Flemish journalist launches fair trade olive oil in Italy
Thomas Siffer was inspired to start his own olive oil business when he discovered how little money local growers were getting for their olives
Honest olives
But after two years, the family took the plunge and moved there permanently. Siffer, who was once editor-in-chief of magazines Menzo and Story, was no stranger to such big adventures. With his wife and their young daughter, he undertook a three-year sailboat trip around the world in the early 2000s.
In Italy, he quickly found a new project on which to focus his energy. Together with a friend, he created Thomas & gli altri (Thomas and the Others), a small business that specialises in organic and fair trade extra virgin olive oil.
“Puglia is a region with nothing but ancient olive trees, thousands of them,” explains Siffer (pictured). “I also had a few in my garden, and our first harvest was so marvellous that I decided to help a friend and fellow grower. When I found out how little he was getting for his olives at wholesale price, I was shocked.”
Siffer then suggested making olive oil out of his produce and selling it to his friends back in Belgium. “So I had two reasons to start this project: to help my friend get an honest price for his olives and to let my friends and family finally find out what real olive oil tastes like. Because when I first tasted pure organic extra virgin olive oil, I was blown away.”
A vicious circle
With Thomas & gli altri, Siffer goes back to the traditional way of making olive oil. That means that he harvests the youngest and tastiest olives, uses no pesticides or additives, doesn’t over-tend his grove and lets nature decide how bountiful the harvest will be.
He has, moreover, surrounded himself with a team of dedicated growers who also want to bypass the food industry and sell directly to consumers. The olive oil is available exclusively through his website and currently only ships to Belgium.
If people are willing to spend that little extra, they’ll get better food
Over the past few years, Siffer explains, he gradually realised that the food industry is fooling consumers; it is impossible, he says, to produce organic extra virgin olive oil at supermarket prices. “I started doing some research and discovered that they mix it with all sorts of crap, like palm oil or expired Greek olive oil. They simply use chemicals to change the taste. So there’s a lot of fraud when it comes to cheap olive oil.”
He’s convinced now, more than ever, he says, “that we have to support small and local producers if we want to be sure of the quality of the product and help them get fair prices for their hard work.”
Siffer describes it as a vicious circle. Because consumers prefer cheap products, farmers get less money for their produce, which in turn makes it more likely they will use additives and pesticides to keep costs down. “You get what you pay for, so if people are willing to spend that little extra, they’ll get better food,” he says. “When it comes to production, I saw that the farmers in this region were forced to cut costs and use pesticides the past few years to make sure they had a reasonable crop to sell.”
At €87.50 for a five-litre can, Siffer’s premium quality olive oil is indeed not cheap. But according to Siffer, it’s the real deal. “We do everything ourselves. We pick the olives, press them, package the oil, and that’s it – pure craftsmanship. I also do the distribution and logistics.”
He even designed the company’s logo, while his wife labels the cans. Talk about a family business.
Photo courtesy Thomas Siffer
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