Tierra Callada interviews: Joseph Profaci, Executive Director · North American Olive Oil Association (NAOOA)

Exciting news! We are kicking off a series of interviews with industry leaders in the olive oil / food market, starting with Joseph R. Profaci, Executive Director of the North American Olive Oil Association (NAOOA). Join us as we dive into the latest initiatives and trends in the world of olive oil.

QUESTION: What is the NAOOA?

ANSWER: The NAOOA is a trade association whose members

market olive oil in North America. The goal of the association is to promote

increased consumption. We do this by educational activities, such as

maintaining an informational website and blog and holding or sponsoring

webinars to inform our members, the media and trade. In addition, we pursue public policy initiatives, such as petitioning the government for regulations and policies that will facilitate the increased sales of olive oils (such as the creation of a standard of identity and a research and promotion order) and opposing any laws or policies that would hamper that effort.

Q. The Extra Virgin Alliance (EVA) is a recently created section within the NAOOA, focused on supporting producers of specialty EVOO, with a certification and promotion program.

What is the importance of the EVA, and premium olive oil in general, in the NAOOA's role?

A: The olive oil market is one that comprises different qualities:  good, better and best.  An important way to increase consumption is to get consumers to stock, at least, one of each quality of olive oil in their pantries, which will have different uses based on their cooking and taste preferences, and depending of course on their budgets.

Through the EVA, we hope to educate consumers currently buying good and/or better oils, that they should also consider exploring the world of specialty olive oil products, such as Tierra Callada.

We also hope to teach consumers about what makes olive oil special compared to other oils, by telling the stories of how the EVA products are inextricably linked to the olives, and the land from which the oils were made as well as the people who made them.

Q: What are the most relevant initiatives that the NAOOA wants to implementn the near future?

A: There are two primary initiatives NAOOA is pursuing. The first is the petition for a standard of identity (SOI). By establishing a SOI for olive oil, we hope to eliminate some confusion over olive oil and olive oil quality. This would also facilitate better enforcement of quality standards for the benefit of consumers and provide the industry with a level of greater legal certainty.

The second is the creation of a research and promotion order (R&PO). A R&PO would be a public-private initiative overseen by the USDA to promote the sale of olive oil as an agricultural product. And such a program would have a budget close to 10 times the budget available to us at NAOOA!

Q: Exciting and very important news! As you know, honest producers of EVOO have been awaiting quality standard regulations (SOI) for quite some time now. Do we have an ETA for that?

A: The SOI process would likely take 18 to 24 months from the current point.

Q: What is the market growth potential for olive oil in the USA, and what are the expected trends for the coming years?

A: Personally, my feeling is that the upside potential for growth in consumption in North America is enormous. The trends driving food choices in the U.S. all favor olive oils: health, flavor, non-GMO, “clean” (no chemical extraction), sustainable, supporting small farmers, etc.

Of course, price is big obstacle to getting people to switch from seed oils, so our challenge is to be sure consumers are educated enough to appreciate the value. And given the troubles of the past harvest, we also have to be mindful of trying to grow consumption too fast.

Q: Last but not least: Coffee with olive oil... Honest opinion.

A: I actually have been making my EVOO cappuccino for several months now - we posted a TIkTok with my recipe in September (@aboutoliveoil).  And recently, on LinkedIn, I posted my recipe for Iced EVOO coffee. So I think the Starbucks announcement is great.

Just yesterday, on the streets of New York, I overheard three people walking behind me talking about it.

As long as it is not something negative, anything that gets people to talk about olive oil is a good thing in my opinion!