Spotlight On: Gaea

Officials at Gaea have all their bases covered. Great product? Check. Great story? Check. Great packaging? Check. Ability to make money for retailers in a category that is not traditionally known as a big money maker? Check. 

Now they just want to inform retailers and consumers more about the company. Specifically, what it manufactures and how it is different from other olive oil companies that have flooded the marketplace as consumers seek alternatives that provide a healthier lifestyle. 

“We simply have a great story to tell,” says David Neuman, CEO of the U.S. division of the Greek-owned company, based in Hollywood, Fla. “Between the fact that we have a traceable sourced product and the great tasty, healthy product we produce, we are quite unique out there.”

The olive oil category has taken on a life of its own. Backed by an abundance of reports and studies that praise the positive impact of olive oil on healthy living and a wide array of products available, the category is one of the most talked about center store segments in the supermarket. 

But that success comes with its own set of issues. For most retailers, the olive oil category is crowded with too many brands, making it a hard category to merchandise, causing confusion for consumers as to what product to choose. It has also led some to say that the category has gray areas attached to it, especially the growing whispers that not all the product on store shelves are 100 percent olive oil. 

​Neuman and his entire team view this as an opportunity for companies like Gaea, which sources the bulk of its olives from its exclusive cooperative in Sitia, Crete, Greece, where they are majority owners. “We want to get our message out there that we offer real extra virgin olive oil and we have the evidence to back this up,” he says. “We think that once consumers learn about us, what we offer, how we are sourced and then simply taste our product, they will keep coming back for more.”

While the company has been around for more than two decades, it was only two years ago—February 2015—that it got serious about the U.S. market. The first move was to hire Neuman, who can best be described as a combination of 1950s-style roadside preacher and hard-driving salesman. “Aris Kefaloginnis (the founder of the company and the parent company’s CEO) saw that I had been successful when it came to the olive oil category,” says Neuman, who most recently was the president of Lucini Italia. “At that point, many opportunities arose of where to take my career next. A lot of companies were interested in me but I fell in love with Greece and what Gaea was doing in Europe. I knew this was the next stop in my career.”

Now, Neuman is all about getting the word out on Gaea. That is being done through traditional advertising, in-store tastings and even taking journalists on a week-long press junket to Greece to see everything from the olive groves to its pressing facility to its factory that can produce 6,000 bottles of olive oil and 7,000 jars and 3,000 packs of olives an hour. 

“The bottom line is that we offer a top-quality product that is traceable to its source and we want the world to know about it,” says Neuman. “Most of our competitors offer products that are Mediterranean blends that do not produce a robust, tasty olive oil. Gaea products are made the old-fashioned way, with no middle man and no interference from anyone.”

Through all of its marketing efforts and product introductions, Gaea has established itself as a major player in much of Europe. Company officials say that it is among the largest olive oil suppliers in Germany, the U.K., Norway, Russia and, of course, Greece. Now the focus is on getting a larger foothold in the U.S.

“There is definitely an opportunity for us here for several reasons,” Neuman notes. “One is that we offer a good, quality extra-virgin olive oil for a price where retailers can make a nice margin and penny profit. Our extra virgin olive oil products average about $13 a bottle, while the typical olive oil has a $6 price point. A retailer has to sell two of their product to equal one of our products.”

The second, he says, is that the standards for olive oil in the U.S. are lax and those within the industry, not to mention consumers, are starting to notice. “Eventually the government is going to clamp down on this category and when they do Gaea will stand above the competition,” Neuman says. “Educating the retailer is vital to this process,” he adds. Gaea is offering retailers as much information about the olive oil segment as possible to build awareness on the various types of oil and the different brands needed to cover the entire gamut for the category. “The more retailers know about this category, the better the chance to create an olive oil category that will maximize sales and profits and offers consumers the best choices across multiple price points.”

Kefalogiannis says that stocking Gaea should be a slam dunk for retailers. “Retailers, in my opinion, should be looking at two things. First to fulfill their consumers’ needs and desires, and second to build value while offering real value for money products to their shoppers,” he notes. “Gaea is offering outstanding quality at a reasonable price for the quality it offers. Therefore Gaea fulfills all the criteria of building value and responding to client’s needs. Last but not least, the continued popularity of the Mediterranean diet and the need for retail to discover new Mediterranean flavors and diets, is creating a big opportunity for the Greek Mediterranean diet and Gaea is the best brand to fill this gap.”

The future is more of the same, Neuman says. New packaging and sizes (trial and large sizes) of the olive oils are coming down the pike. The company has also recently added olive snack packs in liquid-free packaging to its line, which now numbers about 55 SKUs. 

“This is an exciting time for us in the U.S.,” Neuman says. “I think we will continue to grow at a healthy rate and should be among the top 10 olive oil brands in the country within five years. The key is to build brand awareness and to get the consumer to try our product. Once they do that, we will be in good shape. I think we are going to take off here.”

​Kefalogiannis takes it one step further. He says that consumers are looking for authenticity, on one hand, and want the brands to be socially responsible and promote environmental sustainability on the other. “Gaea offers all the above,” he says. “It is a truly authentic Greek brand, all of our products are derived directly from Greek mother earth, known for its fertility. At the same time Gaea is a pioneer in environmental protection being the world’s first olive oil and olive brand that has certified its olive oils and olives as carbon neutral.

Gaea’s product range offers all the essential ingredients for the Greek Mediterranean diet, which is renowned for its healthy character and great taste. Consumers can achieve the state of wellness when they are healthy and they enjoy their life.”