St. Louis Business Journal by E.B. Solomont
When Robert Palleja and his wife, Shama Lakhani, opened their first olive oil store more than three years ago, they started small with one Di Olivas location at the West County Center in Des Peres. A year and a half later, they expanded to St. Charles.
Then, several months ago they got a call from Plaza Frontenac offering lease terms they couldn’t turn down, Palleja said.
The Frontenac store opened Nov. 2. “We get some pretty well-traveled people who know what good olive oil and good balsamic vinegars are supposed to taste like and they find that here,” said Palleja, describing the kind of demand he’s seen. Di Olivas also has a holiday pop-up at St. Clair Square in Fairview Heights, Ill.
Robert Palleja's Di Olivas recently opened its third location in the St. Louis area, at Plaza Frontenac. Brian Cassidy
The new Di Olivas joins a crowded market for olive oil and balsamic vinegar in the St. Louis area, and whether there’s enough business to go around remains to be seen.
Along with Di Olivas, there is Extra Virgin, an Olive Ovation, located in The Crescent at 143 Carondelet Plaza in Clayton, and Vom Fass at 7314 Manchester Road in Maplewood. Olive Oils & More is located at 1063 Illinois 157 in Edwardsville, Ill., and Olive Oil Marketplace is at 108 West Third St. in Alton, Ill. “I know I have lost customers to both Vom Fass and Di Olivas,” said Dr. Marianne Prey, owner of Extra Virgin, which opened five years ago. “People who seek out good food products don’t just stay in their neighborhood, and I’ve had customers tell me they’ve gone into both of those places and taste the oil.”
Vom Fass, a German franchise owned locally by Anita Von Ballmoos, opened three years ago and sells oils, vinegars and spirits. Oils and vinegars account for 60 percent of sales, said Von Ballmoos. Annual sales are $500,000, up from $320,000 three years ago. Her average sale is $35.
“We have similar stores, but we also sell cognac, whiskey. With this selection, we are unique here,” she said. “Each store here in St. Louis is individual and has different products.”
For his part, Palleja said, “Like any business, there comes a saturation point. I don’t think we’ve reached it.” He declined to share lease terms in Frontenac.
Di Olivas has annual sales of $600,000 from all its locations, Palleja said. Olive oil and vinegar make up 75 percent of total sales, and food and gift items comprise the remaining 25 percent. Between the oil and vinegar, sales are split 50-50.
Prey’s Extra Virgin store opened in 2007 and sells high-end oils and vinegars, plus accoutrements and books related to oil. “But the average customer doesn’t know that. We’re always fighting that battle.”
Prey said Extra Virgin saw 20 percent growth the first few years, followed by a dropping off. “Is that because it’s just the normal progression of an aging business, or is it less because there’s competition? I can’t answer that,” Prey said. She declined to disclose annual revenue, but said half her sales are olive oil.
Olive oil consumption has grown nationwide, by about 40 percent in the last decade, according to the U.S. International Trade Commission.
Most olive oil is imported from Spain and Italy, but domestic companies make 2 million gallons of olive oil a year. In California, olive oil production has increased from 5,000 tons in 1999 to 71,200 tons in 2011, according to the Ag Marketing Resource Center located at Iowa State University.
[Source: St. Louis Business Journal]
When Robert Palleja and his wife, Shama Lakhani, opened their first olive oil store more than three years ago, they started small with one Di Olivas location at the West County Center in Des Peres. A year and a half later, they expanded to St. Charles.
Then, several months ago they got a call from Plaza Frontenac offering lease terms they couldn’t turn down, Palleja said.
The Frontenac store opened Nov. 2. “We get some pretty well-traveled people who know what good olive oil and good balsamic vinegars are supposed to taste like and they find that here,” said Palleja, describing the kind of demand he’s seen. Di Olivas also has a holiday pop-up at St. Clair Square in Fairview Heights, Ill.
Robert Palleja's Di Olivas recently opened its third location in the St. Louis area, at Plaza Frontenac. Brian Cassidy
The new Di Olivas joins a crowded market for olive oil and balsamic vinegar in the St. Louis area, and whether there’s enough business to go around remains to be seen.
Along with Di Olivas, there is Extra Virgin, an Olive Ovation, located in The Crescent at 143 Carondelet Plaza in Clayton, and Vom Fass at 7314 Manchester Road in Maplewood. Olive Oils & More is located at 1063 Illinois 157 in Edwardsville, Ill., and Olive Oil Marketplace is at 108 West Third St. in Alton, Ill. “I know I have lost customers to both Vom Fass and Di Olivas,” said Dr. Marianne Prey, owner of Extra Virgin, which opened five years ago. “People who seek out good food products don’t just stay in their neighborhood, and I’ve had customers tell me they’ve gone into both of those places and taste the oil.”
Vom Fass, a German franchise owned locally by Anita Von Ballmoos, opened three years ago and sells oils, vinegars and spirits. Oils and vinegars account for 60 percent of sales, said Von Ballmoos. Annual sales are $500,000, up from $320,000 three years ago. Her average sale is $35.
“We have similar stores, but we also sell cognac, whiskey. With this selection, we are unique here,” she said. “Each store here in St. Louis is individual and has different products.”
For his part, Palleja said, “Like any business, there comes a saturation point. I don’t think we’ve reached it.” He declined to share lease terms in Frontenac.
Di Olivas has annual sales of $600,000 from all its locations, Palleja said. Olive oil and vinegar make up 75 percent of total sales, and food and gift items comprise the remaining 25 percent. Between the oil and vinegar, sales are split 50-50.
Prey’s Extra Virgin store opened in 2007 and sells high-end oils and vinegars, plus accoutrements and books related to oil. “But the average customer doesn’t know that. We’re always fighting that battle.”
Prey said Extra Virgin saw 20 percent growth the first few years, followed by a dropping off. “Is that because it’s just the normal progression of an aging business, or is it less because there’s competition? I can’t answer that,” Prey said. She declined to disclose annual revenue, but said half her sales are olive oil.
Olive oil consumption has grown nationwide, by about 40 percent in the last decade, according to the U.S. International Trade Commission.
Most olive oil is imported from Spain and Italy, but domestic companies make 2 million gallons of olive oil a year. In California, olive oil production has increased from 5,000 tons in 1999 to 71,200 tons in 2011, according to the Ag Marketing Resource Center located at Iowa State University.
[Source: St. Louis Business Journal]
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