How the olive oil industry combines different oils to manage quality, prices and supply throughout the year.

Sociedad Cooperativa San Vicente de Mogón, Jaén. Photo: Samuel Sánchez

A bottle of extra virgin olive oil purchased in January may contain a different combination of oils from another bottle of the same brand purchased in September. The olives may have come from different regions, been processed by different mills or even grown in different countries. Yet the company selling that bottle wants consumers to recognise the same product every time they buy it. Its flavour, aroma and overall character should remain familiar, even when the raw materials behind it have changed considerably.

Olive oil is an agricultural product, and its characteristics depend on weather conditions, olive varieties, harvesting dates and processing methods. Even oils produced by the same mill can differ significantly between campaigns.

For companies supplying supermarkets and international markets, this variability presents a challenge. Consumers expect a familiar taste, retailers expect uninterrupted deliveries, and prices must remain competitive. Blending, the practice of combining different olive oils to obtain a desired result, helps companies meet these demands. Although the term is sometimes associated with adulteration or misleading labelling, combining extra virgin olive oils from different varieties, producers or countries is a common practice across the olive oil industry, from small producers to major international bottling companies.

Creating a consistent product

Consider a company selling an extra virgin olive oil with a mild, fruity flavour, moderate bitterness and a slightly peppery finish. One harvest might produce particularly bitter oils, while another delivers softer profiles. Rather than allowing substantial variations in the finished product, the company can combine oils with complementary characteristics. A robust oil might contribute intensity and structure, while a milder one helps achieve the balance preferred by its customers.

Producing a successful blend requires experience. Professional blenders taste individual lots, examine their chemical parameters and test different combinations before deciding on the final composition. An oil that seems excessively bitter on its own may become a valuable component when used in smaller proportions alongside a softer one.

For large brands, consistency is an important part of keeping customers. Someone regularly purchasing the same supermarket olive oil expects a familiar product, regardless of changes in suppliers or origins.

Smaller producers may have different priorities, preferring to preserve the distinctive qualities of each harvest. Customers buying these oils may appreciate those variations, much as wine consumers recognise differences between vintages. Both approaches have their place, serving different markets and expectations. A blend made from several origins is not necessarily inferior to an oil produced from a single estate, just as a product with a specific geographical identity is not automatically better.

The economics behind blending

Alongside taste, there is the question of cost. Olive oil prices vary between countries, suppliers and individual lots, sometimes considerably. Two extra virgin olive oils can meet the same legal requirements while commanding different prices because of their sensory profiles, availability or geographical origins.

A company may find that a relatively inexpensive oil meets most of its requirements but lacks a particular characteristic needed for its standard blend. Another oil might provide that missing element, although at a higher price. Purchasing the more expensive oil for the entire production would increase costs unnecessarily if a smaller proportion could produce the desired result. Consider a hypothetical blend composed of 80% olive oil purchased at 3.60€/kg and 20% purchased at 4.40€/kg. The resulting average acquisition cost would be 3.76€/kg, before transport, storage, testing, blending and packaging. Whether the combination produces a suitable extra virgin olive oil depends on the characteristics of the oils involved, but the calculation illustrates how blending can influence purchasing costs.

The cheapest oil is not always the most economical choice. A lot offered at an attractive price might require a substantial proportion of another, more expensive oil to achieve the desired flavour. Conversely, a relatively costly oil may represent better value if a small quantity is enough to improve a much larger blend.

At scale, these decisions can have a considerable financial impact. A difference of 0.10€/kg in the average cost of a blend represents 100,000€ over 1,000 tonnes. For businesses supplying supermarket chains, where large volumes are often sold under contracts negotiated in advance, relatively small changes in acquisition costs can affect profitability.

There are limits to this flexibility. When prices rise across the Mediterranean, cheaper alternatives become harder to find. Nor can blending eliminate the consequences of purchasing large quantities at excessively high prices. It offers buyers more options, but those options still depend on the oils available and the specifications they must meet.

The importance of origin

Spain is the world's largest olive oil producer, but the international supply chain extends across the Mediterranean. Companies purchase oil from Portugal, Greece, Italy, Tunisia and other producing countries, taking advantage of differences in availability, prices and sensory profiles. The balance between these origins changes as harvests improve or deteriorate and buyers respond to movements in the bulk market.

A Spanish oil may form the principal component of a blend, with smaller quantities from Portugal or Greece used to achieve a particular profile. During another campaign, the company may alter those proportions or turn to different suppliers. The consumer might notice little difference in the finished product, although the purchasing operation behind it has changed substantially.

This flexibility becomes particularly valuable when production falls sharply in one country. Companies with established purchasing networks across several producing regions can seek alternative supplies, while businesses dependent on a single origin may struggle to maintain deliveries. For major bottlers supplying thousands of supermarkets, international sourcing is an important part of keeping products available throughout the year.

