How did you decide to start your own oil business?
Initially, we had no idea to engage in the production of butter. She appeared by chance, in search of natural oil for herself. Since 2012, we began to think about what foods we feed our body. We read a lot of literature on the topic of healthy eating and began to put it into practice. One of the points of our healthy innovations was to use more fresh salads from vegetables and herbs.
We usually dressed salads with sour cream, store-bought long-life mayonnaise, unrefined sunflower oil, and imported olive oil. Sour cream and mayonnaise were excluded immediately: sour cream had a powdery unnatural taste, mayonnaise with a lot of E in the composition was even worse. There was no trust in olive oil: often olive oil is diluted with cheaper vegetable counterparts. After some time, we moved to live in the mountains of the Krasnodar Territory, and there our friends treated us to sunflower oil bought in a health food store. We were very surprised: is it really sunflower oil? So tender, light, without fried taste and smell. Very silky, I wanted to drink a few spoonfuls of it. Vyacheslav learned how to make butter at home on his own, so that it turns out exactly the way we tried. And he made a wooden barrel with his own hands. The seeds in the bag were placed in a barrel and the oil was squeezed out using a hydraulic press. Our happiness knew no bounds! Oil, so tasty, healthy and its own!
How is oil made on an industrial scale?
We studied a lot of information on the topic of oil production. Oil is pressed on an industrial scale in various ways. In production, a screw press is mainly used, it gives a greater oil yield, continuity, speed of production. But during the rotation of the screw shafts, the seeds and oil are heated by friction and come into contact with the metal. The oil at the outlet is already very hot. The temperature can be over 100 degrees. There are manufacturers who say they have a cooling system. We’ve tried this oil, and it still smells like fried, just a little less. Also, many manufacturers roast the seeds before pressing or press them in a special machine that both roasts and presses. The yield of oil from hot roasted seeds is much greater than from seeds at room temperature.
The next most common oil extraction method is extraction. Seeds are placed in extractors, filled with a solvent (extraction gasoline or nefras), this contributes to the release of oil from the seeds. Extraction is the most efficient way to extract oil from raw materials.
Allows you to extract up to 99% of the oil from seeds and nuts. It is carried out in special devices – extractors. In the process of pressing, the oil is heated to over 200 C. Then the oil goes through many stages of purification from the solvent – refining: hydration, bleaching, deodorization, freezing and several filtrations.
What is harmful oil obtained in such ways?
In vegetable oils, with strong heating, toxic compounds are formed: acrolein, acrylamide, free radicals and fatty acid polymers, heterocyclic amines, benzpyrene. These substances are toxic and negatively affect cells, tissues and organs, and accelerate the aging process. The walls of blood vessels under their influence become fragile and vulnerable. Increases the likelihood of malignant neoplasms (tumors) or leads to them, leads to the occurrence of atherosclerosis of the heart and blood vessels.
When it comes to refined oils, refining an oil does not guarantee complete removal of all the harmful chemicals that were used to produce the oil. In this oil, the complete destruction of beneficial vitamins and essential fatty acids occurs. During extraction and refining, the fatty acid molecules of natural plant materials are deformed beyond recognition. This is how trans fats are obtained – trans isomers of fatty acids that are not absorbed by the body. Refined oil contains up to 25% of these molecules. Transisomers are not excreted from the body and gradually accumulate in it. In this regard, a person who regularly consumes refined vegetable oil may develop various diseases over time.
Are they deceiving us about cold pressing in stores?
We were also interested in this question: why does elementary sunflower always smell like roasted seeds? It turns out that yes, they are deceiving, they say that the oil is “cold-pressed”, but in fact they are selling hot-pressed oil. If we take, for example, sunflower oil, then the taste and smell of raw-pressed oil are delicate, light, without the smell of roasted seeds. All heat-treated oils have a much stronger smell than raw-pressed oils. Cheese-pressed oils are light, very delicate and pleasant in texture.
How is the right raw butter made?
The most important condition for obtaining natural healthy oil is squeezing at room temperature, without heating. Cheese-pressed butter is obtained by the old method – with the help of oak barrels. Seeds are poured into a fabric bag, placed in a barrel, gradual pressure is applied from above using hydraulic presses. Due to the pressure, the seeds are compressed, and oil flows out of them. Raw butter is completely unprocessed and we do not use any preservatives for storage.
How much oil can be obtained from one oil press?
