Packaging
a balance between design, usability, "made in Europe" and volume
The bottle
Many people starting don't think about the exterior of the bottle rather then looking nice or being cheap.
When we started we did exactly that, being donated a few hundred bottles by a local winemaker. It was a 750 ml bottle taking quite a while to finish for many customers and being in clear glass. Since this is a nightmare for rancidity (UV and oxidation) we wanted to switch to something more appropriate when we had saved up to invest for this. 500 ml bottles are industry standard.
But is was love at first Meili Light, a 375 ml bottle fitting our beliefs and strategy.
We chose Vetroelite as our partner as they have their factory in Italy, they have a core
value of giving back to nature for the impact they make while producing glass.
The bottle represents us as we are soft and round with a little edge.
The colour needed to be non fashionable and timeless.
The greytones of the bark of the olive tree inspired us to find the right kind of taupe
that fits both modern and classic interiors.
But most important, this bottle is almost unbreakable, having to reduce the
amount of extra packaging needed to post and offer in webshops.
The organic paintwork is done by a local company, Marinha Fosco.
We must admit, with some hiccups in thickness of layers and errors in screen printing.
Why we paint? Clearly to stop UV from damaging the olive oil and distinguish our brand.
The non-refillable wooden stopper is something obligatory in Portugal.
We prefer selling refillable bottles but this is something law prohibits while in some European countries this is fine.
We of course have refillable cork stoppers available for distribution upon request. They are made in Italy by Tapi Group.
Labels are completely customizable by our best friends from Intodesign, Portugal. This means we can do all the Pantone colours we wish AND also meaning you can do custom bottles and blend with us so you always have your own special olive oil.
The Bag-in-Box
The Bag-in-Boxes came when we started to want to change the logistic chain by sailing
our olive oils on cargo sailing ships. The need for a packaging that is more bulky
(reducing packaging) keeping the oil from being exposed to air and UV and taking a
beat came to a big research ending up with the BiB.
Although there is plastic involved, this is the best ecological packaging for olive oil
on the market without losing quality. All our friends and family are hooked as it supplies
them for a few months of amazing olive oil for a more interesting price. And we have the
beautiful bottle to refill and put on your dinner table.
The whole BiB can be recycled or reused in fun ways and we challenge you to do this.
Our BiB's are from Eno Apoio, a supplier of the Smurfit Kappa range.
