Cornell University

Today, I was able to discuss the consumer trends of olive oil with everyone on the farm, and learn more about the clientele base of the farm.

Olive oil is experiencing a dramatic surge in popularity.  The farm has noticed that customers are now especially concerned about the health of the environment, and their own personal health. Olive oil has a good image, thanks to the heavily scrutinized Mediterranean diet, and is rich in polyphenols, Vitamin E, and monounsaturated fatty acids. I am indulging myself in the olive oil, as after all, I am somewhat near the prime location of deviation for Ancel Key’s Seven Countries study findings. The study found that serum cholesterol levels were strongly associated with coronary heart disease everywhere, but particularly, not in Southern Europe. Could this be the “healthful” fats of olive oil at work?

The farm hopes that by going organic, they will further project their image of being healthy for both the body and the environment.

A paper by T. Michels (2006) identified six consumer profiles for olive oil, which I thought was very noteworthy. The paper describes the “the foodie, the aspirational foodie, the recipe reader, time poor foodie, time poor aspirationals and the uninterested.” Michels also points out that consumers do not really know about olive oil, or various ways to use it. I somewhat agree with this even though in the US, Rachel Ray and others are always proclaiming their love for Extra Virgin olive oil to the public masses.  Here, even though this is the south of France, and not the larger Spanish or Italian olive oil production areas, it is difficult to find a product which does not use olive oil.

In addition to consumer trends, it was interesting to learn the break-down of the sales on the farm; an incredible 70% is sold directly from the on-site shop. The shop is only 10 minutes away from Montpellier, a very large city, and attracts wealthy clientele since the product is of a very high quality and is labor intensive. Besides location, I think the store has such a good turnover because the whole experience is very personalized. As soon as a customer comes through the door, they are greeted with a “Bonjour!” and if desired, are educated about the various products of the farm, which includes a tasting. I have taken part of this process many times as both the taster and the informer, although I do have to admit, usually I am the taster.

Exportation is a new feature for the Domain, and results in 5% of sales. Apparently, it is harder to export to Asian markets since olive oil is not as widely used in their cuisine, but northern Europe and North America are turning out to be important customers. For example, we just prepared a large order to send out to Canada.

 The remaining 25% of sales results from restaurants and local boutiques that carry the Domain’s products. I have mentioned such boutiques when I discussed the “Maison de Producteurs” organization in the last post.

Along the lines of selling to restaurants, this week was definitely one of the highlights of my entire internship. I had a chance to visit Maison De La Lozere, a restaurant that the Domain de l’Oulivie almost exclusively supplies (http://www.celliermorel.com/). I was able to eat, see the kitchen, and interview the chef, Eric Cellier. This is definitely my favorite kind of learning experience!

 A paper by Abel Duarte Alonso dealing with olives and tourism describes how when restaurants carry local olive products, it increases the interest of customers, and acts as an incentive to attract customers to the olive farm or to buy the farm’s products.  From my visit to the Maison De La Lozere, I understand how this can be true. The restaurant displays the various oils they use from the Domain in a gorgeous glass case for customers to see when they first enter the restaurant. Also, the chef has worked extensively with my boss at the farm to blend his own special oil using two varieties, and a special black bottle which was designed exclusively for the use of the restaurant. After select customers dine, the chef offers them little vials of the olive oil to take home as well. The oil is used in the classic style with vegetables, meat, and fish, but is also used to make marshmallows, and ice cream.

Currently, Mr. Cellier is working on a project to blend chocolate, oil, and basil. Every dish I had was divine, and it was fantastic for me to see what a great market and promotional outlet the restaurant is for the farm. It also reinforced the fact that the quality of the product is crucial for its marketing niche. Olive oil may be made cheaply in Spain, and it may take a lot of work to produce the final product, as I have experienced, but in the end, when the plate arrives in front of you, it is definitely worth the price and extra effort…

I know I have previously mentioned the Common Agriculture Policy, known in France as the Politique Agricole Commune, when I initially underwent the French agriculture policy crash course at SupAgro University. However, now that I am on the olive farm and have discussed with my hosts the role of public policy on the daily financial operation of the farm, I have a definite renewed interest. If the thought of policy makes your eyes glaze over, I will try to intersperse pretty pictures from the farm throughout my policy spiel. 

