The Costa d'Oro olive oil brand announces the closing of an alliance agreement with the international group Avril: the operation marks the birth of the third largest branded olive oil group in the world, in a context of a growing international market. In a joint statement, the two partners indicated the main objectives they are aiming for:
1. The sustainable growth of Costa d'Oro in the branded olive oil market in Italy, where the brand has recently reached the top three market positions, and internationally, where the brand it is present in over 100 countries and accounts for half of its sales. To achieve this goal, the potential synergies deriving from the respective know-how in the field of quality and innovation will be developed, both in terms of nutrition and taste, and in terms of the development of new ranges of oils and dressings and the conquest of new markets international markets, especially China and North America.
2. Allow the Avril Group to continue its international growth (where it currently makes a third of its turnover) by developing its share of the olive oil market while remaining faithful to the model of the integrated supply chain, between agriculture and industry, which constitutes the specificity of the oil and protein sector .
For this operation, the Avril Group was supported by the Castel Group, a major French and international player in the wine, beer and soft drinks sector. The alliance thus strengthened the historical partnership between the two French groups, initially developed around the restructuring of the African oil-producing sectors. In 2017, the world olive oil market recorded a turnover of 12 billion euros with a potential annual growth from 4% to 5%, reaching 17 billion euros by 2025 thanks to the increase in demand (especially in China and North America) and the growing interest in a product whose peculiarities are appreciated by the most demanding consumers: first quality, naturalness, traceability, in addition to the nutritional and gustatory benefits of the Mediterranean diet generally associated with Italy.
For Olivier Delamea, general manager of the Oils & Condiments sector of the Avril Group: “Through this alliance, we bring together human resources, know-how and exceptional products. There are all the premises to make Costa d'Oro a major Italian brand of olive oil worldwide”. For Ivano Mocetti, general manager of Costa d'Oro: “We are very proud of this alliance with the Avril Group. Together we will carry forward the founding project of Costa d'Oro in Spoleto, in Umbria, providing it with the means to conquer new territories, not only geographical, but also in the field of innovation, at the service of the highest level of gustatory and nutritional quality. The development project also envisages vertical integration of production and agriculture in our country and in the Mediterranean basin”.
Luciano Sabatini, President of Costa d'Oro and founder together with the Santirosi family, which this year celebrates 50 years of activity: "This operation it is not the arrival point of our family and industrial project, but it is a step that allows us to accelerate the growth and development project with a top-level international Partner, with whom we share the strategic vision and industrial values, an opportunity for our Company and for our Country to create wealth and value". For Jean-Philippe Puig, CEO of Sapa Avril: “This alliance brings together two protagonists who share the same values – the French leader of oils and proteins, founded by farmers committed to the sustainable development of agricultural and agri-food supply chains, and an Italian leader of olive oil, with a family business and an exceptional brand, eager to pursue with us the development of an integrated supply chain, from upstream to downstream”.
