Educating the World on Olive Oil Benefits: Our Ambitious Plan to Reach 150 Million People
At Deoleo, we’re incredibly passionate about the health benefits of olive oil.
Science doesn’t lie. Years of evidence shows that consuming olive oil contributes to a healthy cholesterol level,[1] helps prevent and manage type-2 diabetes,[2] and reduces cardiovascular disease and coronary heart disease risks amongst numerous other benefits.[3]
The mediterranean diet and lifestyle, which includes olive oil as a major part, is also considered one of the world’s all-round healthiest diets.[4] In fact, the Istituto Nutrizionale Carapelli (Carapelli Institute of Nutrition) just recently published new findings with the European Parliament that outline how extra
With the benefits being so clear, it shouldn’t be a surprise that we are so motivated to spread the word about olive oil far and wide.
Challenging Ourselves
As the world’s leading producer of olive oil, we at Deoleo understand it as our responsibility to educate the world regarding the health benefits of including olive oil as part of a healthy lifestyle. We also recognise that our worldwide network of operations provides us with a unique ability to be able to reach a large audience around the world.
To that end, we’ve leveraged our scale to set an ambitious goal. We aim to educate 150 million people on the health benefits of olive oil 2030, and, as of this year, we are nearly a third of the way there, having reached approximately 45 million people through a mixture of packaging campaigns, educational advertisements and social media engagement.
Research First
To be able to educate, it’s first important to have accurate and reliable information. As such, at Deoleo we continue to finance the Istituto Nutrizionale Carapelli. The institute conducts research into the nutrition and health benefits of olive oil and runs several education projects, including working with primary schools and also with hotel and culinary schools to educate future chefs. Starting in 2021, through our Nutrition and Sustainability Project, Deoleo has also supported the scientific development of olive oil in countries where funding has been limited.
Using All the Tools in the Box
However, as the world is an incredibly diverse place, people have different communications preferences as well as relationships and familiarity with olive oil. So, because of this, we are continually adjusting our educational strategies to ensure we reach the right audience, at the right time with the right information. Taking into account people’s familiarity and cultural adaptations of olive oil is key to ensuring we can educate appropriately on the health benefits.
For example, our packaging is one of our most powerful communication channels. It gets seen by all our customers and even the public just browsing in shops. Therefore, we always make sure to include clear and transparent health information on the packaging of our products – even when it is not a legal requirement of the local market. This has allowed us to use our packaging for special educational campaigns in the Netherlands and Latin America.
In Canada and Germany, we have run education-focused television adverts. And in the US in 2022, through Bertolli, we collaborated with a group of carefully selected influencers to educate their audiences on the health benefits of olive oil.
Lastly, we also make use of our website and social media channels to reach as large an audience as possible. In fact, this article is an example of how we educate – even educating about our mission to educate!
A Mission for a Better Future
In 2024, we will continue our work to raise awareness on how to live a healthier lifestyle as part of our commitment to support the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals, especially goal number three (3): good health and wellbeing. We are cognizant that we cannot do it alone and so we ask you to join us in the journey and spread the wisdom and information about olive oil and its role in healthy living.
[1] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6723782/
[2] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5436092/
[3] https://www.acc.org/latest-in-cardiology/journal-scans/2020/03/05/11/29/olive-oil-consumption-and-cardiovascular
[4] https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/articles/16037-mediterranean-diet