Here’s a quick description of the PAC as I understand it… Originally, the PAC was focused on the objective of increasing food production since food security was a postwar issue. Farmers were given grants and subsidies for excess food produced. By the time the 1980’s rolled around however, the opposite, food surplus, was now the problem. The policy’s aim of creating food security worked too well. The French refer to it as being a “victim de son success.” Thanks to large reforms in 2003, grants are now given to farmers independently of amount produced to avoid the problem of a food surplus.

There is still income from the government through subsidies, but for example, instead of subsidizing for quantity, grants come to farmers for aspects such as sustainability and food safety practices. The farmers are free to produce whatever is most profitable for them by following market demand. I’m almost done with the simplified policy lecture here, but I do have to point out my favorite aspect of the PAC in relation to France. I find it so interesting that out of the whole EU, France gets the most money from the PAC-a whopping 42.7% even though they do not contribute the most money to the European Common Budget. Obviously, this is a source of great debate for upcoming revisions to PAC, but it just goes to show how important agriculture is here in France.

The Domaine de l’Oulivie gets such grants from the national government, the EU, and the Region, especially since the farm is working on developing themselves as an organic farm. Still, because olive growing makes up only .1% of the agricultural products produced, it is not given financial priority in relation to the PAC budget. To combat this, growers have united under AFIDOL, Association Française Interprofessionnelle de l’Olive. It is a professional olive association which includes 30,000 growers, 30 confectioners that use olives in their products, and 18 olive nurseries. In addition to having power to petition for government funding, the association assists French olive growers, such as the Domain de l’Oulivie, by providing technical knowledge specific to Mediterranean olive growing.

It is fantastic that there are so many organizations to assist the smaller farmer in a financially viable manner here. The farm belongs to several organizations which help market their product. One example is the French Agriculture Board’s Bienvenue a la Ferme, which is a membership program to promote regional products. For only a small fee, the farm receives publicity such as road signs. The farm also markets their products with a Qualite Sud de France label which is an association created by the Languedoc-Roussillon Region. The products are described as “coming from the soul, heart, and taste buds.” Most importantly, the label creates a brand identity that links local products to a market, and is a mark of quality for the customer. The newest organization for the Domain de l’Oulivie is the Maison de Producteurs, which is a group of producers with boutiques that sell each other’s products.

I would now like to introduce my dessert of the moment… the Canelé. It is the official pastry, with a custard center, from Bordeaux containing egg, sugar, milk, rum, and vanilla. I was doing a little research on it and found out that back in 1663 there was a registered Guild of the Canauliers, or the people that make the Canelé. Unfortunately, these people did not belong to the Pastry Guild so they were not allowed to use milk and sugar in their confections. On March 3, 1755, the council in Versailles ruled that the Canauliers were allowed to use milk and sugar. In 1767 there was another ruling passed that said a city could have only 8 Canelé shops, so the profession was highly regarded. This ruling must have not been well enforced. Also, as a point of interest, the main rum flavoring that we all so enjoy now was not added until at least the 20^th century…

I have found my official favorite dessert of all time, and as promised, I am posting information on how the Domaine de l’Oulivie integrates value added tourism into their products to diversify themselves from competitors. Also, since I will be leaving before the olives are ripe, I was able to obtain pictures of the harvest from the Domaine de l’Oulivie, for everyone’s viewing pleasure. I had mentioned the trees flowering in previous blogs, so it is nice to now have images.

