Catania Oils reported a move to a larger facility as well as packaging and product innovation at IDDBA 2024.
Anne Whitney, marketing generalist for the Ayer, Massachusetts-based producer of oils, told The Shelby Report’s Maggie Kaeppel that the company is seeing increased demand, which led to the move to the new 215,000-square-foot warehouse last September.
Catania’s plant-based oils are used in the bulk ingredient, foodservice, retail and private label markets in New England and nationwide.
“Basically, everything that was pent up during the pandemic is coming to a head now,” she said.
Demand has held strong despite record high prices for olive oil in late 2023/early 2024. Whitney said the price increase was mainly driven by extreme drought in Spain, which created shortages.
“We’re finally starting to see a shift in that,” she said. “Those prices are starting to stabilize and beginning to come down, but it’s going to take a long time before they’re back to where they were before.”
She said Spain’s winter harvest, if at normal levels, will help. And if Spain’s harvest goes back to normal, “that means that other countries like Turkey are going to loosen the belt on exports.”
Catania has been proactive in trying to keep prices down in a couple of ways.
One is in packaging. Traditionally, its larger format bottles, like gallons and 96 oz., have been made with HDPE plastic, but Catania has introduced PET plastic versions that are significantly less expensive to produce, she said.
“This packaging optimization is a great alternative to decreasing the size of the products to keep the place price stable,” Whitney said. “Our engineering team has worked very hard to make sure that the packaging is just as stable as traditional HDPE packaging, and plastic really has no effect on the quality of the oils, so they’re still able to stay fresh and usable just as long.”
A second cost-control measure is in product formulation. Catania has introduced oil blends – extra virgin olive oil combined with commodity oils like sunflower or soybean.
“Even just a small percentage blend, where it’s mostly extra virgin, can really help knock down that price,” she said. “Price-conscious customers are looking to maintain flavor in their foods while still managing cost.”
Another advantage with the blended oils is versatility. Because of higher heat stability, these can be used for applications like baking. She used the example of the traditional Italian olive oil cake. Butter contains about 15 percent water by weight, and water inhibits gluten formation, so baked goods made with olive oil blends tend to be more tender than those made with butter.
[RELATED: Catania Oils’ Coleman Named Treasurer Of North American Olive Oil Association]
An olive oil blend “doesn’t have a strong flavor when baked,” Whitney said. “What it does is sort of leave that impression of freshness and grassiness. I think blends are something that more customers should be looking into, and we’re trying to do our part in educating both customers and retailers about that.”
Olive oil also has health advantages, she noted. It’s high in polyphenols and monounsaturated fats and is “thought of as a very heart healthy food.”
Accurate labeling of oils has been an industry issue in recent years. Catania is careful to make sure its labels accurately reflect what’s inside.
“Our oils are 100 percent authentic,” she added. “We go through a rigorous QA process to make sure that everything is verified as the type of oil that it’s supposed to be and verified to be within our standards, which are higher than the industry standards.”
She said most of Catania’s oils are available in non-GMO options. “Especially for customers who really care about that, they’re willing to pay that higher price for that peace of mind,” she said.
To help customers navigate pricing and other issues related to oils, Catania sends out market updates three to five times a month. These are designed to help them “keep an eye on the market conditions and make a move when prices are lowest. This is something that we offer out of respect for our customers because we know that everybody we deal with is a savvy buyer and deserves to have accurate and up-to-date information.”
