Olive X-Press

The Problem

In contrast to the world's leading trends in food consumption, including the trends of fresh, healthy and organic food, plus the move towards preparing home-made food using the Do It Yourself method, olive oil, a product of extraordinary qualities, is still being produced in an obsolete and archaic manner that poses many problems.

Among other things, due to the sharp rise in acidity that immediately occurs after a fresh olive harvest, it is necessary to press the olives no later than a few hours after the harvest. The oil is expressed using existing conventional large industrial pressing machines, and then is distributed throughout the year in bottles and cans - until the next harvest season. During this long period, the chemical quality of olive oil deteriorates and its taste and smell are damaged - in the same way that coffee loses its intensity after it is ground. Most of the olive oil sold in the US, for example, is between six months - two years old (!), during which time nutritional and health values deteriorate.

Another well known problem is the fact that the global oil market tends to be saturated, literally, with various kinds of scams, which means that oil does not meet the actual definition of quality olive oil, even though it is marketed and priced as such. Among other things, many manufacturers perform hot-pressing instead of cold, use cheap mixed oils, and even sell expired oils. In the absence of an accessible domestic solution for the production of fresh olive oil, consumers are forced to rely on these products and often receive low quality merchandise, sometimes with the possibility of actual harm to their health.

The Solution

Olive X-Press has developed a dual and integrated technology:
• The first home olive oil machine in the world, with an initial prototype that is part of a planned series of machines of different sizes, for different uses.
 • Natural technology with the possibility of commercialization in an inexpensive way, to extend shelf life for fresh olives, in a way that allows the production of fresh olive oil throughout the year, anywhere in the world.
A similar solution has been applied in the field of coffee. The coffee bags that were once sold in supermarkets, with flavorless and odorless pollen content, with no production and expiration dates, were replaced by small household machines and capsules that retain chemical qualities, taste, and smell.

Development was carried out with an initial investment by a group of American investors, under the supervision of Prof. Zohar Kerem of the Faculty of Agriculture in Rehovot, a world renowned expert in the field of olive oil.

How does it work?

With a single press, in a silent operation and in just 45 minutes, the Olive X-Press is able to cold press 3 kg of olives (capsule-treated olives or freshly picked olives) using three exclusive registered patents for this purpose, based on natural treatment technology for olives, which allows the production of fresh olive oil throughout the year!

Fresh olives, or capsules, are fed into an initial crushing mechanism. The crushing of the whole olives leads to the formation of porridge. This crushing mechanism is efficient and innovative, because it is quiet in action, tiny and allows for implementation inside a home machine, and does not increase the temperature of the olives when breaking the pits (a phenomenon that exists in industrial mixers and harms the quality of the oil). In the second stage, a malaxation of all the porous material is performed, during which oil is extracted from the oil cells in the olive. The third and last stage uses exclusive patented technology that separates the oil from other porridge materials and fluids. Unlike most of the existing mechanisms in the presses - centrifuges - we used the household machine to separate oil based on filter and form of the entire mechanism. The fresh oil has a transparent receptacle ready for use.

Treatment of fresh olives for the preservation of their freshness - a natural process, at the end of which the olives are preserved in vacuum packaging. The equipment needed to implement the process is present in the market, including olive Selection (this is done in edible olives, in olive oil this step is abandoned, with the understanding that the customer does not see what goes into the oil produced...), vacuum packaging equipment, and storage refrigerators. The total cost of implementing the process is similar to the use of pickled olives in packages of similar sizes. The development of this unique process has earned the company a patent.

Advantages of fresh olive oil:

    • Contains essential fatty acids - necessary for maintaining good health
    • Contains anti-oxidants - olive oil is rich in polyphenols containing powerful antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties
    • Contains vitamin K - has a critical role in the process of blood coagulation and formation of blood clots
    • Contains calcium - for strengthening bones and preventing diseases of bone degeneration such as osteoporosis

Advantages of our technology:

    • Innovative technology that enables the minimization of large industrial pressing machines to a compact and domestic product.
    • Future product versatility - development potential for a large commercial market: supermarkets, delicatessens and restaurants.
    • The first solution to the problem of freshness and quality of olive oil throughout the year, as well as the problem of fraud and lack of consumer confidence. The absolute control of the process - from the purchase of olives according to choice and the taste of the customer, for a cold pressing process performed right in front of their eyes, and ending with fresh olive oil, preserved chemical values  taste, smell and aroma, includes a user experience of the whole process.
    • The technology contains a great deal of knowledge both from a research body and from internationally renowned experts who have shaped it and brought it to commercial maturity. The proof of basic development will allow continued development of machines of various sizes and uses (OUTDOOR, a machine for small farmers, etc.), as well as extension of shelf life for many other olive types.

Development

The company has so far produced four working and functioning prototypes, which have been shown in demonstrations and events around the world. With the funds raised, the stage of design and planning of the serial machine will be completed into a working product ready for mass production, which will produce about 500 CC single batch of oil out of 3 KG fresh or treated olives, while maintaining maximum freshness, taste and quality of the oil.

In addition to the machine, the company has developed a revolutionary technology that enables the shelf life of the fresh olives to be increased by a natural and unique method, enabling consumers to produce and consume fresh olive oil in cold pressing at any place and at any time, as needed. Commercially, this technology has a broad effect. As in the coffee world, machine buyers will buy fresh olive capsules whenever they wish to use them to create and consume fresh oil.

The company plans to develop and market a commercial model for supermarkets, delicatessens and markets, and will consider setting up a global arm in the US or another major location in the world.

Registered patents

    • Machine olive crusher - US patent 8677894. Crushes the whole olives and brings them to a porridge form for the melting stage. Efficient and innovative because it is quiet in action, tiny and allows for implementation inside a home machine, and does not increase the temperature of the olives when breaking the pits (a phenomenon that exists in industrial mixers and affects the quality of the oil)
    • Machine oil separation - US patent 8,877,273 - This technology deals with the separation of oil at the end of the extraction process, after the crushing of the olives and the implementation of the malaxation phase. Unlike most of the existing mechanisms in the presses - centrifuges - this new tech works in the form of a separation based on the filter and form of the entire mechanism.
    •  US patent 8,381,206 - Natural technology with cheap commercial application, enabling the handling and packaging of fresh olives in a way that can produce fresh oil over a year - until the next harvest.

Continue planned milestones for development

    1. Within 6-8 months, a serial design will be completed for an existing prototype, enabling entry into the manufacturing process of the home machine by granting a license to the manufacturers.
    2. Within 4-6 months, computerized design of a larger machine designed for restaurants, delicatessens and supermarkets.
    3. Establishment of a number of production and shipping points for treated olives for the market (initial expected - California and South-West Europe).
    4. In another 8 months - commercial production of the home machine (2019).
    5. In another 6-8 months - developing a larger scale prototype for supermarkets.

The first two milestones are planned to occur using current funding. Their completion will enable achieving a significant milestone in terms of commercialization relevance and increasing the value of the company.