Oleavia Adds Two Silver Awards at 2026 NYIOOC as U.S. Presence Grows

Oleavia earns two Silver Awards at the 2026 NYIOOC, bringing its total to nine as its U.S. customer community continues to grow

EDINA, MN, UNITED STATES, September 28, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ -- Americans may know the olive oils of Italy, Spain and Greece by name. What many may not realize is how much olive oil from Türkiye is already reaching the United States.

According to the International Olive Council, Türkiye is among the four leading suppliers of olive oil to the U.S. market, alongside Spain, Italy and Tunisia.

For one Minnesota family, that creates both an opportunity and a responsibility: not simply to sell another bottle of extra virgin olive oil, but to help more people discover the place, people and culture behind it.

That journey began in 2019, when the first bottle of Oleavia Extra Virgin Olive Oil reached a retail shelf in Minnesota.

Seven years later, Oleavia has earned nine awards at the NYIOOC World Olive Oil Competition, including two Silver Awards in 2026 for its Havaalani I and South Aegean Special editions.

Oleavia first entered the international competition in 2020. Across its competition history, the family owned brand has now received four Gold and five Silver Awards.

“Long before an Oleavia bottle reaches a shelf in America, there are people in the olive growing villages of Türkiye who have cared for these trees season after season and carried the harvest all the way to the mill,” said Seher Kaplan, Co-Founder and President of Coccinella and Oleavia. “We are deeply grateful to them. Their care, knowledge and hard work are part of every bottle we are fortunate enough to share.”

That respect for the people and places behind the olive oil is matched by a commitment to modern, science based production and handling. From milling and storage to filtration, bottling and temperature controlled care, Oleavia approaches each stage with the goal of protecting the quality of the oil from harvest to the moment it reaches the customer.

For the Kaplan family, the awards are meaningful, but they are only one part of the journey.

“We are grateful for every award, but what gives those awards meaning is what happens afterward,” Kaplan said. “Someone tastes the olive oil, takes a bottle home, comes back for another one or shares it with someone they love. When we realize Oleavia is now reaching homes in places far beyond Minnesota, it gives our family tremendous hope.”

That community has gradually expanded beyond Minnesota, with Oleavia customers and subscribers now living across multiple states.

The growth has not come from trying to place Oleavia on every available shelf.

Instead, the family has focused on building relationships with customers and independent specialty retailers that value tasting, education, provenance and the story behind the food they offer.

“We do not need Oleavia to be everywhere,” said Umut Kaplan, Director of Business Development. “We want it to be in the right places, with people who are curious about the product and want to share that curiosity with their customers. Those relationships have always meant more to us than simply adding another store.”

Oleavia’s award winning extra virgin olive oils form the foundation of the brand, while the collection has also grown to include a range of fused extra virgin olive oils.

Fresh ingredients such as lemon, garlic, basil and peppers are crushed together with the olives, creating oils that make Mediterranean flavors approachable for everyday cooking while maintaining the same attention to ingredients and process.

For the Kaplan family, that broader collection is part of the same idea that put the first Oleavia bottle on a Minnesota shelf in 2019: make products they believe in, understand and respect the science behind them, help people know what is behind the bottle and allow relationships to grow from there.

Türkiye has been producing olive oil for thousands of years.

Oleavia does not claim to introduce that history to America.

Its ambition is much simpler.

To help a few more Americans discover it.

About Oleavia

Oleavia is a family owned Mediterranean specialty food brand with roots in Türkiye and the United States. Its extra virgin olive oils have earned nine awards at the NYIOOC World Olive Oil Competition since the brand first entered the competition in 2020, including four Gold and five Silver Awards.

Oleavia produces award winning extra virgin olive oils and a collection of fused extra virgin olive oils made by crushing fresh Mediterranean ingredients together with olives. The brand combines its respect for Türkiye’s centuries old olive culture with modern, science based approaches to production, storage and product protection.

Oleavia is distributed in the United States through Minnesota based Coccinella.

Umut Kaplan
Coccinella
+1 517-802-7348
umut@coccinellastore.com