Since the extraction takes place without heating and with a small manual method, the amount of oil from one barrel is obtained from 100 to 1000 ml, depending on the type, in one cycle of 4 hours.
What are the benefits of real raw pressed oils?
Raw pressed vegetable oils contain useful vitamins, essential fatty acids, natural antioxidants, phosphatides, tocopherols. Since the oils are not subjected to any processing, they retain all the healing properties inherent in the type of oil. For example, linseed oil helps maintain the integrity of cell membranes, the health of blood vessels, nerves, and the heart. It has a beneficial effect on the skin, hair and tissue elasticity. Pumpkin seed oil has an antiparasitic effect, promotes the restoration of liver cells. Walnut oil improves the overall tone of the body. Cedar oil helps to strengthen the immune system. Sunflower contains vitamin E, which protects against premature aging. Black sesame oil is actively used to prevent osteoporosis due to the presence of calcium and phosphorus in it. Also, apricot kernel oil and almond oil are used for face and body care, various types of massage.
How do you choose suppliers? After all, raw materials are the backbone of your business.
Initially, there were many difficulties in finding good raw materials. Gradually, we found farmers who grow plants without pesticides. We remember how when we called different manufacturers and asked if their seeds germinated, they didn’t understand us, to put it mildly.
How did the idea for the name come about?
In the name, we wanted to put the meaning of the fact that the oil is natural. “Hello Organic” in our case means “Hello, nature!”.
How many types of oils do you currently have? Where is the production located?
Now we produce 12 types of oils: apricot kernel, mustard, walnut, sesame from black sesame seeds, cedar, hemp, linseed from white and brown flax seeds, hazelnut, almond, pumpkin, sunflower. Milk thistle and black cumin oil will appear soon. Production is located in the mountains near Sochi. Now we are expanding and modifying production.
What is the tastiest oil? What is the most popular?
Each person will have their own taste of butter. We love linseed, sesame, pumpkin, hazelnut. In general, tastes and needs change over time, it depends on what kind of oil you want right now. Among buyers, the most popular oil is flaxseed. Then sunflower, sesame, pumpkin, cedar.
Tell me about linen. How can such a bitter oil be the most sought after?
The fact is that freshly pressed linseed oil without heat treatment is absolutely not bitter, but very tender, sweet, healthy, with a slight nutty taste. Flaxseed oil has a shelf life of 1 month with an unopened cork, and about 3 weeks with an open cork in the refrigerator. It contains rapidly oxidized polyunsaturated fatty acids, so it has a short shelf life. In stores, you will not find non-bitter linseed oil without preservatives if it has a shelf life of more than 1 month.
What dishes go best with raw pressed oils?
First of all, with a wide variety of salads, and with each oil, the dish is felt with a different taste. It is also good to add oils to side dishes, main dishes. The main thing is that the food is already cold. For medicinal purposes, oils are drunk by a teaspoon or a tablespoon separately from food.
The niche of real oils is slowly filling up, more and more new companies are coming. How to reach the first positions in such a difficult segment?
The quality of the product must be excellent, this is the first and most important thing. At first, it was difficult for us to convey to customers what is the difference between raw-pressed butter and why it has a higher price. Everyone who has tried raw-pressed butter then buys only this. The currently available raw oil producers help each other a lot. Now many more people know how to choose high-quality good oil, they are specifically looking for oil to be pressed precisely on an oak press.
How do people find out about you? How do you market your oil? Do you participate in markets, run instagram?
Now we are actively looking for cooperation with various health food stores, we have participated in exhibitions several times. We lead, talk about the intricacies of production and useful recipes. We make fast delivery in Russia.
How to distribute work and ordinary life in a family business? Do you have disagreements in your family about work?
For us, starting to do a common family business was an opportunity to get to know each other much closer and open up. We treat the family business as an interesting work. All decisions are made jointly in an open dialogue, we consult with each other on what is best and how. And we come to a more promising solution, with which both agree.
Do you plan to increase turnover or do you want to remain a small production?
We certainly do not want a huge plant. We plan to develop, but most importantly, we want to maintain the quality of the product. In general, this is a medium-sized family production.
Many people now want to become entrepreneurs. What is the best way to start your own business?
The most important thing is that the lesson goes from the heart, there is a sincere desire to do something. It must be liked. Of course, you need to know that the work of an entrepreneur is much more than 8 hours a day 5/2. Therefore, it is necessary to love your work very much so as not to quit it when something suddenly goes wrong. Well, an important help will be the necessary capital to start the business and further development.