Jaen city and surrounding Olive groves and trees, Jaen is known as the Olive Oil capital producing around 25% of global supply and over half of Spain’s olive oil production.
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Spain’s Deoleo, the world’s largest olive oil company, says a period of unprecedented volatility has unequivocally given way to more stable market conditions, citing an unlikely catalyst in helping to lift U.S. sales.
“The highly complex market cycle experienced between 2022 and 2024, which had a severe yet temporary impact on the industry, is now definitively behind us,” Deoleo CEO Cristóbal Valdés told CNBC via email.
Favorable rainfall trends across major producing nations, including Spain, have paved the way for a solid global yield for the upcoming harvest, Valdés said, consolidating a more robust and balanced global supply.
The update comes as analysts raise concerns about the prospect of global olive oil supplies swinging dramatically from one season to the next, particularly as issues such as climate change, water scarcity and pest and disease pressures persist.
Deoleo, the maker of household olive oil brands such as Bertolli and Carbonell, previously described the three-year window from 2022 to 2024 as one of the most challenging periods in the sector’s history.
Severe droughts and searing heat across vast swathes of southern Europe destroyed large parts of the olive oil harvest, culminating in a dizzying price rally that shocked industry veterans and consumers alike.
Olive oil prices have since moderated, prompting an increasing number of American consumers to adopt what has long been a staple of a healthy Mediterranean diet into their daily routines.
“This supply stabilization provides greater predictability across the entire value chain and allows us to anticipate a more stable pricing environment. This, in turn, is driving a recovery in global household demand,” Valdés said.
Alongside Italy and Greece, Spain is one of the world’s leading producers of the precious commodity and a global reference for prices.
Extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) prices in Spain stood at about 3.9 euros ($4.47) per kilogram, according to the European Commission’s latest weekly data, extending a steady downward trend since the start of the year.
It is a far cry from Jan. 2024, when wholesale EVOO prices soared to a record high of 9.3 euros per kilogram.
Squeeze bottles
Notably, Deoleo’s Valdés said that while the firm’s sales volumes growth has improved across key markets, the number of olive oil purchasing households in the U.S. has also consistently increased across all income brackets.
Perhaps surprisingly, the company credited a packaging redesign with helping to boost U.S. sales, underlining the importance of consumer-focused innovation as Deoleo seeks to expand its market share in the country.
Bottles of olive oil on a conveyor on the production line at the Deoleo SA plant Cordoba, Spain, on Friday, Nov. 11, 2022.
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“Regarding emerging trends, I believe the primary market driver is innovation tailored to modern culinary habits, especially for younger consumers and those discovering the benefits of olive oil for the first time,” Valdés said.
“A clear reflection of this is the rise of functional, value-added packaging; in fact, squeeze formats are already driving 40% of the entire category’s growth in the country,” he added, referring to the company’s Bertolli “Dress and Drizz” bottle.
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