­siz­ing the val­ues of fam­ily, her­itage and crafts­man­ship.

“I am the son, grand­son and great-grand­son of peo­ple who ded­i­cated their lives to cul­ti­vat­ing olives,” Tsiriotakis told Olive Oil Times. ​“I grew up on an island where olive oil was not just a prod­uct. It was our way of life and the main source of income for most fam­i­lies.”

Tsiriotakis ini­tially envi­sioned a dif­fer­ent career. After study­ing busi­ness and mar­ket­ing, he moved from Crete to Canada, only to real­ize that what he had left behind was his true call­ing.

“Ironically, I never planned to fol­low in my ances­tors’ foot­steps,” he said. ​“But when I moved to Canada, I saw a mar­ket flooded with adul­ter­ated olive oils.”

“At the same time, I knew that in Chania we were pro­duc­ing incred­i­ble olive oil, with nearly 87 per­cent of it being sold in bulk to Italy, where it was rebranded and resold. That didn’t sit right with me. I real­ized I could not deny my roots or my des­tiny any longer.”

He founded Acropolis Organics in Toronto 21 years ago to bring authen­tic Greek olive oil directly to con­sumers.

The com­pany sources olives from fam­ily groves in Vouves, near Chania in west­ern Crete — home to one of the world’s old­est olive trees, believed to be more than 3,000 years old and still pro­duc­tive.

“It is a place full of his­tory and soul, where the land and the trees have been con­nected to our fam­ily for gen­er­a­tions,” he said.

The groves pro­duce Koroneiki olives, Greece’s most wide­spread vari­ety. ​“Koroneiki olives are small but pow­er­ful,” Tsiriotakis said. ​“They pro­duce an oil that keeps its rich fla­vor and aro­matic char­ac­ter­is­tics longer than any other vari­ety, and they are packed with phe­nom­e­nal antiox­i­dants.”

An employee’s sim­ple ques­tion — ​“Have you ever won an award?” — sparked the company’s entry into the NYIOOC World Olive Oil Competition.

“We had never com­peted,” he recalled. ​“I laughed and said, ​‘No, but I know we can win.’ That moment pushed me to take the chal­lenge, and we decided to enter the New York com­pe­ti­tion. And we won.”

Two Gold Awards in 2023 were fol­lowed by two more in 2024 and another in 2025, giv­ing Acropolis Organics a total of five Gold Awards in three years at the world’s most pres­ti­gious olive oil qual­ity con­test.

Tsiriotakis said the NYIOOC hon­ors are a pow­er­ful val­i­da­tion. ​“They help open doors, start con­ver­sa­tions and give cred­i­bil­ity to the hard work and tra­di­tion behind what we do. But for me per­son­ally, they are a val­i­da­tion of my family’s legacy.”

He cred­its his fam­ily in Crete for the company’s suc­cess. ​“My cousins in Crete are the real award win­ners,” he said. ​“When you shake their hands, you feel it — these are hands of peo­ple who truly work the land.”

The com­pany uses no chem­i­cal treat­ments, rely­ing instead on organic manure, pest traps and tra­di­tional prun­ing to main­tain healthy trees. ​“Today they call it arti­sanal farm­ing, but for us, it is sim­ply the way we have always cared for our trees,” he said.

Olives are milled within six hours of har­vest. ​“This is how we pre­serve the fresh­ness, fla­vor and soul of our olive oil,” Tsiriotakis noted.

As the 2025/26 sea­son unfolds, he expects a strong har­vest — unlike most of Crete, where pro­duc­ers antic­i­pate a sig­nif­i­cant drop in out­put due to cli­mate and pest pres­sures.

“We have just started pick­ing olives, and the first results are very promis­ing,” he said. ​“A bit more rain would give us that extra boost.”

Canada’s olive oil mar­ket is still devel­op­ing, he added. ​“There is a big gap in edu­ca­tion. People here are often sur­prised when they taste authen­tic, fresh olive oil for the first time.”

Climate change, he said, has reshaped the real­ity of olive farm­ing. ​“My grand­fa­ther never faced the kinds of prob­lems we deal with today. His har­vests were steady, prices sta­ble and nature far more pre­dictable.”

“Even the best pro­duc­ers face unpre­dictable weather, ris­ing costs and unsta­ble prices. Pests are a con­stant bat­tle. Despite all this, we stay com­mit­ted. Making hon­est, high-qual­ity olive oil is not just a job for us — it is who we are.”

Acropolis Organics has helped raise aware­ness of Cretan olive oil across North America, but Tsiriotakis said his heart remains in Crete.

“I lit­er­ally want to go back to my roots,” he said. ​“I want to take my trac­tor, head to the orchard and just drive between the olive trees all day. This is my ther­apy — no emails, no trade shows, just me, the trees and maybe a cof­fee.”

He hopes the fam­ily legacy will con­tinue. ​“My half-Italian son is only nine, but he is already pas­sion­ate about olive oil. I think the company’s future is in good hands — though I may have to fight him for the trac­tor.”