Deoleo defies tariffs and will strengthen its presence in the United States and India until 2028

Deoleo, the owner of such renowned brands as Carbonell, Hojiblanca, Koipe and Carapelli, begins a new stage. This Tuesday it presented its new strategic plan for the period 2025-2028 – ‘EVOO-lution’ in which it has set out to reinforce its commitment to the US and Indian markets to grow in the next three years. Specifically, he wants generate an additional 32 million euros of Ebitda (gross profits before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization) in this period. Of this amount, 13 million would come from promoting its main brands in places like USA (4 million) through brands like Bertolli, India (2 million) where it has Figaro and its commitment to innovation (3 million) developing lines of adjacent categories of olives, vinegars and avocado oil. The remaining 4 million euros to be added to the ebitda would come from the rest of the markets.

DEOLEO highlights that it already has a global market share of 8.6%three times higher than its immediate competitor. Regarding the United States, they continue to see them as “a very clear opportunity” in the words of the CEO of DEOLEO Cristóbal Baldés and that it has “a significant consumer base, already being the second market in olive oil consumption.” In this regard, they estimate average increases of 4.5% annually. “The market trend is one of growth due to the advantages in health and quality of life,” The company estimates that it is already talking about up to 60% penetration, especially in the east of the country (in Spain and Italy they reach 80 and 71%). Specifically, they seek to grow in high consumption areas where they still have penetration potential, such as the ‘Northeast’ and the ‘Mid-South’.

‘Conquering’ India through cosmetics

Regarding India, where DEOLEO already generates 15% of its sales, it has found its main potential in the application of the oil for cosmetic uses through brands such as Figaro (with an 80% share) and where the oil group has set the goal of expanding its distribution network from 250,000 to 450,00 points of salein addition to incorporating a team of 15 people and a new director for the Asian giant from Unilever. The roadmap in this market, according to the company, involves strengthening the cosmetics segment, which already accounts for 55% of the sales volume in that country and is three times more profitable than the food segment. Valdés expects that this Asian market will contribute 2 million euros more to Ebitda until 2028. “We are going to promote the use of olive oil for cosmetics as an alternative to other oils such as coconut oil. We are talking about a market of almost 3,000 million dollars,” explains Valdés who points out that DEOLEO will focus on gaining share from these other oils.

Operational improvements

In parallel, the company also plans to add other 19 million to its Ebitda through operational improvements reformulating their purchasing strategies (12 million), their operational and organizational excellence (4 million). In addition to adding additional efficiencies (3 million). Regarding this, from DEOLEO, they have elaborated that they will “review the entire chain in its entirety to optimize it.” In this sense, its CEO Cristóbal Valdés explains that they have found “specific areas for improvement” and that they want to “generate competitive negotiation processes with our suppliers.” All this, to consolidate “a more demanding model while maintaining quality.” The oil group assures on this point that “we do not need a new plant or investments different from our regular levels.” Specifically, they estimate that their two plants in Spain and Italy They may have between “30 and 40% idle capacity to continue growing” and they assure that they will maintain their planned investments.