The following article originally appeared in the May/June issue of Mercacei magazine, “Especial Expoliva.” Mercacei is a leading Spanish publication dedicated to the olive oil industry. We are grateful to the editors for granting us permission to share this English translation with our readers. Download the original article here.
"The day is coming when it won't be unusual to buy an American apple pie with a crust made with EVOO."
INTERVIEW BY CRISTINA REVENGA PALACIOS
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In 2017, you were appointed executive director of the NAOOA. How do you assess the evolution of extra virgin olive oil consumption in the US over the years?
Over the years, we have seen countless studies and reports confirming olive oil's reputation as an essential ingredient for health. Therefore, it is not surprising that its consumption continues to grow in the US, as health is the main factor attracting consumers to this category.
We are also seeing increased consumption per user, as people are beginning to appreciate that olive oils can have different flavor characteristics and uses, leading them to stock up on more than one type of olive oil. This is reflected in the fact that gourmet olive oils (priced above $0.75/ounce) have been the most popular segment of the olive oil sector. The growth of the gourmet EVOO sector led the NAOOA to create a certification program called the Extra Virgin Alliance three years ago. In addition to supporting this sector, it allows us to leverage consumer stories about the factors that make all olive oil special compared to other oils.
In a previous interview with Mercacei in 2021, you stated that "probably the vast majority of American consumers have never seen an olive tree, not even on television." Do you think there is still confusion about this product among American consumers, or have there been significant progress?
It seems a Netflix producer has seen my comment, because there is now a TV series called "Mo" about a Middle Eastern immigrant whose family begins producing olive oil in an olive grove outside of Houston, Texas. Despite this, I think my comment remains true ("Mo" doesn't rank highly on Netflix). We continue to face misinformation about olive oil in the media which is largely due to a lack of understanding on the part of journalists and influencers. And, unfortunately, this is compounded by members of our own sector who try to take advantage of this confusion and denigrate the category to promote their own brands, as I recently wrote on LinkedIn.
There are two things I hope will change this situation. First, last year, the NAOOA submitted a request to the U.S. Department of Agriculture to create an Olive Oil Promotion Board, which would operate similarly to the Spanish Olive Oil Association “Interprofessional.” At the NAOOA, we have long considered the creation of such a promotion commission to be the "Holy Grail" for the U.S. olive oil industry.
Second, I have been advising on an independent film project whose script, titled "The Olive Branch," revolves around olive oil production. It is a wonderful story about a father and son who had grown apart but who heal their relationship during an olive oil tourism trip through four different countries. Popular media can play a powerful role in influencing and educating people about food. The film "Sideways" is a great example of this, given the tremendous impact it had on the California wine industry and wine tourism. I'm sure “The Olive Branch” can have the same effect on olive oil. If we can find investors to finance the film, or even join the production team, we can truly begin to make people understand olive oil through the magic of cinema.
There's no doubt that the use of olive oil is spreading in restaurants and grocery stores throughout the US. More and more restaurants are including extra virgin olive oil as an ingredient in their menus.
There's also a growing number of restaurants that are committing to not using seed oils, which indirectly benefits the olive oil industry. Organizations have even been created to certify whether products are made without seed oils and whether restaurants don't use them, such as Seed Oil Scout. This is due to the negative publicity in the US surrounding seed oils, which some refer to as the "hateful eight"—corn, sunflower, cottonseed, safflower, grapeseed, rice bran, peanut, soybean, and canola. In fact, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the new Secretary of the US Health and Human Services Administration, has expressed his suspicion that seed oils are one of the reasons the country is facing a health crisis today, lending support to a movement based more on fear and speculation than science.
Another interesting trend we are observing that will expand the market is gifting extra virgin olive oils. We recently wrote a blog about this topic on our website. Instead of bringing a
bottle of wine to a party, people bring a bottle of EVOO for the host. As a result, we're starting to see olive oils on the shelves of gift shops and department stores.
The NAOOA is conducting a study in the US with the goal of further strengthening consumer confidence in the authenticity and quality of olive oil. What is the purpose of this study?
The main objective of the study is to debunk media speculation that the two-year drought would lead to an increase in adulteration fraud on supermarket shelves, further eroding consumer confidence. In addition, we also intend to study the collected data to assess the quality of the oil on the market and determine the extent to which recent poor harvests or supply chain issues could have had a negative impact.
What scenarios is the NAOOA considering for the US domestic and international olive oil market in light of Donald Trump's arrival at the White House? What is your opinion on the announced tariffs?
We are very concerned that the tariffs will raise prices and make olive oil unaffordable for many Americans. We saw what happened after two consecutive poor harvests. With a 30% increase in prices, two million fewer American households purchased olive oil in 2024 compared to the previous year.
The tariffs will make the situation worse. What is particularly troubling is that almost all of the families that stopped buying olive oil had incomes below $100,000 a year. Low-income families are among those most in need of improving their diets to achieve better health outcomes and reduce medical costs.
Therefore, the NAOOA intends to redouble its efforts to raise awareness among policymakers about the importance of olive oil as an essential ingredient for health. Given that the US cannot meet much more than 2% of demand, olive oil tariffs could be seen as conflicting with the Administration's agenda of "making America healthy again."
How has the North America responded to the high olive oil prices recorded in 2024? What evolution do you foresee in the medium and long term in consumption of this market?
Although prices rose nearly 30% in stores, volume only fell 8%. Much of this was due to the two million households that stopped buying olive oil altogether, but, interestingly, we also saw an increase in the number of olive oil buyers among households with incomes above $100,000. In my opinion, the fact that the volume decrease was relatively small shows that American olive oil consumers didn’t grow up using olive oil but made a conscious decision to switch to a healthier oil, even if it meant paying more. And, once they made that decision, rather than return to an inferior product when prices rose, they continued to buy if they could afford to, although perhaps in smaller quantities and in smaller packages.
For me, these numbers bode well for future growth.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has released the final rule to update the "healthy" nutrient content claim to help consumers identify foods that are particularly useful as the foundation of a diet consistent with dietary recommendations. Olive oil is among the products qualified for this claim. What does this claim mean for the olive oil industry?
Honestly, I don't think this rule will benefit olive oil as much as other vegetable oils.
Olive oil already has a reputation for being healthy in the U.S., with studies showing that nearly 90% of consumers consider it a healthy product.
This is not the case with competing products, such as seed oils. Yet, this new standard will allow almost all oils to make the same "healthy" claim, based solely on containing less than 20% saturated fat, giving rise to the mistaken impression that all these oils are equally healthy.
What do you see as the future of extra virgin olive oil in the US?
The future is bright green. We have a saying that something truly emblematic of the US is "as American as apple pie." While such a claim may never be made for extra virgin olive oil, I believe the day is coming when it won't be unusual to buy an American apple pie with a crust made with EVOO.