Tunisian Olive Oil Is Going to Switzerland
With the support of SIPPO Tunisia, Tunisian BSOs working with producers of Tunisian olive oil developed up a strong market positioning. This resulted in great successes at the Zurich Oil Awards 2021 and 2022 and to a successful orientation trip to key representatives in the Swiss market.
With 4 medals in hand, including a gold medal and three bronze medals won at the prestigious Zurich Olive Oil Award competition-2022 edition, a Tunisian delegation supported by SIPPO Tunisia set out to meet the key Swiss market players, identify market opportunities for Tunisian olive oil, understand the needs and demands of Swiss consumers, i.e. on the “last mile”, and to map the competitive situation and the distribution channels in Switzerland.
This orientation mission was held in Zurich on June 8 to 10, 2022 in Zurich. Representatives of SIPPO Tunisia accompanied representatives of its partner BSOs, CEPEX (Tunisia Export) and CCIT (Chambre de Commerce et de l'Industrie de Tunis), for which SIPPO Tunisia has carried out intensive capacity building in recent years, as well as two companies that won medals at the ZOOA; Olivko company (Gold Medal 2022) and Alta Olea company (Bronze Medals 2021 & 2022). Other stakeholders participated in the mission, including the Tunisian Embassy in Switzerland and the Swiss Embassy in Tunisia.
The program of the study tour included various meetings and workshops with experts from the Swiss retail sector, buyers involved in the distribution of olive oil, professionals from the HORECA circle and a workshop with the representatives of the sensory jury of the ZOOA competition. They welcomed the Tunisian delegation and explained those quality criteria for olive oil that Swiss consumers expect in terms of harmony and taste.
The partners CEPEX and CCIT, the exporters and the whole delegation gathered important information that gave them important knowledge with high added value. These insights are extremely valuable for the next steps in which an export promotion strategy for the Swiss market will be designed for the BSOs involved and a targeted marketing plan will be defined to position and promote Tunisian olive oil to Swiss consumers.
Participants from left to right: Martin Popp, Swiss Sensory Panel; Representative of the Olea Salba company; M. Abdellatif Mokhtar, President of market commission CCIT; M. Walid Ben Moussa, Manager of Food industry sector CEPEX; M. Hichem Neji, Director of Tunisian Trade Representations and International Cooperation CEPEX; Mrs. Amani Choubani, National Programme Officer, Swiss Embassy in Tunisia; Joao Morales, Lead Sectors Fish&Seafood, Natural Ingredients, Processed Foods, GST SIPPO; Mrs. Mariem ZIDI, Economic events manager CCIT; M. Hichem Dardour, Olivko-Gold medal 2022; Annette Bongartz, Head Food Perception Research Group; Hela Chaouachi, Export Promotion Manager SIPPO Tunisia; Mrs. Saida Fatnassi, General Consult, Tunisian embassy in Switzerland; Jonas Spahn, Expert with SIPPO; Wajdi Ben Othman, Country Representative SIPPO Tunisia, Regional Coordinator North-Africa; Kurt Rabensteiner, Olive Oil Expert