Fresh oil tastes better. New Zealand oil is fresher.
Extra virgin olive oil is a fruit juice. Like any juice, it is at its best soon after picking – and it does not improve on a six-week sea voyage.
How far has your oil travelled?
Imported oil is usually pressed in the Northern Hemisphere, shipped in bulk through temperature extremes that degrade quality, then stored before it reaches the shelf. By the time you open the bottle, the harvest can be well over a year behind you.
Ours has a much shorter trip. Picked in Mangonui, pressed locally, bottled here, on your table within weeks.
The harvest date is on every bottle we sell, so you never have to guess.
Typical imported oilNorthern hemisphere harvest to your kitchen
Oruaiti River OlivesGrove to your kitchen
“New Zealand made” is not the same as grown here
Many shoppers are surprised to learn that some bottlers import bulk oil from overseas and blend it with a smaller amount of New Zealand oil before bottling it locally. The label may look local. The oil inside may be from anywhere.
That is why we are registered with Buy New Zealand Made and Grown in New Zealand. Those marks mean the fruit was grown here, not just poured into a bottle here.
- A harvest date, not just a best beforeFresh oil is dated. If a producer will not tell you when the fruit was picked, that is worth noticing.
- Named country of origin for the oil itselfLook for where the olives were grown, not where the bottling happened.
- Extra virgin, cold pressedCold pressed means the oil was extracted without heat, which protects flavour and the antioxidants that come with it.
- CertificationOliveti Northland runs annual awards and certifies those oils passing International Olive Council chemical and sensory standards.
- A single estate, if you can get itOne grove, one harvest, one press - the shortest possible line between the tree and the bottle.
Best in Show and Best in Class, 2025 Oliveti Northland Olive Oil Awards.
Made to a standard, not to a price
New Zealand producers work under the Food Act with traceable production systems, and small growers like us have nowhere to hide: every bottle comes from one grove and carries our name.
Our oil is entered each year in the Oliveti Northland Olive Oil Awards, where it is judged on both laboratory chemistry and blind sensory tasting – the same benchmarks used by the world’s best producers. Six consecutive gold medals, and Best in Show in 2022 and 2025.
When you buy New Zealand extra virgin olive oil you are also backing local growers, and getting the flavour, quality and health benefits you paid for.
Taste the difference freshness makes
This season’s oil, pressed in Mangonui and posted anywhere in New Zealand. Free shipping over $120.