Interview with Mario Morrone, CEO of Olivante, the all-Italian platform specialized in the trade of extra virgin olive oil.
Italy is a wonderful country from many points of view, but there is one that certainly puts everyone in agreement: the quality of food. Our land is the centerpiece of excellence, from oil to wine, through dairy products to vegetables. There is no product that is not “admired” and requested by every part of the world. Behind so much quality there is, in addition of course to the characteristics of our territory, the passion and love of small Italian producers, often forgotten, but who represent instead the true engine of our country.
Olivante.it was born from this conviction: the quality of what we eat hides the ability of people who work and love what they do.
What is Olivante.it
Olivante.it is The first marketplace b2b that allows restaurateurs to choose the most suitable oil for their kitchen and buy it directly from the producers, in a simple, competitive and fast way.
The platform is presented as a real connector between supply and demand: on the one hand local producers who produce oil, on the other hand restaurateurs, chefs, professional kitchens, hotel managers who can buy the oil produced. The mission is to offer the best shopping experience starting from the choice of the oil which best suited to the chef’s needs, with an advantageous price that excludes typical price increases and skimming of traditional distribution.
If I Am a Private individual?
Olivante.it has of course thought about Italian families. The Olivante Family segment was born, a branch of the platform entirely dedicated to the purchase of oil by private persons.
Do you want to know how it works? Read now the interview with Mario Morrone, CEO of Olivante.it
Hi Mario, nice to meet you and thank you for your time. Olivante.it: would you like to tell us the story?
I spent all my summers on the Gargano, a land full of micro-producers of excellent oil but destined to oblivion. So in 2017, after leaving my job at Microsoft, I started a partnership with a local producer, created my brand, and started selling online with my e-commerce. Thanks to the results I was getting, the idea arose to extend this opportunity to all the other producers, each with their own variety of oil and label, and give light to Olivante.
How and when was the idea of Olivante.it born?
The starting hypotheses are three: how can a small producer compete with the GDO and the big players in the industry? Why, if in Italy there are more than 400 different olive oil cultivars, we consume and buy only “generic” extra virgin olive oil? How can the same oil be combined with the creativity and ingredients of all the dishes offered by the restaurant?
Our solution is Olivante, the evo oil marketplace that combines the needs of small producers to emerge in new markets and increase profits, and restaurateurs who need to raise their quality standards and carefully manage purchases.
How long did it take to shape the project?
2019 helped us to do numerous tests and validations on the market. A few months later, in April 2019 we had the opportunity to participate in the PIN initiative – Pugliesi Innovativi – and the win allowed us to access a fund of 30 thousand euros. Money invested in the development and launch of the new platform, which took place in December 2019, and to start an expansion path beyond the borders of Puglia .
What is the target user of Olivante? How is the market responding?
Today the platform contains more than 15 producers from 4 different regions and 21 different cultivars represented, including one of the best organic oils in the world . In the very few months we had available to work with the restaurant area, due to the pandemic, we have sold to 8 restaurants including 1 abroad. The goal is to reach 40 producers and 80 restaurants by the end of 2022.
How important was the decision to create a platform like Olivante.it, the desire to give space and above all give the right credit to small Italian producers?
All starts there, no doubt. For small producers, we are the fastest way to compete in distant or foreign markets, and to sell large quantities of product without losing margin due to time.
Is the proposed oil also available from abroad?
Yes, currently we have among our customers a restaurant in Austria and an enogastronomy in Switzerland.
Curiosità: acquistate anche voi olio da Olivante.it?
We have been our first customer!
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