In his forty-five years as an importer, John J. Profaci has witnessed first-hand the meteoric rise of the olive oil category in the United States. “As soon as I start talking about the industry, my memory starts reflecting back on all the things that have gone by,” he told Olive Oil Times publisher Curtis Cord in an exclusive interview. “And I’m amazed at some of the things we did.”

Profaci came from an olive oil family but did not become involved in the sector until his 40s. He worked as a broker, selling imported Italian foods to New York and New Jersey stores, when a chance 1978 encounter with Enrico Colavita, a producer and bottler, began Profaci’s immersion in the olive oil trade.