The All-Italian Story<strong>Monini</strong> EPD01 ® , December 2012of a Passionp. 2MONINI,THE ALL-ITALIAN STORYOF A PASSIONA passion <strong>for</strong> qualitythat dates back over a centuryThe <strong>Monini</strong> company is an Italian successstory based on tradition and quality. Thecompany was founded in 1920 by Zefferino<strong>Monini</strong>, who, following his entrepreneurialinstinct, decided to establish a business inthe town of Spoleto, in the Italian region ofUmbria. Thanks to its hills covered with olivegroves, from which an oil with an intense yetbalanced flavour is obtained, the Spoletoarea has always been dedicated tothe production of Extra Virgin Olive Oil.The passion that Zefferino <strong>Monini</strong> Sr.developed <strong>for</strong> olives at an early age led himto dedicate himself to the production of ExtraVirgin Olive Oil, whereby he founded thecompany "Zefferino <strong>Monini</strong> Olio di Oliva" in1930. The knowledge and consumption ofExtra Virgin Olive Oil at the time was limited,and was locally confined exclusively to itsareas of production. Most Italians, above allin the larger cities, either out of habit or lackof knowledge, used almost exclusively regularolive oil, rather than the extra virgin variety.By deciding to market Extra Virgin Olive Oilbeyond the confines of the Umbria region,Zefferino <strong>Monini</strong> launched a new trend inthe oil industry. Thanks to his initiative andhis passion <strong>for</strong> the natural product of hishomeland, together with the exceptionalquality of the oil obtained from the hills ofUmbria, Zefferino <strong>Monini</strong> succeeded in writingthe first page in the history of the ExtraVirgin Olive Oil market. Once brought to theattention of a wider audience, <strong>Monini</strong> extravirgin olive oil became increasingly popularand began to be demanded by customerseven further afield. The company ceasedoperations during the war as the product wassubject to rationing. Once the distribution offoodstuffs was deregulated in 1945, however,the company's operations continued withrenewed energy. It was at this time thatZefferino's sons, Giuseppe and Paolo, joinedthe company. Giuseppe and Nello flankedtheir father in his traditional laboratory,learning the all the tricks of the trade.At the time, shopkeepers sold the productin bulk. Anticipating the future needs of themarket, however, the first glass bottles beganflanking the traditional demijohns by the year1950.
The All-Italian Story<strong>Monini</strong> EPD01 ® , December 2012of a Passionp. 3A historic oil in modern times.Today, <strong>Monini</strong> is one of the leadingcompanies in the Extra Virgin Oil industry,boasting over 100 employees and a turnoverof nearly 125 million Euros in 2011. 90%of the total turnover is generated underthe <strong>Monini</strong> brand name. The strategythat Zefferino Sr. began in the 1920s wasstrengthened and enhanced by his son,Giuseppe, and is still being carried <strong>for</strong>wardby his grandchildren, Zefferino Jr. and MariaFlora. To this day, the family continues todiffuse the culture of Extra Virgin Olive Oil, notonly in terms of sales an distribution, but interms of education and awareness as well.The <strong>Monini</strong> family has been producing ExtraVirgin Olive Oil <strong>for</strong> three generations, usingexclusively mills whose hygiene conditions,processing systems and storage conditionssatisfy the company's stringent qualityrequirements. A company that's on thecutting-edge in terms of facilities, technologyand quality control, continuously driven bya passion <strong>for</strong> tradition, offering consumersa product of unrivalled quality. Like hisgrandfather be<strong>for</strong>e him, Zefferino <strong>Monini</strong> stillpersonally samples the company's productsto this day, selecting only the productsthat fully satisfy the company's high qualitystandards.