We recently made the huge decision to change our olive oil supplier. It’s one of our best selling products so very important to get right!

Although our old olive oil met many of the shop values, it came in 5 litre metal cans. These are of course recyclable, and we are saving most of them for an upcycling project. However when we heard about a fully zero waste olive oil we were extremely interested.

Who are Aeithalis?

Aeithalis (pronounced Ay-thar-liss) is Greek for ”evergreen”. The olive grove in Messinia in Southern Greece has existed for centuries. In 2017 it was inherited by Ilias Panagiotakopoulos. The grove was not in the best condition, Ilias set about restoring it in a gentle way, using the principles of rewilding. He was assisted by his friend William who grew up on an organic farm in Wales.

Why is their oil special?

Protected Designation of Origin (PDO registration)
Unblended, unfiltered and monovarietal
Only Koroneiki variety olives used
The olives are hand picked, no heavy machinery on the land
The olives are from their grove only, therefore they can be sure of the quality
Ancient olive grove, not new
Chemical free
No artificially watered trees
Low intensity farming for greater biodiversity
100% bird nest safe
Great Taste Award 2019 & Bronze at the London International Olive Oil Competition
Achieved organic certification January 2024 (we supported them while they were working towards this as it takes a while).

Why did we stock the oil before it was certified organic?

When we first started stocking the oil they were are a relatively new company, and the cost of certification was was too high for them. The oil is made on organic principles and they are applied for certification when the business was more stable. We are proud to have supported Aeithalis at this early stage helping them in their goal of certification. This was achieved in January 2024.

Local employment

The oil is milled just down the road from the farm, keeping the value of the product in the region.

They have three professional olive pickers who work with them each year during harvest time. They are paid above the local living wage as they have a lot of experience, and they wouldn’t want to pay them less regardless. Olive picking is a very tough job, and in Greece it is well paid work.

For the rest of the year, Ilias tends to the trees by himself, or with occasional help from the other farmers (who he will also help when they need it).

You can see a video of the harvest and the working conditions here.

How does it get delivered?

It travels to the UK in large vats on lorries at the moment. However Aeithalis are looking into using wind powered ships in the future.

It is taken to their depot near Dartford where it is placed in 20ltr reusable drums. These come to us via electric courier. We order six at a time to save journeys and we get through that much of it! Note: they have temporarily moved to Wales due to some issues with premises, but hope to move back to London very soon.

When the drums are empty they are returned by electric courier to be cleaned and refilled.

Why is it infused?

In order to adhere to EU olive oil guidelines, and allow retailers to legally sell on tap the olive oil is infused with trace amounts of Rosemary. It is an infusion in name only and the taste and smell are not affected.

Buying the oil

As the bottles for all liquids have to be weighed before filling you no longer have to fill up a whole bottle, just take a little bit to try, We are sure you will love it! If you don’t have a bottle on you, you are welcome to use one of our clean and ready to go bottles. These are free of charge to customers.

Price*

At Get Loose you can buy Aeithalis olive oil for £14.67/kg. We sell by weight to give you a more accurate price and allow you to come with some product left in your bottle. Please weigh bottles prior to filling.

How does it compare to major supermarket chains?

Waitrose own brand organic = £13 per litre
Sainsbury’s own brand organic = £11.40 per litre

*prices correct January 2024

Curious about our other suppliers? Look through our Producer Spotlight blog section.