Meet Citizens of Soil
We recently caught up with the founder of Citizens of Soil to learn more about their journey and how they’re shaking up the olive oil industry. From their focus on sustainable farming to the unique ways they source and produce their delicious extra virgin olive oil, this Q&A is packed with interesting info. Read on to discover how they’re making a difference and get inspired with some creative ways to use their Greek EVOO.
What motivated you to start Citizens of Soil?
It started as a side hustle to help our family-friends in Crete get a more fair share for their olive oil. But when we started to learn more about the olive oil category, we saw an industry fraught with issues, including a dangerous lack of transparency and anonymised mass production. It’s also overly commoditised, so independent farmers aren’t making enough money, the oil changes hands loads of times on the journey between farm and table, and the final oil in your pantry is usually an old, flat, and flavourless shadow of what it once was.
We want to break that chain and allow you to taste something you never would have had the chance to before. We also want to incentivise and reward remarkable producers to be better stewards of the land, focusing on soil health and farming more in harmony with nature.
How do you ensure that your olive oil production minimises its environmental impact, from cultivation to packaging?
Extra virgin olive oil can be quite a sustainable industry in general—if it’s done right! As we make our way across the Mediterranean the next few months to bring back more delicious, flavourful oil from amazing people, here’s what we look for in a farm:
Remove the “cides”—pesticides and fossil fuel-based fertilisers have to stop.
Ground cover is key! No or low tilling (the soil cannot be bare).
Incorporate grazing animals (or simply their manures as natural fertilisers).
Increase biodiversity and support wildlife across the board.
Packaging has been, by far, the most difficult part of our whole sustainability mission. But we’re always looking for new solutions to improve. We’re proud to be the first refill brand of olive oil in the UK, coming in low-waste pouches that are 15x less carbon than our bottles, making them a significantly lower footprint than the traditional glass option. We also offer a free recycling scheme where we take these back to close the loop.. That way, your old pouches are turned into plastic granules and transformed into new products once again.
How do you educate consumers about the importance of sustainability in olive oil production, and what role do you see CoS playing in driving industry-wide change?
We try to give our Citizens what they need for them to make informed decisions: through our newsletter, social posts and blogs. The truth is, most people don’t know anything about olive oil. They don’t know how it’s made or how to store it or how to use it. They don’t even really know how it should taste (I can firmly say this is true after doing tastings and masterclasses with hundreds of people across the country, including chef and food industry experts).
So part of the challenge in a category like olive oil is just explaining the basics. And we do this through a range of channels (our social and newsletter is a great place to start). But for Citizens of Soil, it’s extra important for us to also explain why we operate the way we do and why we champion small-scale groves, female producers, and regenerative farming. We believe that all of those things fundamentally have a significantly positive impact on people & planet.
What are the most important trends or changes in the olive oil industry that you are keeping an eye on?
We see a huge increase in people using extra virgin olive oil for nutrition—not just the gastronomy and deliciousness of it. We’ve always sourced for high-polyphenol oils—and we even put this on the pack from day 1. But even a couple of years ago, no one cared or asked about this. Now everyone does. And since there’s lots of ways to dial up and down nutrition, specific antioxidants, and the wider “health” grade of extra virgin olive oils—it’s an interesting one to watch. There’s also more trends around people using EVOO in more ways than ever since it’s such a healthy fat but also because of its versatility in elevating flavours and textures.
What are the key factors you consider when sourcing olives and managing the production process?
We have a farming checklist, which really eliminates a lot of producers out there and ensures that every £ we spend goes toward something that creates a more positive impact. We also need total traceability and transparency. We’re proud of where we source our extra virgin olive oils from and who made them, so we’ll always tell you about it. When it comes to production, so much of the quality is made or broken in the milling phase—so this is something we also always want a view of. It’s why we have lab reports on all of our oils and also do third-party sensory tests.
I’m an olive oil sommelier, and getting certified in understanding defects and quality is key to making sure we get the best, most nutritious oils out there. Without this, as well as having a full view over your supply chain and direct contact with producers, you can easily be deceived. Olive oil is one of the most fraudulent industries in the world going back to antiquity—so transparency and knowledge is the only way to combat this.
What’s your favourite way to use your Greek EVOO?
The serve we started with and one I still use to surprise and delight people is putting our Greek extra virgin olive oil over ice cream with a bit of sea salt. It’s weird and wonderful. And out of 100 people, 95 will smile. Similarly, it’s gorgeous with chocolate mousse. I also really love this oil over roasted potatoes with oregano or the traditional Greek lemon potatoes. These flavour combinations are something our Greek producers do a lot and the oil just swings with both the herbs and the lemon—but really elevates the humble potato here.
Discover more about Citizens of Soil and their award-winning EVOO here.
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