Canstar Blue’s olive oil review has seen Red Island, Cobram Estate, Woolworths, Woolworths Select, Moro, La Española, Coles and Bertolli compared on taste, cooking performance, packaging, value for money and overall satisfaction.
Aussies rated Red Island the best olive oil brand in Canstar Blue’s inaugural review, scoring it five stars in four of the five categories, including value for money and overall satisfaction.
Olive oil may be one of the most versatile and healthy oils to cook with. It can be used for frying up your extra bacon breakky, or as a salad dressing if you’re on a health kick. But not all olive oils are created equal. There are dozens of varieties available on the market like extra-virgin, light, pomace, cold-pressed and organic olive oil, plus more! You’ll also notice a difference in quality between the brands on the shelf. If you don’t want to waste ‘olive your time’ trying to crack the code on olive oil, we’ve done the hard yards for you!
For our inaugural olive oil review, we asked more than 1,000 Aussie consumers to review and rate the different brands of olive oil they’ve purchased from a supermarket or grocer and used within the last three months. Brands that met the minimum required survey sample size of 30 responses have been included in the final results, compared on important factors like taste, cooking performance, packaging, value for money, and overall satisfaction. So, which brands cooked up the best ratings and which got fried?
Our 2020 olive oil review featured eight brands, but only one achieved five stars for overall customer satisfaction – Red Island. In addition to overall satisfaction, it also got top marks for its taste, cooking performance and value for money. Read on for further details.
Here are the best brands of olive oil in Australia, as rated by consumers in Canstar Blue’s latest review:
Red Island cooked the competition in our olive oil review as the only brand to notch up a coveted five stars for overall satisfaction and in the majority of categories. These include taste, cooking performance and value for money. It got three stars for packaging.
Most brands scored four stars in the taste stakes and for overall satisfaction, although Woolworths and Bertolli finished on three stars overall. Cobram Estate was the only brand besides Red Island to score five stars for taste, but landed on four stars for cooking performance with Woolworths Select, Moro and La Española in tow.
Similarly, only two brands managed to score five stars for value for money, our review winner Red Island and Woolworths Select.
Red Island is known for its premium extra virgin olive oil made from Aussie-grown olives. The brand’s products are claimed to be Australian Extra Virgin Certified, 100% natural and cold pressed without using any heat or chemicals. This apparently helps retain antioxidants and healthy unsaturated fats. Most Red Island extra virgin olive oil products are available in a range of packs and sizes. Here’s a small product selection from the Red Island range:
A 100ml bottle of Red Island extra virgin olive oil costs about $16.
From tree to table, Cobram Estate says it makes top-quality extra virgin olive oils using the freshest and antioxidant-rich olives. The brand provides a wide assortment of extra virgin olive oil products across its Everyday Essentials, Ultra-Premium and New Inspired Meal Starters ranges. Here are some popular products from the brand:
A 750ml bottle of Cobram Estate classic extra virgin olive oil will set you back upwards of $15.
Woolworths Select is the supermarket’s brand of mid-range household and kitchen products. Woolworths Select has a selection of various cooking oils available, including sunflower, canola, coconut and even rice bran oil. The brand offers two olive oil product options, including:
Prices for Woolies Select olive oil start from $4.00 for 500ml.
Moro makes 100% Spanish extra virgin, cold-extracted olive oil for every home and occasion. The brand also offers grapeseed oil products and vinegars for cooking. Its extra virgin olive oil range is said to have a trademark traditional taste and quality to it, with classic and herb-infused options available. Here’s a selection from the range:
A 1L bottle of Moro extra virgin olive oil can cost upwards of $12 in most supermarkets.
La Española may have originated in Spain, but the brand has firmly established itself as the olive oil of choice for many Australian households. Exclusively stocked by Coles supermarkets, La Española offers a good range of high-quality extra virgin olive oils with a few product options to choose from, including:
A 500ml bottle of La Española extra virgin olive oil costs about $7 from Coles supermarkets.
The Coles home brand offers a range of home and kitchen essentials at low prices and that includes olive oil products in classic, mild and extra virgin options. Products come in different packs and sizes and include the below options:
Prices for Coles olive oil start from $3.00 for 500ml.
Woolworths has a small range of home brand cooking oils available in stores and online. The supermarket giant’s range of cooking oils includes sunflower, canola and olive oil products at low prices compared to commercial brands. Woolworths has a small selection of extra virgin olive oil products, including:
Prices for Woolies’ extra virgin olive oils start from $2.50 for 500ml.
Bertolli olive oils are said to have a distinct, intense, full-bodied, traditional Italian flavour and are made with quality ingredients. Bertolli organic extra virgin olive oil is exclusively stocked in Woolies supermarkets and produced using organic farming standards. Bertolli’s range offers different olive oil products for all occasions, including:
A 100ml bottle of Bertolli extra virgin olive oil can set you back $13 at Woolies.
Well, first work out which type of olive oil you’re most likely to use based on what you’re dishing up. Here are the main varieties of olive oils and what they’re best used for:
The difference between the varieties comes down to how the olives are harvested and how the oil is extracted using different smoke points. As a general rule, extra virgin olive oil is the least processed, which is why it’s generally considered the healthiest member of the olive oil family.
If you’re after the freshest olive oil, look at locally-produced options as they’re generally better than the imported varieties which are kept in storage for longer. And keep your eye out for the Australian Olive Association (AOA) certified logo on any product packaging, plus the harvest date which should also be displayed.
You can also use our olive oil review as a starting point to see how consumers rate different brands on the market on factors like taste and even value for money. Enjoy!
This report was written by Canstar Blue’s home & lifestyle journalist, Tahnee-Jae Lopez-Vito. She’s an expert on household appliances, grooming products and all things grocery and shopping. In addition to translating our expert research into consumer-friendly ratings reports, Tahnee spends her time helping consumers make better-informed purchase decisions on all manner of consumer goods and services, while highlighting the best deals and anything you need to be aware of.
Canstar Blue surveyed more than 3,000 Australian adults across a range of categories to measure and track customer satisfaction, via ISO 26362 accredited research panels managed by Qualtrics. The outcomes reported are the results from customers within the survey group who have purchased and used cooking (olive oil) from a supermarket or grocer within the last three months – in this case, 1,207 people.
Brands must have received at least 30 responses to be included. Results are comparative and it should be noted that brands receiving three stars have still achieved a satisfaction measure of at least six out of 10. Not all brands available in the market have been compared in this survey. The ratings table is first sorted by star ratings and then by mean overall satisfaction. A rated brand may receive a ‘N/A’ (Not Applicable) rating if it does not receive the minimum number of responses for that criteria.