Why Us
At Olio, we believe olive oil is more than a product—it's a story of nature, heritage, and innovation. From our deep roots in the ancient lands of Cilicia to every drop that fills our bottles, we honor the legacy of olive cultivation with unmatched care and precision.
From Heritage to Bottle
We don’t just produce olive oil—we preserve a legacy. From the ancient lands of Cilicia to our modern orchards, every bottle tells a story of purity, tradition, and care.
Powered by Precision
Olio leverages advanced technologies like PEF (Pulsed Electric Field), enzyme integration, and cold extraction to protect the oil’s full aroma, nutrition, and health benefits.
Sustainable Roots
Sustainability is at Olio’s core. We work with local farmers, use regenerative farming techniques, and prioritize eco-friendly, recyclable packaging to protect future harvests.
🌿 Ebla: The Cradle of Olive Oil Civilization
Ebla (modern Tell Mardikh, Syria) was a thriving Bronze Age city-state known for pioneering large-scale olive oil production and trade around 2400–2300 BCE. Cuneiform tablets reveal that Ebla exported about 700 tons annually, marking the earliest known olive oil industry.
Initially sourced from wild groves, this era likely introduced systematic cultivation. Olive oil was highly valued — 10× the price of wine and 2× sesame oil — and used in cooking, medicine, perfumes, lighting, textiles, and even metallurgy to enhance heat in metalworking.
Ebla's rich agriculture included olives, barley, wheat, figs, grapes, flax, and livestock, while its strategic trade location allowed exports to Mari, Byblos, and Nagar, spreading olive culture across the ancient world.
🌿 Hattena: Ancient Heart of Olive Oil Trade
Hattena (modern Hatay, Turkey) was a key center of olive cultivation in antiquity. Its Mediterranean climate made it ideal for growing olives, which were processed using evolving pressing techniques to produce high-quality oil.
Olive oil was highly valued not only for food, but also for lighting, medicine, cosmetics, and rituals. Hattena’s oil became a major trade commodity across the Mediterranean, highlighting the region’s economic strength and cultural role in ancient olive traditions.
🌿 Cilicia: From Sacred Groves to Roman Trade Routes
Cilicia (modern Mersin, Turkey), especially the Olba Kingdom, was known for its olive oil and grape production. Though small, Olba thrived as a temple-state where kings were also priests.
In the 1st century BC, Aba, daughter of a pirate leader, ruled Olba and allied with Cleopatra and Mark Antony. Despite early pirate disruptions, the Romans revitalized Cilicia, expanding olive cultivation that dated back to the Hittites (2000–1200 BCE).
By the 1st century AD, Cilician olive oil and wine were widely exported to Rome, marking the region as a key economic hub in the empire.
