NorStar Consulting Announces Release of Its New White Paper, "Confronting the Challenges of the U.S. Olive Oil Market"

Nashville, TN, June 21, 2020 --(PR.com)-- “The benefits of the Mediterranean Diet featuring olive oil and its anti-oxidant properties are well established throughout history from Roman times. Today’s events surrounding the COVID-19 virus have only made Americans more sensitive to healthy eating habits. Reports from the North American Olive Oil Association (NAOOA), the olive oil industry leading trade association, find Americans now consume 9% of the world’s olive oil production. This fact has caught the eye of international olive oil producers throughout the globe. And, even more importantly, NAOOA also reports the U.S. consumption rate has grown 36% over the last five years.

NAOOA studies further report when compared to the globe’s largest consumers of olive oil, the Greeks, who consume on average 21 liters/person/year, the average American only consumes 1.1 liters/person /year. However, seeing that research shows that only half of American households even stock an olive oil, the American annual consumer rate per person is 2.2 liters. “Given the USA’s population, we are now the world’s largest olive oil market,” stated Mark R. O’Brien, Founder and Managing Partner of NorStar Consulting.

Nashville resident, Lee W. Hill, Partner in NorStar Consulting, added, "The USA Food industry including Olive Oil is immense and complex. For a foreign produced food to reach an American consumer, there are a series of hurdles to be overcome just to play the game. The first of which is meeting the U.S. Federal Food and Drug Administration’s olive oil facility registration and certification regulations.”

Next, there is maneuvering the USA’s complex multi-tiered distribution system comprised of importer, wholesaler/distributor and retailer. Given success with the administrative process, the real challenge begins with building brand awareness in an arena of well capitalized, recognizable olive oil brands.

Real world experience shows, this is not an unattainable goal. Many small producers have heritage, cultural and production method advantages that result in limited quantity, premium quality olive oil not reproducible in mass production facilities. The purpose of NorthStar Consulting’s new White Paper, “Confronting the Challenges of the United States Olive Oil Market.” is to give international olive oil producers some insight as to how to gain success in the USA.”

NorStar Consulting is a partnership with offices in Charlestown, RI and Nashville, TN. Founded in 2000, the firm provides international entrepreneurs methods to improve sales, distribution, and profitability through its exceptional breadth of experience and expertise in traditional and online marketing, sales, e-commerce, branding, product, and operations management.