While at SupAgro University, we had a chance to meet with professor Fatina Fort to discuss her research on consumer perception of terroir products. Our discussion was fabulous for helping me understand value added strategies used by producers, some of which I am now witnessing at the Domaine de l’Oulivie.   She pointed out that in order for farms to succeed, there needs to be producer motivation, a market for the products, and an image that consumers can have about the producers or the region that is reflected in the product. She discussed strategies for producers such as quality and market segmentation, how to create added value, and what is needed to construct the “terroir/origin effect” on the consumer.

The Domaine de l’Oulivie adds value by integrating and inspiring tourism. They have a quaint shop so there is an outlet for direct selling from the producer, and they welcome the public with activities such as festivals, and tours of their museum.

To further diversify from competitors, the Vialla brothers have planted heirloom  olive varieties collectively called “Grand Crus,” meaning that the cultivars are all local varieties, no more than 300 trees are planted per hectare, and no more than 4 liters of oil per tree is harvested. The older varieties are unique in the market and embody the region, a crucial element of success as discussed by professor Fort. For example, the Farigoule variety is olive oil blended with herbs that grow in the Garrigue, the local natural vegetation. According to the legend, olive oil producers “back in the day,” would add herbs of the Garrigue to the last pressing to sterilize or clean the pressing equipment. They would keep this last “inferior” herb tasting olive oil for themselves. The Domaine de l’Oulivie now routinely adds herbs to their oil even though the process is modernized and does not need the traditional herb sterilization.  So far, it is one of my favorite oils and I have even had the chance to bottle it!

The farm is also going organic, which means they can have an organic label AB, or in French called Agriculture Biologique, which will be on the products. There are some policy disputes about this as organic laws are becoming standardized across the EU. Despite this, this is the first year that the Domaine de l’Oulivie’s products will be carrying this label. This is a definite added value strategy since an organic label will open up the market and command higher prices.

I inquired about the major complications of the olive farm to learn more about this whole value-added tourism aspect, and apparently going organic is a definite hassle despite its eventual rewarding outcome. Since no herbicides are used, the farm employs two cows and two horses to mow and fertilize the olive groves. Also, the olive tree’s major enemy is the olive mouche, a fly that normally would be easily controlled by pesticides. Instead, the farm sprays the ripe olives with clay which turns the olives white so that the fly does not recognize the fruit as egg laying territory. Unfortunately, this clay comes off with the rain, what little rain they usually get here, and is more expensive.

Finding new clients can be problematic, but the new organic label is projected to attract a new customer pool. I love France and feel that I am learning so much here from so many vantage points! In my next posts, I will discuss how agricultural policy makes this type of operation possible, olive oil consumption trends as they are observed by the Domaine de l’Oulivie, and any other adventures I have on the farm. In the meantime, feel free to savor this picture of deliciousness, it is chocolate MilleFeuille which translates to mean a thousand sheets since there are so many layers of heavenly pastry.

Bonjour from a very busy week at the olive farm! I am now experiencing the Domaine De l’Oulivie savoir-faire, or the traditional “know how” of various olive product processes firsthand. Since I elaborated on the museum aspect of the farm in my last post, I think information on the modern equipment and processes will show a nice contrast. It depicts how here in France, they have the modern equipment, but also strong ties to the past and constant reminders of tradition.

We will be leaving in July, so I will not be able to witness the big gather, but from what I’ve learned so far, there is so much work here that is done manually!

The green olives are picked by hand so that they do not bruise, and then half are left on the tree for three more months to turn black. They shake the branches with something that looks like an upside down weed whacker called “combs” so that the black olives fall to the ground onto tarps which are then gathered up and emptied into bins.   The olives, green or black and with their pits included, are put into the machine below to get ground up.

 The next machine further mixes, which is especially beneficial for tapenade and purees.

In the last machine pictured below, the oil and water is separated out of the mixture.

During July through September, the olive fruits continue to get bigger with sun and water. As of right now, it is possible to see tiny olives forming-so exciting! The flowering of the trees depends on the temperature, and usually lasts two weeks.

