Colavita facts for kids
 |
|
| Private (family-owned) | |
| Industry | Food processing |
| Founded | 1938 |
| Founder | Giovanni and Felice Colavita |
| Headquarters |
Pomezia, Rome
,
|
|
Area served
|
Italy, United States |
|
Key people
|
Enrico and Leonardo Colavita |
| Products | Pasta, Olive Oil, Tomato Sauce, Soup, Vinegar, Wine |
Colavita is a famous Italian company. It is best known for its delicious olive oil. They also make other food products like pasta and tomato sauce.
The Story of Colavita
The Colavita company started in 1938. It was founded by Giovanni and Felice Colavita. Their family had been making and pressing olive oil for many generations. This tradition came from their hometown of Sant'Elia a Pianisi in Italy.
Today, the company is run by brothers Enrico and Leonardo Colavita. Enrico is the President, and Leonardo is the General Manager. Other family members also work in important roles. For example, Leonardo's son Giovanni was the President of Colavita USA.
Colavita has a special factory in Pomezia, Italy. This factory packages their olive oil. It also packages olive oil for other brands.
Colavita Comes to America
Colavita USA was started by John J. Profaci. He met Enrico Colavita in 1978. Mr. Profaci was already in the olive oil business. He agreed to help Colavita sell their products in the United States.
At first, sales were slow. Mr. Profaci gave out samples at a local grocery store. Then, he started selling to Italian restaurants and special food shops. Within five years, Colavita became a well-known brand.
A big boost came in the mid-1980s. The New York Times newspaper wrote an article. It talked about how healthy foods like olive oil are. The article even showed a picture of a Colavita olive oil bottle! This news helped the business grow very quickly.
Supporting Culinary Education
In 1991, Colavita USA made a big donation. They gave $2 million to the Culinary Institute of America. This school teaches people how to cook. Colavita's donation helped build a new building on the school's campus. The building opened in 2001.
In 2008, the main Colavita company bought Colavita USA. This brought the American branch fully into the larger Colavita family.
See also
- Colavita/Bianchi, a women's cycling team that Colavita helps to sponsor.
