The typical olive oil and vinegar store offers a variety of Extra Virgin Olive Oils from different countries, as well as different infused and flavored oils. They have a similar variety of vinegars, and usually employ staff on hand who help customers make their selections.
These gourmet stores offer between 40-100 different varieties of oil and vinegar. To keep this selection on hand, it is best for them to bring in small volumes of each (5-20 gallons at a time). Due to the nature of this business, store owners should look for a supplier that can offer a full “mix and match” kit, providing the olive oil and vinegar in 5 gallon pails or drums, and sometimes even the dispensing fustis (the small stainless steel tanks with a spout) and retail bottles.
At Centra Foods, we have received a lot of interest in our capability to supply these stores. In an effort to help these businesses grow and find the perfect partnership, we prefer to be upfront and direct their business elsewhere. Centra Foods focuses on serving manufacturers with a few different types of olive oils, canola oils and other specialty oils in large bulk sizes. Because of our rotating inventory and high order minimums (one pallet) we find that we are not a good fit for the gourmet retail sector. We simply supply too much oil, and don’t carry the range of origins and infused/flavored varieties that a retail store requires.
On the other hand, specialty markets that are looking for 1-2 drums of Extra Virgin Olive Oil and Organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil may find that we are a great fit for their business. If you’re doing any infusing yourself and simply looking for a base oil, again, we may be able to help. In these situations, feel free to contact us to learn more.
There are many suppliers throughout the US that specialize in serving retail, gourmet stores. We suggest looking on the internet for a retail supplier located in your region.