Olive Oil sales rise as the UK seeks a healthier lifestyle

“People turn to a healthier diet in the New Year, but it’s the permanent, lifestyle changes, that really matter” that’s according to getoily.com’s MD, James Tyler. As one of the UK’s leading online fine food shops, getoily.com have noticed a sharp increase in the sale of Olive Oil and Balsamic vinegar over the past twelve months, something Tyler puts down to UK residents seeking a healthier lifestyle and discovering wonderful produce on their travels around the World.

“We set-up getoily.com so that we could share our passion for Olive Oil and Balsamic Vinegar. As a family, we travel far and wide to seek out the best Olive Oil from the very best Olive Oil producers, large and small. Olive Oil sales in the UK have been steadily rising over the past 12 months and we predict that trend to continue through an increased range of oils and a consumer quest for a healthier lifestyle through super foods such as Olive Oil. We’ve also noticed an interest in the more unusual oils, a trend that has grown as World travel has become increasingly affordable.”

The list of benefits from using Olive Oil would appear to be endless, from medicinal applications such as preventing heart disease and cancer, to beauty benefits such as providing anti-aging properties, as well as the more obvious use in cooking and baking.  The most frequently asked question the team at getoily.com face, is, how do I choose the right Olive Oil? James Tyler gives his advice: “Most people are familiar with Olive Oil and recognise Virgin Olive Oil as being a premium product, but as for understanding regional or variances by grower, as we might with wine, we’re some way from that. Typically, people search for Greek Olive Oils or indeed Italian Olive Oils, but there are great oils from a wide range of countries, and each will be given a different characteristic dependent of the quality of Olive, or what in wine terms is known as ‘Terroir’ – the soil and geography surrounding the Olive Tree.  With such a wide range of Olive Oils, it’s probably best to think about what you will use the oil for and ask an expert - for example, a peppery Extra Virgin Olive Oil will enhance salad, whilst a more modest oil, will suffice for general cooking. Overall, my advice would be to have a selection of Olive Oils, for different applications. This will mean you’ll have a premium Virgin Olive Oil or Extra Virgin Olive Oil, when it will be used prominently in a dish, or as an accompaniment, with a more day-to-day oil for use within general cooking and probably a flavoured oil like a Garlic Olive Oil for adding character to a dish.”