Colavita S.p.A is an Italian company best known for itsolive oil.
 | |
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Food processing |
| Founded | 1938; 87 years ago (1938) |
| Founder | Giovanni and Felice Colavita |
| Headquarters | , Italy |
Area served | Italy, United States |
Key people | Enrico and Leonardo Colavita |
| Products | Pasta, Olive Oil, Tomato Sauce, Soup, Vinegar, Wine[1] |
| Website | colavita.it colavita.com |
As of 2010, the brothers Enrico and Leonardo Colavita run the company, with Enrico serving asPresident and Leonardo asGeneral Manager, and other members of the family serving in other management roles, including Leonardo's son Giovanni, who was President of Colavita USA.[2] Their father started the packaging business in the 1930s;[1] their family, and many other families in the town ofSant'Elia a Pianisi and the widerProvince of Campobasso, had grown and pressed olive oil for generations.[2] The company owns a packaging plant inPomezia, which also packages olive oil under the brands Rachael Ray All-Italian Extra Virgin Olive Oil and Santa Sabina.[2]
Colavita USA was founded by John J. Profaci exclusively who, at the time, was a resident ofBensonhurst, Brooklyn. Profaci was introduced to Enrico Colavita in 1978 after Colavita came to the United States. Profaci, who had been in the olive oil business, agreed to go into business with Colavita as the US distributor for the company and subsequently created theextra virgin olive oil category in the United States.[3] The US distribution started slowly, with Profaci offering samples at a local grocery store, and then he started to sell to Italian restaurants and to specialty stores and within five years, Colavita became a renowned brand in parts of the world.[3] Then, in the mid-1980s,The New York Times ran a feature on the health benefits of foods withmonounsaturated fat like olive oil, and the article included a picture of a bottle of Colavita olive oil. The publicity caused the business to grow quickly.[3]
In 1991 Colavita USA donated $2 million to theCulinary Institute of America in exchange fornaming rights to a new building on the campus[where?]; the building opened in 2001 after the school spent $7 million total to complete it.[3]
In 2008 Colavita acquired Colavita USA.[4]
See also
edit- Colavita/Bianchi, a women'scycling team sponsored by the company
References
edit- ^ab"Sponsored Content: Italy Part I".Foreign Affairs. April 25, 2016.
- ^abcVivante, Lucy (29 September 2010)."Leonardo Colavita and the UC Davis Olive Oil Report".Olive Oil Times.
- ^abcd"Colavita USA, Which Started in Edison, Brings Extra-Virgin Olive Oil To New Jersey Customers". 11 December 2012. Retrieved27 April 2017.
- ^"Storia".Colavita (in Italian). Retrieved9 June 2017.