FOOD/HEALTH SPECIAL..OLIVE OIL

OLIVE OIL

Olive oil is fast becoming the preferred cooking medium among large swathes of affluent customers with heightened health consciousness. They don’t mind paying thrice the price of regular refined oil in return for the health benefits.

The manager of Godrej’s Nature Basket outlet in a wellheeled Juhu neighbourhood in Mumbai has made it a habit to walk down the shopping aisle every six hours. His goal: to check, and when required, quickly replenish fast-disappearing stocks of olive oil on the shelves. It is not uncommon for the occasional sports star or film personality to frequent his store. They, and a steady stream of more common shoppers, regularly reach out for a bottle of the rich green oil. Sales at the outlet have grown 60% in six months.
At Future Group’s Food Bazaar, officials expect sales of the Mediterranean oil to double again this year.
“Our olive oil sales will touch Rs.100 crore in the next three years,” says Devendra Chawla, president, Food Bazaar category, Future Group.
Olive oil is fast becoming the preferred cooking medium among large swathes of affluent customers with heightened health consciousness. They don’t mind paying thrice the price of regular refined oil in return for the health benefits. Olive oil has the highest content of monounsaturated fats and contains antioxidants such as vitamins A, D, E, K and Beta-carotene that helps in reducing bad cholesterol and prevents heart disease.
Macro numbers bear out the trend. Indians will consume . 550 crore worth of olive oil in 2012. “Olive oil consumption in India jumped by 49% in 2011, and is likely to go up by more than 60% this year,” says V N Dalmiya, president of Indian Olive Association (IOA). “We are creating awareness among all classes of consumers that olive oil improves blood cholesterol levels and prevents heart disease. Compared to refined oil, a third of the same quantity of olive oil is enough to cook the same food,” he adds.
The spike in demand has prompted farmers in Rajasthan to sow olive crops. They expect a yield of . 3.5 lakh per hectare over traditional wheat crops that give them less than a lakh. Farmers, with the help of the Rajasthan government, have formed a cluster approach to sow olive over 600 hectares by this year-end. “Farmers expect to crush 1.5 tonnes per hectare and market it to domestic retail chains,” says Yogesh Verma, manager at Rajasthan Olive Cultivation Limited (ROCL).
India is largely dependent on imports from Italy & Spain and bought 6,485 metric tonnes in FY12.
Apart from pure olive oil, ‘extra virgin’ and ‘pomace’ are two other variants gaining popularity. Leonardo, Borges, Musa & Figaro, which together share 90% of the market, are some common brands.

TAPASH TALUKDAR ET120623