Improving the Marketing Edge for Small Producers of Olives and Extra Virgin Olive Oil in Oregon

View the project final report

Commodities

• Fruits: olives

Practices

• Education and Training: technical assistance
• Farm Business Management: market study
• Sustainable Communities: social networks

Olives are one of the most agronomically and environmentally sustainable crops in the West: low pest pressure and low nutrient needs mean low inputs; low to no water needs; excellent year-round carbon sequestration (29kg CO2/tree/year). Olives are a viable permanent crop on small/family farms, particularly in multi-cropping systems or in conjunction with pasturing. This makes olives good for beginning, small, or underserved farmers, which makes olives good for diversity and equity in agriculture. The problem faced by olive growers/producers of olive oil in Oregon, and more generally in the Western region, is the intense pricing competition from very large producers from Mediterranean countries. Oregon/Western region farmers are at a significant disadvantage. They need help to make olive-growing economically sustainable. Here, smart marketing is key. Which arguments to use? Which consumer preferences to leverage? How to market the agronomic and environmental sustainability of olives? How to market the superior health benefits of extra virgin olive oil produced from olives grown in cooler, shorter seasons (such as in Oregon)? How to market the fact that Oregon olives are hand-harvested, which preserves their superb phenolic compounds? This is why we needed this project. PI Caceu, a small olive grower/producer of olive oil in Oregon, and TA Colonna, the Sensory Program Director at the OSU Food Innovation Center, have brought answers to the questions above in a detailed 120-page slide deck report with specific recommendations for branding and marketing arguments. Scientific data from the Linus Pauling Institute was also generated. The project findings have been submitted for publication in scientific journals. The project findings and a summary of the recommendations were presented at an educational outreach event at the OSU Food Innovation Center.   

Our project had a double objective: to combine two research data streams from focus groups at the OSU Food Innovation Center and from scientific analysis undertaken at the Linus Pauling Institute at OSU with the overarching goal to generate marketing arguments that olive growers and olive oil producers in the Western U.S. can use:

1. Consumer preferences data from focus groups conducted at the OSU Food Innovation Center.
   • These focus groups were conducted over three days in December 2023, with 119 participants curated from 2,257 respondents who answered a lengthy questionnaire.
   • The project took the raw data contained in hundreds of pages of answers to questionnaires about consumer preferences and refined it to extract actionable marketing recommendations. These recommendations were highlighted and were backed up by extensive information in a 120-page slide deck. The recommendations were also presented at an education/outreach event at the OSU Food Innovation Center on June 20th, 2024 by TA Colonna and PI Caceu. PI Caceu also presented the recommendations in personal communications with a number of olive growers in the Western U.S. 
   • The marketing arguments contained in the slide deck report emphasized the receptiveness of the consumers to sustainability arguments concerning olives grown and olive oils produced in the Western U.S., which confirmed our starting hypothesis that marketing arguments about sustainable farm practices are welcomed by the consumers and should be emphasized by U.S. producers of olive oil. 
   • Overall, the primary goal of this proposed project was to help increase the marketing power of local olive oil and thereby increase the economic sustainability of local farmers. We feel that armed with the detailed data generated by our project, olive growers and olive oil producers in the Western U.S. can indeed increase their marketing power and thereby increase their economic sustainability. 
2. Scientific data about nutrients and vitamins in olive oils from analysis conducted at the Linus Pauling Institute. 
   • The Linus Pauling Institute measured total phenolic content (TPC), as well as levels of five key phenolic compounds (e.g., hydroxytyrosol, oleocanthal, oleuropein, etc.) and tocopherols (compounds with vitamins E activity) in ten samples of olive oils from the Western U.S. (Arizona, California, Hawaii, and Oregon) as well as high-end imported olive oils, and generated comparative data that confirmed our starting hypothesis that U.S. olive oils have significantly higher levels of these healthful compounds.
   • Extra virgin olive oils from olives grown in Oregon (or in similar cooler, shorter-season areas in the Western U.S.) were believed to have the highest levels of these healthful compounds, based on anecdotal, haphazard testing. This was confirmed by the comparative quantification undertaken by the Linus Pauling Institute. This was an important objective, because marketing arguments supported by scientific data will resonate with consumers who are increasingly health-conscious. The focus groups at the OSU Food Innovation Center confirmed this.
3. PI Caceu and TA Colonna presented the project's results at an education/outreach event at the OSU Food Innovation Center on June 20th, 2024. Further, PI Caceu presented summaries of the project's results in numerous personal communications with olive growers and olive oil producers, with the executive director of the American Olive Oil Producers Association, and with key opinion leaders in the food industry at events such as the Good Food Mercantile and the Good Food Awards.
4. The project's results are being submitted for publication in Acta Horticulturae, in Gastronomy, in the Journal of Food Science, in Postharvest Biology and Technology, and in the LPI Research Newsletter and the LPI Digital Digest. 
5. For a visual representation of our project's research and education objectives, please see the initial flow chart submitted with the project application: WSARE La Creole Orchards project flow chart