Persistence Market Research and Allied Market Research shared a new research report about global extra virgin olive oil market.
Extra virgin olive oil is the least processed, unrefined, and high-quality olive oil that contains no chemicals and is rich in nutrients. It retains the original taste of olives and has lower levels of oleic acid; thus, regarded as one of the healthiest oils around.
Its nutritional composition includes vitamins D ingredient and K, monosaturated fats, and high levels of antioxidants. Extra virgin olive oil is also perceived to reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease, inflammation, and bad cholesterol.
The ongoing health consciousness trend promotes the use of extra virgin olive oil, significantly boosting the sales of products containing this super healthy oil. This is one of the main factors expanding the global olive oil market size.
Olive oil is a versatile oil used in the foodservice industry for marinades, ranches & dressings, baking, shallow frying, and other purposes. It is also widely used in households for cooking, attributable to its beneficial health properties. Manufacturers are also offering olive oil for different applications, such as olive oil spray for dressings.
The popularity of olive oils infused with aromatic ingredients, such as chilli and garlic, is on the rise. Olive oil companies have expanded the their product ranges with flavored olive oils. According to MINTEL, garlic and chilies are now established flavors, but new ones are appearing on the market, such as lime, truffle, pesto, curry, rosemary, basil and smoked oil.
Innovative packaging for olive oil offerings
Increasing competition in the olive oil market space poses challenges for manufacturers to sustain their market position. Creative and innovative packaging plays a vital role in such a case, ensuring product differentiation and improving brand awareness and sales, in this intensely competitive landscape. Thus, manufacturers in the olive oil market are using smart and attractive packaging to boost sales. Innovative packaging mostly impacts the sales of high quality and premium olive oil products, as premium packaging represents a product of good quality.
Olives are mostly cultivated in the Mediterranean region in countries such as Spain, Greece, Italy, Turkey, Morocco, and Egypt. These countries are among the leading producers of olives, and olive farming is one of the important businesses across these countries.
Europe accounts for more than 60% share of global olive oil production, whereas, the Middle East & Africa accounts for more than 30% of the market share. As such, these regions are the most attractive for new entrants in the global olive oil market.
The markets in China and India are projected to experience high growth in East Asia and South Asia, respectively. Increasing popularity and high rate of adoption of healthy extra virgin olive oil in a wide range of applications is an important factor, on the back of which, these economies are expected to witness exponential growth rates in the global olive oil market. However, the presence of fraudulent products and adulteration of olive oil is also hindering the growth of the global olive oil market.
Olive oil can also be produced by chemical means, with the use of solvents, but those methods negatively affect quality. Depending on the production method, the composition and sensory characteristics of olive oil can be classified in several categories:
- Virgin olive oil – obtained solely by mechanical or other physical means. Virgin olive oils include several quality categories, such as extra virgin olive oil (with <0.8% free acidity), virgin olive oil (with 2%– 3.3% free acidity) and ordinary olive oil (with >3.3% free acidity). Olive oil that has more than 3.3% free acidity (also called ‘lampante’) is not fit for human consumption and must be refined before culinary use.
- Refined olive oil – obtained by refining lampante olive oil.
- Olive oil – blend of virgin and refined olive oils.
- Pomace oil – obtained by treating olive pomace with solvents or other treatments. After refining, pomace oil can be directly consumed or mixed with virgin olive oil to improve quality.
Extra virgin olive oil made up 61% of all imported volumes in 2020, other virgin olive oil 11%, virgin lampante olive oil 10%, other olive oil 8%, crude pomace oil 7% and pomace oil 3%. During the last four years, virgin lampante olive oil experienced the strongest annual growth in imported volumes (17%), followed by crude pomace oil (12%), extra virgin olive oil (11%) and other virgin olive oil (8%). During the same period, imports of other olive oils decreased at an annual rate of 9%, while imports of pomace oils (not crude) decreased by an annual rate of 1%.
