Lithuanian beef earns international recognition: gold and silver medals at the World Steak Challenge

BIOVELA Group won gold and silver medals at the prestigious World Steak Challenge 2024. The company was awarded a gold medal for their 32-day dry-aged ribeye steak and a silver medal for their 36-day dry-aged sirloin.

“These achievements confirm our commitment to the utmost quality in all our activities and products. We take pride in the fact that our dry-aged steaks have brought such an important victory for the entire country. This is a major recognition not only for us, but also for the entire cattle breeding sector – this was the first time Lithuanian beef has won in a competition like this,” emphasises BIOVELA Group CEO Audrius Kantauskas.

Acknowledgment of the quality of Lithuanian beef

The World Steak Challenge is considered to be the largest and most authoritative beef competition in the world. Hundreds of livestock farmers and beef producers from all over the world compete for the awards every year. This year, the judging panel was made up of more than 90 independent experts from the animal husbandry industry, who evaluated the quality criteria of the products submitted – flavour, texture, tenderness, visual appeal and so on. There was also a strong focus on sustainability.

This year, Lithuania’s name was included on the list of winners for the first time ever. BIOVELA Group was right there alongside countries that raise thousands of tonnes of cattle and have deep traditions of beef consumption, such as the United States, Argentina, Australia, New Zealand, Uruguay, Spain, Germany and Japan.

After summing up the scores of the judges, Lithuanian beef steaks were awarded two medals, with the 32-day dry-aged ribeye steak winning gold and the 36-day dry-aged sirloin winning silver. Both products came from Holstein cattle.

Advanced dry-aging technology

The BIOVELA Group is constantly investing in advanced technologies and innovations that not only increase production capacity, but also improve product quality.

“It’s great to see that the dry-aging chamber that we opened last year with a Himalayan salt wall allows us to create beef products that not only meet – but also exceed – international standards and win awards,” says the CEO.

The World Steak Challenge awards ceremony was held in London on 11 November and culminated with the announcement of the World’s Best Steak for 2024.