Italian olive oil hits shelves

Italian olive oil major, the Salov Group, has by tied-up with a Mumbai-based FMCG company, R R Oomerbhoy (RRO), for retailing its Fillipo Berio brand of olive oil in India.

The Salvov Group was targeting a revenue of around Rs 4 crore from the first year of its Indian operations, with annual 25 per cent growth in the subsequent years, said Mirco Dell'Anese, export area manager, the Salov group.

With olive oil consumption in India being less than 3 per cent of the overall edible oil consumption, the RRO group, which would distribute Fillipo Berio in India, would target the high-end segment hotels and restaurants along with individuals for growth, said Riyad Oomerbhoy, managing director, RRO group.

The € 330 miilion Salvo group had presence in over 60 countries, an was now eying niche markets like South Asia, the Middle East and Africa for expansion, siad Dell'Anese.

Nearly 55 per cent of the turnover of the company comes from the export business. It has three subsidiaries, one of which is a joint venture company with a Japanese firm called J O mills.

Dell'Anese said the company was open to the idea of having similar ventures in India, subject to its growth in India.

Olive oil market in India is pegged to be around Rs 80 crore, according to Chandrakant D P, national sales manager, the RRO group.

Sunflower oil has the highest per capita consumption in India, and constitute around 35 per cent of the total edible oil segment in the country, followed by sunflower and palm oil.

Even though the consumption of olive oil in India was negligible, it was growing annually at around 40 per cent, said Chandrakant.