For more than a century, the Barbera family has blended innovation with the timeless craft of olive oil production.
To Italians, olive oil is more than just an ingredient. It's part of their identity, woven into everyday cooking and longstanding traditions. The same is true for the Barbera family, which has overseen one of Sicily's oldest and most respected olive oil companies for generations. For them, olive oil is more than a business. It’s a way of life.
Founded in 1894, in partnership with the Florio family, Olio Barbera has spent more than a century dedicated to the art of olive oil production. In a country known for tradition and multigenerational businesses, it’s especially noteworthy that the company remains the only historic Italian olive oil brand still owned and operated by its founding family. Today, Manfredi Barbera, whose great-grandfather Lorenzo Giuliano Ferreri Barbera founded the company, continues to find innovative ways to bring Sicilian olive oil to tables around the world while honoring the traditions that shaped the company from the start.
Since taking over the family business in 1981, Manfredi has helped expand exports of the company’s olive oil to more than 30 countries across five continents, introducing the flavors of Sicily to chefs and home cooks around the world. Despite the company's broader reach, they have ensured that its Sicilian roots remain present in every bottle. From sourcing olives from local growers to partnering with small producers across the island, Olio Barbera is deeply committed to preserving native and protecting Sicily’s olive oil traditions for future generations. That commitment to sustainability is reflective in the company’s impressive range of oil certifications, including PDO, PGI, and organic.
Olio Barbera’s legacy is also defined by continuous innovation. In 1910, inspired by the bottling processes used for Marsala wine, the company became one of the first olive oil producers to use glass bottles instead of tins. It ended up being a forward-thinking decision that not only set the company apart, but helped preserved the freshness and quality of its oils while allowing them to be transported safely across the Mediterranean and Atlantic.
Today, the same innovative spirit continues as Olio Barbera balances traditional knowledge with evolving technology, investing in modern milling and bottling systems designed to protect the integrity of the olives, much like the way glass bottles set the precedent so many years ago. The company’s experimental milling techniques it to explore how to best preserve the olives and enhance their aromas and flavors. Like wine, olive oil can express unique characteristics of the land where the fruit is grown. Olio Barbera olive oils are known for their balance and complexity, as each bottle captures a different facet of the Sicilian landscape. Some showcase the rolling hills of Trapani, while others highlight the mineral-rich volcanic soils surrounding Mount Etna.
The company continues to look ahead with the same ethos that has guided it since its start, now welcoming Manfredi’s sons, Lorenzo and Carlo, into the business as the fifth generation to carry the legacy forward. In doing so, the family hopes that their traditions will continue to shine through in every drizzle of Olio Barbera olive oil.