who are we?

The ilove extra virgin olive oil brand was originally created by a group of like-minded olive growers based in the Wairarapa wine growing region of New Zealand, and now includes olive growers from Hawkes Bay and Horowhenua. A typical olive grove in New Zealand only has 1,000 trees and does not provide sufficient quantities of olive oil to support an international brand. Consequentially, a number of olive growers have banded together to create a company that can deliver the best extra virgin olive oil we can grow to the world. When we say "the best" we mean it - this is an olive oil for finishing fine food rather than for cooking.

New Zealand is a small country made up of small businesses and ilove is no exception to that rule. We believe that the boutique nature of our organisation and the critical location of our groves allow us to create a truly distinctive olive oil product. New Zealand wines have demonstrated to the world that the New Zealand climate and land characteristics deliver an exceptional taste - olive oil is proving to have these same attributes. When this is combined with a passionate commitment to quality, the results put the ilove olive oil in a class by itself.

Our company name is Wairarapa Olives Limited, reflecting where we started out. The shareholders now represent a large section of the olive oil producing community across the Wairarapa, Hawkes Bay and Horowhenua regions of New Zealand. Shareholding has grown from the original 20+ of 2006 to over 25 this year as other growers are keen to join the group. Eventually we expect to source our product from approximately 50 groves, most of them owned by shareholders.

Extra virgin olive oil is a new industry in New Zealand and our intention is to build the ilove extra virgin olive oil brand in a manner that aligns supply to the market. We currently have a network of grower shareholding that is capable of supplying up to about 7,000 litres of oil in 2009 and this capacity is expected to expand to approximately 100,000 litres in the next five to ten years; with most of the expansion coming from existing growers as their trees mature.