A small family-owned olive oil farm and estate is for sale. It is set in the picturesque Trás-os-Montes region of hashtagportugal, offering the right buyer a chance to turn their gold into liquid gold (and maybe even into a hashtaggoldenvisa). The sales brochure details the features of the property, including a compelling oleotourism opportunity (if anyone wants to know more, message me). But what struck me most about the sales pitch were the first sentences on each of the first two pages: “Our roots have great value to us,” and “Each product has a story to tell.”
Many olive oil companies have deep roots and stories to tell. Today the North American Olive Oil Association (NAOOA) represents large, medium, and small companies marketing a broad spectrum of good, better, and best olive oils. While the big retail brands that founded the NAOOA had roots in Italy and Spain, today we count among our members family companies from around the world and even the U.S.—some based in multi-generational traditions and some, newly created passion projects of modern-day producers motivated by the pursuit of excellence. And they all have their own stories that define them.
So, last year, when the NAOOA created itsExtra Virgin Alliance specialty olive oil section (“EVA”), we based the criteria for selecting brands not only on the characteristics of the oil that indicated high craftsmanship, but also on whether the brands had a good story to tell. To decide if a story measured up, we created a set of criteria we call “+Factors”—essentially, characteristics that indicate enduring connections to the land, the trees and the people by which the oil is produced. (Follow us to learn more about the +Factors and the growing number of brands that make up the section.)
Why did NAOOA create a specialty olive oil section? Educating consumers about olive oil’s connections to history, mythology, ritual, socio-economic development, sustainability, health, and of course culinary excellence is part of NAOOA’s mission. And we believe that the stories of our members’ brands are the best vehicles to show consumers what it takes to make great olive oil, and why olive oil as a category is truly special compared to other cooking oils.
But the overarching reason for this was the NAOOA’s recognition that an expanding specialty sector can drive the growth of the entire olive oil category, as has been the case with wine, coffee, chocolate, and beer. We believe in supporting the specialty sector. Indeed, we even added an advisory seat for a representative of these brands to the NAOOA board to be sure their voices are also heard—not just their stories.
“Who lives, who dies, who tells our story.” It seems clear to me that the farm for sale in Portugal, with its deep roots and unique story to tell, is about to write a new chapter in the collective, millennia-old olive oil saga. Whoever the buyer might be, when you’re ready to tell the story, the NAOOA’s EVA section will be happy to review it.
