E01 [EN] From Grove to Bottle: What Real Vertical Integration Means in EVOO

Behind every bottle of olive oil there are decisions almost nobody sees. In this first episode, Eduard Pons, CEO of PONS and fourth generation of the family, takes apart the empty use of the word "vertical integration" and explains what truly controlling the entire process means: why great oil is made in the grove and the mill can only preserve it, the 26-degree rule from tree to filtering, harvest to mill in under 30 minutes with groves no more than 12 km away, micro-lot management in 5-tonne batches, and how the quality chain is maintained all the way to Japan or Australia with refrigerated containers. He closes with practical advice for consumers: how to spot a true single-estate oil and see through "premium" marketing. A podcast by PONS, organic extra virgin olive oil producers in Lleida, Spain, since 1945.