Over the last few years, the Centra Foods blog has become a good source of information for anyone buying edible oils for bulk or industrial uses (especially olive oil).
This article will be a unique look back over the top 10 blogs that we’ve posted in the last 3 years. These blogs have been the most searched by purchasers like you with questions.
We’ll start with the #10 blog, and work our way backwards to the most popular oil article out there. Let’s dive in.
#10 Purchasing Managers: How To Plan and Meet Your Goals
Setting goals is an important step to improving.
There are, of course, a number of different kinds of goals. You have personal goals for your life, and you have professional goals for your job. But they’re always entangled, some taking priority over others depending on the day.
The best way to achieve all of them is to lay them out separately, prioritize them, and then make a plan for how you can achieve every one.
Here’s a smart framework for purchasing managers to complete your goal setting for 2015-- not just for your job but also for your life.
#9 How To Get Olive Olive Oil Out Of A 55 Gallon Drum
As a supplier of olive oil in 55 gallon drums, we work with a lot of new customers looking at this packaging size for the first time.
One of the most common questions we get is, “How do I get the oil out of the drum?”. This is a great question, because it’s something that a smart business owner needs to prepare for before their drum of olive oil delivers.
The 55 gallon drums have a hole at the top, known as the “bung”. A pump with a long feeding tube is inserted into the hole (similar to the pump on a lotion bottle, in a much larger scale). This hole (typically 2” in diameter) has a thread around the outside, allowing you to screw the drum pump securely on.
#8 Organic Olive Oil vs. Non Organic
Many consumers wonder what the differences are between Organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil, and Extra Virgin Olive Oil. The difference in price is reasonably large between these two types of oil, but are they really all that different?
The simplest answer is no, they should be almost the exact same oil. Because they’re both the olive oil grade “Extra Virgin” they both are made from the first press (or spin) of the olives. They both have the same requirements for acidity, chemical make up and sensory tests that allow them to be called Extra Virgin. The primary difference is that one is produced using Certified Organic olives, and the other is not.
#7 Olive Oil Commodity Market Update 2014/2015 Harvest
Olive oil prices have steadily increased in Spain over the last 4 months. Initially, the slight increases were regarded as normal; prices often go up just before the harvest season as world supply is at it’s lowest. However, prices continued to rise when a 50% drop in production was confirmed for the next harvest season due to drought in Spain.
Production in Tunisia, Greece and Italy is all expected to increase this next season. However, prices are still predicted to be higher than last year because Spain is the overall price driver for the market. Curious about why that is? Read this article, Why Spain’s Olive Production Affects Olive Oil Prices Worldwide.
Read The Most Recent Commodity Market Update
#6 How To Set Goals For Yourself and Your Purchasing Department
Last year, I ran a half marathon. But I didn’t just go out and do it. I made a 16 week plan of the runs that I was going to do every day, and how I was going to build up to my 13.1 mile finish.
Professional goals are no different than personal goals like these, but professional goal setting often falls by the wayside. It’s important do strategic goal setting, both for your job and for your department -- especially if you manage other people.
Your professional goals also need a plan-- a course of action, or a list of small daily steps you’re going to take to help accomplish these goals. Here’s how to plan for improvement.
#5 The Difference Between Linoleic, Mid-Oleic and High-Oleic Sunflower Oil
Sometimes, it's hard to know exactly what kind of oil going to work best. If you're in the R&D stages of a new product, you'll be faced with decisions about choosing the right bulk ingredients. Sometimes, as you begin to narrow down your search, you may be presented with more and more challenging questions.
For example, let's pretend you've been debating between Canola Oil, Extra Virgin Olive Oil and Sunflower Oil for some time. You finally make the decision to go with Sunflower Oil. Unfortunately, you're immediatly presented with a new question: what kind of Sunflower Oil would you like?
Certain oils, especially seed oils, come in a few varieties. For sunflower oil, there's high oleic, mid oleic and linoleic. And as you're making your ingredient decisions, it's helpful to know the differences before you begin testing-- not after.
#4 The 7 Most Recommended Purchasing & Procurement Books For Manufacturers
Professional development is about always learning and growing in your role.
Education allows you to improve, and can help achieve your goals the job that you’re already in. It also sets you up to have a better chance at promotions in the future.
Education comes in many forms though. Once in a steady career, classroom education becomes less of a norm, as self-directed learning takes its place. While self-directed learning can mean many things, like webinars, seminars, industry conferences, etc., reading industry books is one of my favorite tools.
#3 4 Reasons Why Buying Olive Oil From Costco May Be Cheaper Than Bulk
If you’re buying bulk olive oil for your small business, you may be buying it “wholesale” from a superstore like Costco or Sam’s Club. You probably want to save money on these raw ingredients and (if you haven't already) you will at some point look into buying bulk quantities rather than wholesale.
Surprisingly for many small businesses, sometimes buying in bulk does not save money. We're going to review why, and how much oil you need to be using to think about buying in bulk.
#2 The Ultimate List of Olive Oil Conversions & Calculations
It can be confusing to get pricing from so many different suppliers for bulk oils. Each offers their pricing in different units: US suppliers give pricing in pounds or gallons, european suppliers give pricing in metric tons (MT), liters or kilograms.
Converting the metric to the english system (or vice versa) can be confusing-- any middle schooler will agree with you on this. Especially when your bulk olive oil prices depend on accurate calculations.
#1 Olive Pomace Oil: Good or Bad?
Olive Pomace Oil is a much debated topic in today’s increasingly health-focused food industry. Is olive pomace oil good or is it bad?
Before you make any final decisions either way, you should look at both sides of the debate. Understanding the pros and cons of olive pomace oil will help you make a decision that’s right for your product.
