The world’s consumers no longer just buy food. They want to know where it is produced, how it is produced, and even who makes it possible. 

The Spanish Olive Oil Interprofessional Organization, the entity that promotes this product through its brand Olive Oils from Spain, has been promoting this food in Japan for more than a decade. There is no better way to gain this knowledge than visiting the production areas, stepping foot on the land that sustains the olive trees, touching the olives, smelling the freshly squeezed oils and tasting them there, where the entire gastronomy revolves around this product. But of course, it’s impossible to bring millions of Japanese olive oil consumers to Spain. However, new technologies and the desire of a group of Japanese influencers to experience everything firsthand have made the impossible possible. In the middle of the olive harvesting campaign, five Japanese social media experts visited Jaen, the region that produces the most olive oils in the world.

Rina Ishii (211k followers, @ri7tin1025), Haruka Nohara (164k followers, @noharu1021), Mika Sakamoto (194k followers, @mika_saka), Mayo Sano (171k followers, @sano.maya), and Tomoki Takemura (109k followers, @tomoky_take) enjoyed a unique experience for a few days, starting with a tour of the world’s largest olive grove from a hot air balloon. Once on the ground, they visited the olive trees and harvested the olives from which they made their own virgin olive oils. The trip also allowed them to dive deeper into the gastronomy of olive oil in a cooking workshop where they learned to cook some emblematic dishes of Andalusia. Finally, they learned to appreciate the variety of aromas and flavors of Spain’s virgin olive oils. And all of this was broadcast live to their many followers in Japan.

Published: April 2023