There are rules governing how these products are presented. Under European Union legislation, the origin of virgin and extra virgin olive oils must be declared according to the applicable labelling requirements. Products combining oils from different EU member states may use the designation "blend of olive oils of European Union origin", while separate designations apply to oils from outside the EU and combinations of EU and non-EU origins.

These rules allow companies to market blends from several countries without necessarily identifying every individual origin on the label. They do not permit an oil to be presented as exclusively Italian, Spanish or Greek merely because it was bottled in that country. The origin of the oil and the location of the bottling operation are separate matters.

Blending and stock management

Olive oil production is concentrated within a relatively short harvesting season, while consumption continues throughout the year. Mills, traders and bottling companies must hold enough stock to satisfy demand until the following campaign, often purchasing substantial quantities before knowing how prices and sales will develop over the coming months.

These inventories are rarely uniform. A company may hold oils from several producers, acquired at different prices and at different points in the season. Some lots will be more intense, others milder, and their characteristics may change as they age. Blending provides flexibility in deciding which oils to use and how to allocate them between product lines. Proper storage and regular quality assessments remain essential, particularly as olive oil gradually deteriorates when exposed to oxygen, heat or light.

The financial implications become particularly visible when market prices fall.

Imagine a company holding substantial quantities of extra virgin olive oil purchased at 5€/kg while comparable oils are now available at 3.50€/kg. Competitors purchasing at the new market price may be able to offer more attractive selling prices, placing pressure on the company's margins. Buying cheaper oil and combining it with suitable existing stocks can lower the average acquisition cost of subsequent blends, although it does not undo the cost of earlier purchases. There is also the risk of accumulating too much inventory. If prices continue falling, additional purchases can leave the company with even greater financial exposure.

This makes inventory management a central part of the blending business. Companies need to know what they hold in each tank, the cost and quality of each lot, how long the oil has been stored and which products it can supply. A particular oil might be too expensive for one product but suitable for another, while a relatively small quantity of an intense oil may be worth reserving for future blends.

For large operators, purchasing, storage and blending are closely connected activities. Managing stocks efficiently can be just as important to profitability as securing a favourable purchase price.

Blending is not the same as fraud

Blending sometimes attracts suspicion because the olive oil industry has faced genuine cases of adulteration, misleading labelling and false declarations of origin. These are serious issues, but they should not be confused with the legitimate practice of combining different olive oils.

Mixing compliant extra virgin olive oils from different producers or countries is permitted. Adding undeclared vegetable oils to a product sold as extra virgin, falsely claiming a geographical origin or selling an oil under a category it does not meet are different matters. European regulations establish chemical, sensory, labelling and traceability requirements, and a finished blend sold as extra virgin must satisfy the standards of that category. There are also legitimate products made by blending refined olive oil with virgin olive oil, but these belong to a different commercial category and must be labelled accordingly.

For consumers, the number of oils used in a blend says relatively little about its quality. A well-prepared blend containing oils from several countries can be an excellent extra virgin olive oil, while a product made entirely from olives grown on a single estate is not necessarily superior. Raw materials, production methods, freshness and storage conditions all influence the result.

The business behind the bottle

Blending helps explain the position of large bottling companies in the international olive oil market. Their competitive advantage does not necessarily come from owning extensive olive groves or producing the oil themselves. It often lies in their purchasing networks, relationships with suppliers, sensory expertise and ability to manage large inventories. They can buy from different markets, combine oils according to customer requirements and adapt their operations as prices and availability change.

For producers and independent mills, understanding these requirements can be valuable when negotiating sales. An oil with a particularly intense flavour may be attractive to a buyer looking to strengthen a milder blend, while another company may have little use for those same characteristics. The same lot can consequently have different commercial values depending on who is purchasing it and what stocks that buyer already holds.

Much of this activity remains invisible to consumers. The bottle on the supermarket shelf tells little about the suppliers involved, the decisions made during purchasing or the adjustments required to maintain a consistent product across different harvests. Ingredients, origins and production costs may change considerably while the brand attempts to preserve the taste and quality its customers recognise.

Blending allows companies to manage those differences, balancing the characteristics of individual oils with the realities of price, availability and demand. It remains one of the less visible, but commercially important, parts of the global olive oil business.

Sources

• EUR-Lex: Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2022/2104 (consolidated version of 10 June 2024: marketing standards for olive oil, the product categories, and in Article 8 the place of origin on extra virgin and virgin olive oils and their blends)
• EUR-Lex: Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2022/2105 (consolidated version of 11 November 2024, as amended by Implementing Regulation (EU) 2024/2707: conformity checks, methods of analysis, and the entry and withdrawal registers operators keep from the mill to the bottling stage)
• International Olive Council: IOC Standards, Methods and Guides (the official standards on olive oil quality, sensory analysis and product characteristics)