Greek olive oil professionals at the Food Expo highlighted the unique attributes, quality, and varied origins of their products. From March 8 to 10, 1300 exhibitors showcased foods and drinks for 35,000 visitors from 80 nations. Even in the midst of such abundance, extra virgin olive oil stood out as one of the most important Greek national products.
Highlighting the distinctive features of Greek olive oil from specific regions
Many olive oil companies emphasized the way unique features of their area influence their olive oil. Buyers from North America, Europe, the Middle East, and Asia were introduced to olive varieties native to different regions.
For example, Marianthi Volioti (Voliotis Family) told Greek Liquid Gold “the olive tree of our area has snow on its head and salt on its legs, because the Pelio area is a mountain.” According to myth, centaurs lived there. The combination of salt air, mountain air, and many wild herbs results in “very aromatic oil” from the Peliou olive variety. “It’s like heaven – a gift from the gods.”
Fofi Nikolaides (Ladi Biosas) said her family has been producing Koroneiki variety olive oil near Kalamata, Peloponnese since 1892. She and her brother keep the tradition alive in one of just two areas in Greece where golden jackals live. While the jackals control the rodent population, the Ladi Biosas team cares for the land and helps revitalize the village by bringing foreign friends to visit.
New olive products, services, and developments at the Food Expo
During their first Food Expo visit, Giannis Christodoulopoulos reported, his three-year-old family business, Arkas, enjoyed productive conversations. He and his team introduced visitors to their 150 ml bottles of especially healthy, high phenolic Olympia variety EVOO certified with an EU health claim. Including Vitamin E, this is a nutritional supplement certified by the Greek organization for medicine.
For years, an established company, Yanni’s Olive Grove / Propharco, has been involved in pioneering Alzheimer’s research on MICOIL, a different “completely natural product based on the fresh juice of green unripe olive fruits” from Halkidiki in northern Greece. Evi Psounou Prodromou pointed out that “extra virgin olive oil is excellent, but if it’s enriched with natural ingredients, it becomes even stronger and healthier.” This year at the Expo, it was clear that people were “getting to know” this product. “Some new customers from Switzerland and Sweden came especially for MICOIL.”
In another Expo hall, Katerina Bougatsou (Stalia) was displaying newly developed olive spoon sweets and chutney alongside her extra virgin olive oil. She was also promoting agrotourism experiences she will be offering in western Messenia, Peloponnese. Aside from a small open-air museum, olive oil tasting, and food pairing, one of their packages includes a dinner featuring five different EVOOs from collaborating companies in several parts of Greece.
Part of another type of collaboration, Alexandros Kotzabasaki and Gregory Papayannis explained that the companies of Latzimas, LaSitia, and Olympian Green have now merged into the Olive Legend Group. Working together under the same management, they remain independent companies with their own production facilities in Crete and Peloponnese. The group is working on entering additional markets.
Extraordinary Greek flavored olive oil and striking package design
Hailing from the island of Lesvos, which is well known for its extra virgin olive oil and ouzo, Yiannis Protoulis revealed that his family business “married these two products for something special.” He proudly presented an elegant bottle containing a unique new product: olive oil infused with star anise.
Ioanna Diamanti (Pellas Nature) introduced another unusual new flavored olive oil infused with French estragon for a pleasantly delicate flavor. Pellas Nature’s wide variety of healthy, naturally infused olive oils is increasingly easy to obtain, because the company recently began their first direct online retail sales on Amazon Germany. Amazon France is next. “Electronic sales is a different world, and we like it. We’re planning to expand in electronic sales, because it is the future.”
On the other hand, for a striking repurposing of a traditional look from the fashion industry, Zoe Giannelou (Nutria) designed a floral olive oil bottle and gift box for their ultra premium Ionis brand EVOO. This high phenolic extra virgin olive oil is available in the lovely gift box with a funnel and spray bottle. As an eco-friendly bonus, every part of the packaging can be reused or recycled.
Positive opinions about the 2025 Food Expo
Greek olive oil company representatives were generally happy with their experience at the Food Expo this year. Marianna Devetzoglou (Oleosophia) found visitors to their stand “more well targeted, not just there to take a look, but actively looking for business growth and partners.”
A representative of AGROVIM was pleased “to showcase our Iliada extra virgin olive oil, olives, and olive products to many buyers from Greece and different countries. We were very excited to help them become acquainted with the authentic taste of Kalamata, Greece.”
As Maria Foule (Cretan Mill), explained, “this fair is always busy for us. This is what I like about it: people from all over the world that love Greek products come together. We have all our products together—like a family meeting, like Christmas time.”
Antonis Kalligiannis (Zero One) enjoys being surrounded by old friends and making new ones at the Expo. He is “very happy” to see new olive oil companies there, “and I hope they will be here again next year,” so they can all progress together.
Focusing on promising innovation and productive collaboration, Eftychis Androulakis (Pamako) sees “a very, very bright future” for Greek olive oil, with “new young people entering and trying to change everything. It needs courage and passion, especially passion, and you don’t do it to live, you live to do it.”
Businesses, organizations, and competitions involved with Greek olive oil, the Mediterranean diet, and/or agrotourism / food tourism in Greece, plus others interested in supporting Greeks working in these sectors, are invited to consider the advertising opportunities on the Greek Liquid Gold: Authentic Extra Virgin Olive Oil website. The only wide-ranging English-language site focused on news and information from the Greek olive oil world, it has helped companies reach consumers in over 220 countries worldwide.
