product update
speciality oils
Slick and sleek LYNDA SEARBY pores over the latest oils on the market
l Honest Toil’s extra virgin olive oil has switched to a 500ml swing-top bottle, enabling customers to reuse and refill more easily. www.honest-toil.co.uk
l Gotas de Italy’s largest independent olive oil producer is targeting a higher price point with a new range of regional extra virgin olive oils that will retail at £10 for a 500ml bottle. Its Gran Cru oils are already listed with Tesco nationwide, but Filippo Berio is also hoping to reach ‘an increasingly inquisitive British foodie audience’ via the independent trade, and is in the process of presenting the oils to several speciality distributors. The three-strong range features PGI and PDO certified oils from Tuscany, Sicily and Puglia. .
Made with Kollovi and Andramytiani olives peculiar to the Greek island of Lesvos, Avlaki’s single estate oils from its Agatherí Groves and Avlaki Groves are now available in smaller 250ml bottles (RRP £12 each, cases of 12 cost £144 including a pair of sample bottles). Avlaki has also introduced Lesvos Groves, an unfiltered oil for everyday cooking, in 750ml bottles (RRP from £12). www.oliveoilavlaki.com
Abril, a new ‘intense and fruity’ olive oil from Spanish producer Aceites Abril, blends Frantoio, Hojiblanca and Arbequina olives. www.aceitesabril.com
l Arganic, a brand of Moroccan argan oil that supports ethical trade, is now listed in Selfridges and Planet Organic. www.myarganic.co.uk
www.filippoberio.co.uk
Spanish producer Masia El Altet has launched three new limited edition oils from the 2013 harvest. ‘High end’, a single variety Picual, and ‘special selection’, a single variety Royal Changlot, are both available in 500ml bottles, whilst the white truffle extra virgin olive oil comes in a 250ml bottle in presentation gift box. All are available to the trade via Verita Vita and have an RRP of £12.99+.
l Olive Fabrica in Corfu claims to be the first producer to bring a single variety Lianiolia extra virgin olive oil to the global market, with its brand The Governor (500ml, trade £16.50, RRP £33). www.thegovernor.gr
www.veritavita.com
French producer Castelas has released its classic and organic extra virgin olive oils and Fruité Noir virgin olive oil in smaller 250ml bottles, available in the UK from the Oil Merchant, and priced at £7.50, £7.65 and £7.65 respectively to the trade.
Cheese Cellar has added three new extra virgin olive oils to its portfolio: Agatherí Groves from Avlaki (RRP £18-20+ for 500ml), South African Morgenster (RRP £15 for 500ml) and Cortijo de Suerte Alta, an organic finishing oil that blends Picuda, Hojiblanca and Picual olives from Baena in Spain (RRP £13.50 for 500ml). www.cheesecellar.co.uk
www.oilmerchant.co.uk
New to olive oil... Having inherited the family business, Greek-born Evan Michaels is drawing on a career in marketing to create a new brand of extra virgin olive oil. He says the mission of London-based business Honestly Good is to bring the consumer fresh, affordable olive oil from a single variety grown on a single estate. Honestly Good launched this year with three product lines from southern Greece. Freshly squeezed olive oil (RRP £5.99 for 500ml) and organic olive oil (RRP £9.99 for 500ml) are from Koroneiki olives, while ‘little olive oil’ is a very low acidity organic olive oil especially for kids and babies (RRP £6.99 for 250ml). www.itshonestlygood.com
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l Spanish newcomer Aguilar Segura is seeking UK listings after winning two stars in Great Taste 2013. The extra virgin olive oil, a blend of Picual and Hojiblanca olives, is available direct in 500ml, 250ml and 100ml bottles. www.aguilarsegura.com
l On the back of achieving three stars in the 2013 Great Taste awards, Bell and Loxton’s Devon rapeseed oil is now listed with Harrods. www. bellandloxton. co.uk
l Mrs Middleton’s rapeseed oil, which is produced from seed grown on Barton Hill Farm in Bedfordshire, has been awarded a Linking Environment and Farming (LEAF) marque. www.mrsmiddleton.co.uk
Vol.15 Issue 4 · May 2014
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