Zefferino Francesco Monini – president of Monini, the biggest privately-owned Italian firm in the extra virgin olive oil market – says there is growing awareness among foreign consumers of its merits. After three generations of producing olive oil from its base in Umbria, the company’s competitive advantage is simple. “It is a great passion, a great love for the product,” says Mr Monini. Monini’s Yellow Label oil holds the biggest share in the Italian market, regarded as the most cultured consumer market for olive oil. In 2000, the company exported 22 percent of its 25 million liter production, with about 10 percent of that heading for the U.S. market; Switzerland and Canada make up the firm’s main export markets. Monini also recently opened up a commercial office outside New York to plot its American expansion.
Mr. Monini – grandson of company founder Zefferino Monini – believes that extra virgin oil is set to spearhead future growth in the U.S. and northern Europe. But he believes consumers still need to be better educated on the benefits of the product. “It is important to improve the culture of the consumer” he says.
Italy’s olive oil industry undoubtedly produces some of the best extra virgin olive oil in the world, including the biggest global brand, Bertolli, with about eight percent of total production at around 170,000 tons a year. Though overall Italian production has suffered in recent years as a result of drought across parts of the country, the quality of its olive oil remains very high.