Family First: Building the Colavita Brand
8 Min Watch By Barbara Castiglia and Kevin Freibott
Edison, New Jersey-based Colavita USA was the first company to bring Extra Virgin Olive Oil (EVOO) to the United States in the 1970s, finding acceptance in the foodservice market. Approximately 40 percent of total sales today are to foodservice customers and the business has grown to $250MM globally. The company's reach has expanded to the growing e-commerce and meal kit marketplaces, exclusively partnering with Hello Fresh and recently opening a distribution center solely for Hello Fresh in Texas.
To continue to grow the brand, Colavita recently opened a second facility in Dixon, California and is becoming more involved in the California Olive Oil industry. Colavita just announced an investment for joint ownership of Italian wine importer, Panebianco LLC.
“The new Panebianco LLC has a portfolio of premium wines with strong heritage and will have the added competitive advantage of Colavita’s vast food channel experience and distribution leverage,” said Giovanni Colavita, CEO of Colavita USA. “The company will therefore be strategically postured to present unique, value-added service, products and promotion to both on and off-premise customers.”
In this MRM Profile, we visit with the management team at Colavita and learn how they built the brand by putting family first and how they are planning for the future.