We caught the tail end of this process when we first arrived in May. I could not believe how much pollen there was, but this is probably explained by the fact that the trees are wind pollinated, not insect pollinated.

We actually planted some baby olive trees, as shown below, but most of the trees on the estate are around fifty years old.

It was also very interesting for me to plant baby olive trees this week, because on the weekend, we ventured to the Pont du Gard, where there is an olive tree that dates back to 908 AD.

I know this is not a travel blog, yet I cannot help but suggest that anyone who ventures to the south of France needs to see fireworks off of the Pont du Gard and try a Tielle, a traditional southern France seafood pie that I adore. Unfortunately, I just learned while attempting to research the appropriate spelling of this seafood pie that it is made with garlic, tomatoes and squid. I’ve been eating squid this whole time-agh!! Oh well, it’s delicious and I will probably still eat one every chance I get! 

Anyway, back on topic… I love the aspect of tradition embodied here. The Domaine De l’Oulivie even manages to incorporate tradition into their marketing strategy to differentiate themselves by growing heirloom olive varieties, one specifically is called Violette de Montpellier which produces absolutely divine tasting, strong flavored, olive oil.  My next post will be dedicated to this interesting concept of how the farm integrates value added tourism to diversify their products and differentiate from competitors. 

So I wonder how many of the olive trees I planted will live to be 1000 years old?

I am now in St. Gely Du Fesc, at my internship site, the Domaine De l’Oulivie. I will be discussing and relating my internship experience to the literature about agro-tourism, and detailing more of my university coursework on how French government plays a role in agriculture, but for this post, I am just going to concentrate on describing the olive farm, how gorgeous the farm is, and how absolutely delicious their products are. I do have to point out however, in a paper titled “America’s Changing Farmscape: A Study of Agricultural Tourism in Michigan,” agriculture tourism is in defined as “ incorporating visits to farms for purposes of on-site retail purchases, and education,” and the Domaine De l’Oulivie is certainly this and much more…

The olive farm has been in the Vialla family for three generations, and has about 30 hectares of olive trees. They grow three main varieties that are well adapted to the hot dry summer weather, which I will detail later. They employ 8 people year round, and more during the harvest season. One of the best aspects of the farm is the fact that they uphold tradition and continue to demonstrate to their clients the “traditional” way of making olive oil through their museum. In fact, for my first weekend on the olive farm, I was lucky enough to be able to witness the spring open house, Le Printemps Des Oliviers, where a demonstration of making olive oil the “old school way” was available to tourists, the general public, and clients. Pictured below is the big granite wheel, powered by a Moulin (windmill) and a giant water wheel, which crushes the olives and their pits. This can then be made into tapenade, or further pressed into olive oil by being loaded into bags and pressed with a giant weight-see the picture below as well.

The open house was an excellent way to introduce me to what agro-tourism is all about. In one farm visit, there is honestly something for everyone. After today, I can definitely understand why French farmers would choose to follow an agro-tourism path and focus on niche production of quality versus commodity production of quantity. Even though agro-tourism farms exist in the U.S., I’m surprised they are not as popular as they are here in France. It seems a fantastic way to combat increased costs of production with low revenue, and international competition.

At the open house, there was a greeting station where visitors could be welcomed to the farm and get an introduction to the various programs. The museum was open as previously described. Local vineyards set up a wine tasting booth and there was also a craft booth selling terroir products, pictured below. The store selling all of the olive products was also open as well, with guided tastings of the various oils. I was actually able to guide a tasting for English speaking tourists who wanted to explore the very strong tasting olive oil varieties.

There was a scavenger hunt in a section of the olive grove for the kids, in addition to stations where they could color and paint with clay. My favorite part, of course, in addition to the food tent where people could purchase gourmet lunches, wine, espresso, and ice cream to eat at tables located in the olive groves, was the patissier (pastry chef) who gave demonstrations on making delicious olive products. Did I mention I’m in love with French desserts?