Why Tin is In for Olive Oil
Olive oil producers can choose from a variety of packaging options, including plastic containers, glass bottles, and metal tins—and for many of them, tin is in.
Matt Cruz and Cristina Samper Pearl of Single & Fat
In most stores, you’ll find olive oil sold in plastic and glass bottles. But you may also see olive oil sold in bags in cardboard boxes and in tins. For consumers, tin packaging’s biggest benefit is that it helps preserve the olive oil’s quality. “Tin is ideal for olive oil because olive oil’s biggest enemies are light, air, and temperature,” explains Matt Cruz, co-founder of California-based Single & Fat (previously profiled in Olive Oil Professor).
Tin packaging, like glass, is non-porous and able to protect olive oil from oxygen. However, unlike clear or light-colored glass bottles, tin is also able to keep out light.
Lithographed tins became popular in Italy in the 1800s when olive oil was exported in tins decorated by famous artists. The Italian Museo Collezione Guatelli documents the history of olive oil tins and has over 6000 tins.
Benefits of Tin
La Tourangelle California Extra Virgin Olive Oil photo credit La Tourangelle
Protection from oxygen
Protection from light
Visually pleasing
More opportunity for messaging
Lighter weight than glass
Minimizes breakage and leakage
Costs less to ship
Matthieu Kohlmeyer photo credit La Tourangelle
“Outside light makes the oil rancid quicker, and [tin packaging] makes a big difference in shelf life,” says Matthieu Kohlmeyer, CEO of La Tourangelle (previously profiled in Olive Oil Professor). La Tourangelle was founded in 1867 in France’s Loire Valley as a walnut oil producer. Kohlmeyer explains that since walnut oil is so sensitive to oxygen and light, they have long packaged it in tins. When the company expanded to Woodland, California and began producing olive oil in 2003, familiarity with tin’s benefits influenced the decision to use it for olive oil as well.
“When I launched the brand 22 years ago, people would tell me, ‘Are you crazy? It looks like motor oil, it doesn’t look like a food product, switch to glass bottles!’” Kohlmeyer recounts with a laugh. “But our packaging is gorgeous, so people loved it. The reason La Tourangelle is a successful brand is because our packaging is so beautiful—people use it for decoration.”
The visual appeal of tin is an important consideration for other producers as well. “We just love the aesthetic of it. There’s something about tin that I feel is a little bit of a callback,” says Cruz. He notes that the Single & Fat’s distinctive bubblegum pink tin packaging helps it stand out on the store shelf, serving as a miniature billboard for the brand.
43 Ranch olive oil tins photo credit 43 Ranch
“It’s a much better branding message,” agrees Greg Traynor, owner of 43 Ranch in San Ardo, California. “The entire tin painted looks nicer than a bottle label. You’ve got more surface area, so you’re better able to communicate your brand message on a tin than on a bottle.”
Since tin is much lighter in weight than glass, tins are especially appealing to producers who ship their products directly to consumers. “We do a lot of online business, and the shipping costs [for tins] are tiny compared to shipping glass,” says Traynor. “When you’re shipping glass, you’re paying quite a bit more.”
In addition to the increased weight, glass bottles require extra packaging to protect against breakage in transit. That extra packaging comes at a cost—Kohlmeyer notes that Amazon charges retailers a glass fee.
But even when glass bottles are carefully cushioned, there’s no guarantee they will arrive intact.
“Some boxes look like they’ve been drop-kicked to their destination,” says Traynor. “If that happens with olive oil [in glass], you get feedback from the customer right away, telling you their package is a soggy mess. We don’t have that trouble with tins. If a tin gets dented, there’s no damage to the product.”
Growing in Popularity
Graza tins photo credit Graza
Producers we spoke to were enthusiastic about their decision to use tin packaging, and Traynor, who provides milling services for other growers, says that tins are becoming more popular with his clients.
“It really is about the difference on the shelf—It’s very visible and beautiful,” says Kohlmeyer. “People don’t understand it’s truly functional, but then they open it and realize the quality inside is fantastic.”