“High quality” extra virgin olive oil: a new market segment
Friday 27 November 2009, 11.00 am
Room FORUM - SIMEI-ENOVITIS - Pav. 11
Like many other Italian food processing sectors, the olive oil sector is experiencing great economic difficulties. These are due to the low profitability of the product which depends on one hand on the high production costs and on the other on the difficulty in finding suitable market strategies.
Extra virgin olive oil is still perceived as a commodity and hence there are objective difficulties in getting consumers to accept significant and justifiable differences in prices in the same “extra virgin” category.
Over recent years many Italian olive-growing concerns have focused on differentiating their products by creating EU brands (DOP/IGP) that define a market segmentation based on the characteristics of an oil belonging to a certain geographical area and obtained from a typical local variety. This strategy may enable producers to achieve the right value in terms of trade but only represents a small market niche of just a few Italian production areas and so does not benefit the entire country’s production.
Neither does the differentiation strategy based on the creation of a 100% Italian product have a positioning that is coherent with the general perception that consumers have of “Italian” olive oil. Moreover, the limited peculiarity of this segment has prevented the development of integrated systems between producers, packagers and distributors, thereby penalising development opportunities in the entire industry. The price level of the 100% Italian segment is not sufficient to cover the production costs of a quality Italian oil and it is used mainly for promotions and lowest price strategies. The result is Italian origin equals weakened quality and exports mainly of low quality Italian products with potentially negative effects on the image of Italian products in the long term.
It is therefore necessary to create a new tool that will enable Italy to re-establish its competence in the field of extra virgin olive oils by introducing a more limited category that could be summarised as “High Quality”.
Initially the objective is to increase the quality and value of national extra virgin olive oils reserved for modern circuits, by building a virtuous strategy to stimulate specific areas to be part of a more limited national quality system agreed upon by the production chain. In the light of this, “High Quality” becomes a commitment for all industry players involved in all areas from production to distribution, including the catering industry.
By the introduction and protection of Italian “High Quality” extra virgin oils it will be possible to reposition the 100% Italian products and create an effective alternative peculiarity for oils that cannot be offered as Dop/Igp, still maintaining the link between the “fame” of Italy and the olive oil industry and the actual quality of the trade proposals.
Sustainable viticulture and oenology: addresses, technology and future
Wednesday 25 November 2009, 9,30-13,00
Gemini Hall, Conference Centre
Protecting and defending the environment we live in is becoming an increasingly important feature of our society and culture. Sustainable products are a direct and unavoidable consequence thereof. Stimulated by the awareness of a “new consumer”, together with the evolution of standards, both on a national and internation level, companies should aim to improve the environmental performance of products and productive processes, without forgetting their priority to remain competitive on the markets.
