10 Years Young

I’ve always been a bit of a dreamer, one of life’s true enthusiasts with an appetite to take sometimes too much on but only ever if I believe in it fully. And so, Frantoi was born 10 years ago. A business built on the foundation that life is better with great olive oil in your kitchen.

We had moved to Italy a few years before and both Kasimir and I were happily freelancing in our respective fields, navigating life in a new, rather complicated country with a small child. We could honestly have done with a bit more certainty in our lives, but in launching Frantoi we took a massive leap into the unknown.

It is not possible to forget the year we set up Frantoi and our second son, Ludo arrived safely into the world. It was 2016, a wonderful vintage in vinous terms throughout much of Italy with a long fine growing season that benefited also the olives. Whilst embryonic thoughts of Frantoi began as far back as 2002, it took years for them to come together properly and the catalyst was because we knew enough people with a love of great food and fine wine that we could see were buying their olive oil totally wrong. We observed that buying decisions were led by something appearing to be Italian (but perhaps it wasn’t), looking authentic and cloudy, kind of attractive potentially clear glass bottle that wouldn’t offend the eye, buying one bottle of one type of oil at a time and probably being led by price as a guide of quality. All wrong.

Our life in Italy and decades of obsession with the very best Italian ingredients had meant we exposed ourselves to a handful of incredible olive oils, we knew the quality was out there, it needed searching for and mapping – a process that was aided significantly by years of experience with fine wine, understanding of different terroir, an analytical approach to tasting and appreciation of the work of a top quality grower and their commitment to their land. It sounds easy enough, in practice however there are a lot of frogs that need kissing before you find your prince.

The core of our ideas have always been around the quality of the oils we are offering – we are ruthlessly rigid in terms of our selection, we only work with people who own their groves and press, we won’t hold stock, we offer just once a year and this is all because it is in your best interest to do so. These are things that we believe in truly and we won’t compromise. Along the way, we have picked up loyal followers, many of you become friends, you have taken a real interest in what we do, you want to support our growers and you taste what we do in these sensational oils.

Ten years is quite a landmark for us. It feels as if many of those uncertainties have become not just certainties but truths. And from those big ideas we have grown roots. Roots that feel as if they are here to stay. Roots that feel as if they are willing to learn and explore more.
It feels like we’re just getting started.

Thank you for being on this journey with us.