COLAVITA
A spoonful of olive oil
POWERED BY INSIDE FOOD & DRINK
With a history stretching back to 1938, Colavita SpA has become synonymous around the world with the label Made in Italy. Owner and Marketing Director Carla Colavita shared the story of a growing company always looking for new possibilities, but with deep roots in the Italian culture and tradition. A report by Phil Nicholls.
Extra virgin olive oil is the lifeblood of Colavita SpA; a central part of the company’s ongoing mission to spread the Italian culinary heritage. Hand-in-hand with this mission is Colavita’s quest to share the message of healthy living.
“A big part of Colavita’s communication is to promote a healthy lifestyle,” explained Owner and Marketing Director Carla Colavita. “Today, many people know the numerous health benefits of including at least a spoon of extra virgin olive oil in their everyday diet; because of its high content of monounsaturated oleic acid. Olive oil can prevent cardiovascular diseases and various body inflammations. Thanks to its high level of antioxidants, olive oil is a natural detoxi fying supplement.”
The story of Colavita began in 1938 in the small village of Sant'Elia a Pianisi within the region of Molise in central Italy. Here, Giovanni and Felice Colavita founded a small company for the pressing of olives. By the early 1960s, Oleifici Colavita ranked among the top ten oil refineries in Italy. In 1977, the Colavita brothers, Enrico and Leonardo, began bottling the extra virgin olive oil with the family brand name and selling it overseas.
Today, family-owned Colavita is one of the leading exporters of extra virgin olive oil to countries such as the USA, Canada, Australia and Japan. The company operates two facilities in Italy, one in Molise and a second in Pomezia, Rome (the international headquarters of the group). Alongside these Italian locations, the
Colavita family proudly operates out of the USA headquarters in Edison, NJ, with an additional facility at Dixon, CA. These four facilities provide Colavita with a total production capacity of 350 tonnes per day. In 2021, this generated a revenue of €152m.
Season your world
“Colavita’s most popular product is the Premium Selection Extra Virgin Olive Oil,” said Ms Colavita. “It is a best seller around the world, embodying the origin, the history and the main image of our company. This is the product that made Colavita great and recognisable in many countries.”
Alongside the impressive range of oils, Colavita supplies a broad range of items delivering Italian and Mediterranean foods to the world. The line of vinegars includes balsamic and a selection of wine vinegars. The offering of Italian speciality preserves includes artichokes, sun-dried tomatoes, peppers, pesto and pâtés. The broader range of Mediterranean foods features cous cous, chickpeas and a selection of beans.
“Olive oil is a very competitive industry,” explained Ms Colavita, “with an increasing number of players. What sets us apart from our competitors is the history, the popularity, the strength and the trust in the Colavita brand that benefits its consumers in many countries around the world.
“Then the uniqueness of the Colavita brand concept of tasting fantastic and looking stylish, makes it the best everyday choice, being good value for money against the other mass markets brands.”
Community support
Just as Colavita believes in the health benefits of olive oil, so is the company committed to encouraging an active lifestyle in the community. Sport is of fundamental importance as the basis for a healthy lifestyle, which is why Colavita supports various sports and athletes.
This includes Italian number one tennis player Martina Trevisan and leading Italian padel player Giorgia Marchetti.
The company is also involved in community sponsorship, as Ms Colavita outlined: “The Colavita Cycling Clubs are amateur racing and recreational programmes that comprise the largest competitive cycling organisation active in the US. There are more than 10 regional club teams, with over 600 members in at least 20 states across the country.”
Colavita’s broad community support extends to more than just sport. “We inaugurated the Colavita Center for Italian food and wine in May 2001,” explained Ms Colavita. “It is an Italian cooking school located within the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, NY, one of the oldest and most authoritative cooking institutes in the world.
“This is the first faculty of Italian cuisine offering aspiring chefs the opportunity to study the dishes and learn how to use genuine products of the true, centuries-old Italian tradition.”
Finally, there is the Colavita Cares programme, with a primary mission to help charitable foundations raise funds for the benefit of children, individuals and families affected by economic hardship, physical disability, emotional suffering, natural disasters, social discrimination and more. Solidarity remains a fundamental value at the company. For years, Colavita has engaged in the social sector, alongside associations and foundations, working for the well-being of the individual and the community.
Total company health
Colavita delivers a complete health package, from product to community involvement. Alongside this portfolio of schemes promoting a healthy lifestyle, it is easy to forget the sheer enthusiasm at the company for the many virtues of olive oil.
“Few people know that olive oil is a very versatile cooking ingredient,” explained Ms Colavita, “perfect for many different recipes,
The distinctive Colavita range of olive oils includes:
• Extra Virgin • Organic Extra Virgin
•Unfiltered Extra Virgin
Regional varieties:
• Italian • Greek • Portuguese • Spanish
Specialist oils:
• Pepper • Lemon • Garlic • Basil • Truffle
not only Mediterranean but from all over the world. To that aim, we like teaching consumers about different ways of using olive oil, as a creative and healthy choice for cooking.”
The health of a business also relies upon a close relationship with suppliers and partners, according to Ms Colavita: “Our relationships with clients are first based on mutual trust and cooperation, beyond the friendship of course! We work together every day to better identify the best strategy to increase and consolidate our brand presence in the relevant markets. Our success is their success and vice versa!”
Colavita’s love of community also extends to sustainable development. Its three largest factories are powered by solar panels, with the fourth buying only renewable energy. The company also signed an agreement with Nativa Srl SB to constantly monitor the impact of the business.
“In the last year, we redesigned our Timeless bottle,” Ms Colavita said, “using a sustainable R-PET (recycled PET) that lowers the CO2 footprint values associated with production, increasing our environmental sustainability.”
As with so many production companies, Colavita endures recent cost increases for raw materials, packaging, energy and logistics. The company’s adoption of solar panels has lessened the impact of rising energy prices, but the other factors remain a challenge.
Colavita is focused on sustaining its brand reputation, supplemented with additional investment in production and sustainability. The latter will be aided by the partnership with Nativa.
“Managing a family business is an honour for me, but also a great responsibility,” concluded Ms Colavita. “My family worked hard and made great sacrifices - but above all, they put their heart into a company that was totally integrated into family life.
“The crucial part of what I inherited was the established relationships with employees, customers and the community. I feel grateful, and I hope to manage the company with the same passion, consistency and professionalism that has always distinguished our family business.” n
