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A co-branding deal between Chinese business group Evergrande and Spanish cooperative Dcoop (formerly Hojiblanca Group), has kicked off with a special olive oil promotional campaign in China.
As the popularity of olive oil increases in China, the two companies have entered into a special agreement to push olive oil sales in the huge market.
Evergrande Group is China’s second-largest property developer, which last year diversified into agribusinesses as growth in its real estate operations have slowed.
A Dcoop spokesman, Esteban Carneros, told Olive Oil Times the bottles will be packed at Dcoop’s subsidiary, Mercaoleo.
“Dcoop is selling extra virgin olive oil to Evergrande, starting with 300,000 liters, he added. “The brand is Evergrande, but with Dcoop’s logo too as a support on the label, so it’s a co-branding project.”
The 300,000 liters will be bottled at the Mercaoleo facility in Antequera, Spain, and exported to China where they will be sold.
“The extra virgin olive oil that we are packing comes from Antequera’s Protected Designation of Origin, an area with this quality certification label,” Carneros said.
Evergrande is said to have invested at least US$1 million to launch the brand and will be running a promotional campaign which includes a series of commercials to be screened on Chinese Central Television channel CCTV1.
The ads are also being shown in shopping malls around key locations, as well as leading supermarkets where the product will be sold.
The nutritional qualities and health benefits of olive oil are increasingly well-known among Chinese consumers who are cooking with olive oil than more ever before.
Dcoop, which says it develops a ‘tailor-made’ olive oil for each client, has been exporting to China for ten years and works with other brands such as Alisa, Cordoliva, Oliva Bella and Acorsa as well as different companies and retailers.
The company also has offices in China.
“Chinese consumers like healthy products, and olive oil is the best type of fat that people can consume,” Carneros explained. “In 2013 and 2014, Dcoop exported 3.5 million liters of packed olive oil to China, and we sell bulk olive oil as well. China’s market is growing and we are a leader there.”