From its farming practices to its family values, California Olive Ranch holds itself to the highest standards. That’s according to the company, whose family of brands include its California Olive Ranch olive and avocado oils and sprays and olive oil-based dressings, marinades, and sauces, as well as its Lucini brand of oils and sauces. Says the company, “In partnership with more than 50 family farmers throughout the state of California and countless others across the globe, the company is committed to transparency and sustainable practices in both growing and packaging.”
Until recently, its line of edible oils was available either in glass or a bag-in-box format. But in an ongoing effort to diversify its product offerings, the company added a new and unique format for the category, an aluminum bottle, to its line of packaging options.
“At California Olive Ranch, we are dedicated to delivering a versatile product line of high-quality cooking staples that meet the needs of every consumer, and that is exemplified by the launch of our aluminum-bottled oils,” says Mary Mori, California Olive Ranch vice president of Quality and R&D. “By creating our smallest, most lightweight bottle yet, we are able to not only continue building upon our sustainable packaging efforts, but we’re also offering consumers a more accessible price point to our bestselling line of olive and avocado oils. Additionally, the size of the bottle allows for ease-of-use for packing while traveling, which is highly appealing to our consumer base.”
The aluminum bottle, in a 335-mL size, is supplied by Trivium Packaging, which lays out the typical stats for edible oil packaging: “Olive oil, coconut oil, vegetable, and cooking oils—all unsung necessities of our daily routines—all often come in plastic bottles. In fact, in the North American market, nearly 80% of edible oil brands in packaging under 750 mL—and the majority of larger containers as well—use plastic.”
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Trivium shares that California Olive Ranch is the first of its customers to use an aluminum bottle for liquid oil. The container was custom designed to be smaller and to use a cap that helps with easy pourability and eliminates mess during use. The cap is made from high-density and low-density polyethylene. “We considered an aluminum cap to accompany the bottle, but we wanted to provide the pour-spout ability, which was not possible with the aluminum cap,” says Mori. “The consumer’s convenience in use is one of our top priorities that we did not want to lose on this packaging.”
The bottle uses a label for decoration. While Mori says this is not ideal for all recycling facilities, work is being done to make it more viable at all recycling centers. “Additionally, as we are continuously improving our products, we hope to switch to a more sustainable labeling method that would allow for even better universal recyclability.”
California Olive Ranch’s 100% California EVOO (extra virgin olive oil), Avocado EVOO Blend, and Reserve Blend in the new aluminum bottle were introduced at retail in October 2022 and direct-to-consumer via the company’s website, californiaoliveranch.com, in April 2023. Prices range from $8.99 to $10.99. Says Mori, “Competing brands offer plastic and glass bottles of the same size at upwards of $20 or higher, which puts our more eco-friendly product at a more accessible price point without compromising quality or taste.” PW
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