Last October, Chilean olive oil company Olisur received important news. The Italian guide Flos Olei had selected them as the world’s best in the light fruity blend category. They are the only Chilean company to have received one of the 20 quality prizes awarded by this key publication in 2016.

Appearing in the Flos Olei guide is the equivalent of receiving an Oscar for the best extra virgin olive oils in the world.

Chile’s Ambassador to Italy, Fernando Ayala, received the award on behalf of the company in November and today the award finally arrived in Chile and was received by representatives of the company.

Claudio Lovazzano, Head of Marketing & Product Development at OLISUR, met with Ignacio Fernández, ProChile’s Deputy National Director in ProChile’s offices. “Our oil was awarded 97 out of a maximum of 98 points. This recognition will enable us to keep reaching new markets and will open doors to customers who are ever more demanding in terms of the quality of the products they buy. Chile, and our company in particular, have the quality that the world is looking for and this recognition proves it,” said Mr Lovazzano. He thanked ProChile and the Chilean Embassy in Italy for their support.

The guide is written in English, Italian and Spanish by food critic Marco Oreggia and editor Laura Marinelli. It is the first such guide with international scope, dedicated to oil producers around the world and their extra virgin oils. It represents 49 producer countries on 5 continents and a total of 500 companies.

Olisur

This olive oil company began life in 2004 with a plantation of 1,600 hectares in the Marchigüe area of the Colchagua Valley in Chile’s 6th region.

The Chilean olive oil company was the first in Latin America to be certified Carbon Neutral and has a high-quality, technified process. It has received more than 50 international awards in 7 years. In addition to the prizes awarded to its oils, the company’s olive oil mill, which has high standards in bio-climatic and sustainability technology, earned an architecture prize at the Miami Biennial in 2009.

The company offers a range of different oils, according to species: Arbosana, Arbequina, Coratina, Koroneiki and Frantoio. They have three brands, each with a series of products. The brand that won this award is Santiago Premium (extra virgin- selected as the best Light Fruity blend in the world in 2016).

Italian expert Duccio Morozzo advises and supervises the company’s blends year by year. He highlights as key to their quality the company’s extra fast process between harvesting and pressing (2 hours), their cutting edge technology for mechanical harvesting and oil pressing, together with their minimal use of herbicides and pesticides.

Lovazzano explained that Olisur is oriented to producing large volumes while maintaining the high quality that characterizes the Chilean market. The company is currently exporting to Brazil and the United States and this year negotiations are getting underway with Venezuela and Colombia, where they already have three confirmed clients. “ProChile’s support through its Trade Offices and competitive funding for our projects has enabled us to reach these markets and demonstrate the quality of our products. And this means we have been able to fly the flag for our country and our industry,” he said.

Olisur is a client of ProChile and a member of Chile Oliva and it also participates in the sector brand Chile Olive Oil, a project developed in partnership between the institution and the association of producers.