Scorching temperatures and a drought in Spain, a country that supplies 50% of global olive oil production, led to a difficult two years for olive producers and brands.
However, last spring temperatures normalised and Spain’s olive groves produced healthy flowers which, followed by reasonable winter rains, produced an olive crop of 1.4m tonnes – the higher side of normal for the country’s industry. Crops were almost half that in 2022/2023, says Filippo Berio UK managing director Walter Zanre.
“We sell 60m litres of olive oil a year, and at the end of last year, we were really struggling to source, we’d made provisions but there wasn’t anything of the quality we need around,” he says.
“But as the new season oils have come on stream, prices have fallen and in reality, it takes around three months for these reduced prices to reach the supermarket shelves.”
He says there were some reductions in November, but many retailers were reluctant to pass those on to consumers.
When will the price of olive oil come down?
Though output is up and prices can come down, the category has seen a significant reduction in shoppers. “With the high prices of the last two years, consumption has come down 20%,” explains Zanre.
“People have also left the category and it’s fallen back to the lowest levels of 2004. The shortage has undone all the good work done to build it.”
Zanre and the sector are cautious that, just because prices are about to come down, people won’t necessarily flock back to the category.
This is further hampered by a relatively low frequency of purchase average in markets like the UK of twice a year.
Consumers have “formed new habits” and bought other oils. However, “we’re formulating a strong marketing campaign to stimulate people back to the category”, says Zanre.
The big marketing campaign has yet to start, but Zanre and the Filippo Berio team are currently focusing on linking olive oil with health. Specifically heart health.
Olive oil linked to good heart health
The brand has launched a new campaign to encourage consumers to improve their heart health by adding olive oil to their diets.
Filippo Berio has funded two videos to explain the science behind scientific studies that it claims prove the links between olive oil and improved heart health.
Key messages include 20ml of olive oil a day can improve general health, but also heart health.
The campaign follows a Glasgow University study led by senior research fellow of cardiovascular & metabolic health, Dr Bill Mullen, that proves key facts like 20ml of the oil is good for health.
Mullens said: “The results of the study were spectacular. Both extra virgin olive oil and olive oil produced significant changes after only six weeks, a change of 0.3 in the CAD biomarker score.
“Links between diet and good health are notoriously difficult to prove. This latest breakthrough in biomarker technology is finally changing that.”