The story of Urzante dates back to the 1950s when the Marin Family began its journey in the olive oil trade that was carried out at the time. With a deeply rooted olive oil tradition in the villages of the region near the river banks of the Ebro and Queiles rivers.

Immersed in the green valley of the Ebro River is the fertile region of Urzante. A region in the heart of Navarre, where in 1950 José Marín started distributing olive oils with his own truck; initially to his neighbours of his hometown “Cascante” and later to the homes of other cities and towns in the surroundings. A high quality olive oil, made with the best olives and selected one by one.

Working shoulder to shoulder in the olive harvest and picking the olives in a traditional way, men and women from all over the area took their harvests to artisan presses where the precious oil was obtained from those fruits. The remaining olive paste was deposited in esparto baskets and the oil was preserved in clay jars, from where it was often bottled and loaded onto José Marín’s truck.

70 years later Urzante remains the preferred brand in the region, having successfully spread to more than 80 countries around the world which has been made possible thanks to having been faithful to its original values: maximum quality, tradition and respect for the land.

1950/1985

MOST IMPORTANT MILESTONES IN THE HISTORY OF URZANTE 1950-1985

From the beginning, the core activity has consisted in packaging and trading vegetable food oils. Progressively, more and more professionals have joined the company which now offers in order to offer customers a greater variety of oils, more quality in their products and a better service.

The Urzante olive brand, the name by which the company is known today, was created in June 1985. At that time, the first image of their logo was also patented and it is also a trademark by which they are known.

1990

At the beginning of the 1990s an internal laboratory was created, allowing tasting and physical-chemical analysis of each oil instantly and enabling control of the product from the fields all the way to each consumer’s home.

This meant an exhaustive traceability for the benefit of the highest quality products, a fact that would further distinguish them from the rest of the packers after the strong crisis that the sector had just gone through.

1995

In the mid-1990s, a strong investment in technology was undertaken: state-of-the-art machines that allowed packaging under a protective atmosphere and automatic packaging systems that enabled a variety of different packagings for greater comfort for the end consumer and in many more formats.

2001

Urzante achieves the ISO 9001 certification, recognized worldwide and which ensures that the quality system of an organization, whether large or small, is adequate.

2006

Urzante, in the midst of an expansion process, decided that the time had come to go one step further if they wanted to continue growing. Their relocation to the to the Agri-food City of Tudela “CAT” began.

Urzante obtains the British BRC certificate known as the most demanding quality certificate of the Food Industry -with the highest qualification. It ensures that the production premisses are in compliance with all regulations regarding the British food chain.

They also obtain the European IFS certificate -likewise with the highest qualification, used mainly in France and Germany. It guarantees international customers that the safety of the products is accurate, and that each bottle can be traced to obtain all the information from raw materials, production date and quality.

2007/2008

After decades of effort and dedication, in which the achievements have always been from inside out, public recognition came when receiving the ESIC Aster award for their “Business Career”. Urzante recovered the historic olive tradition of the region in 2008, the year in which the Trujal Almazara de Tudela began its journey, integrated within the Urzante premisses.

Thanks to this new commitment, the company was included in the Navarra oil appellation of origin through its Brand Olivar de la Ribera, offering consumers Extra Virgin Olive Oil with appellation of origin.

The desire to innovate that has always characterized Urzante throughout its history leads the company to be environmentally sustainable thanks to solar energy this year. Specifically, the roofs of its facilities in Cascante (6,500 m2) and Tudela (18,000 m2) were transformed into solar roofs, covered with photovoltaic panels with a total power of 1,400 kw. In fact, the Tudela premisses became the largest solar roof in Spain, capable of self-supplying its consumption in a large part.

2009/2010

Having been committed to the utmost respect for the environment from the very start, Urzante obtains the product certificate for 100% organic farming by the CPAEN (Council of Organic Agricultural Production of Navarra). After passing the control fees and the organization’s strict quality regulation, Urzante begins to market 100% Organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil, under its brand La Presa Romana.

Early in 2010 the total relocation to the Agri-food City of Tudela, CAT, becomes effective. From that new site, production of oil is carried out with up to date knowledge and cutting-edge techniques.

Infrastructures carried out through the work of the R&D&I Department. Training projects in innovation and project optimization of energy efficiency, environmental sustainability, after converting the by-products into natural biomass.

2012

USDA organic certification is achieved, 100% organic product qualification for the United States, which controls a set of production standards from cultivation, to storage, processing, packaging and distribution. The IFS and BRC v.6 certifications include the Oil Mill and Refinery owned by the company.

A large investment is made in the oil mill allowing to triple the milling capacity of olives and considerably reduce the time from the time of arrival of the olives to their milling. That, In turn, results in a superior quality oil and as proof the oils obtain the best organoleptic note to date.

Urzante became a member of the CNTA (National Center for Technology and Food Safety), an entity created with the aim of contributing to the development and innovation of food companies. This partnership allows it to evolve according to the demands of the environment and of the agri-food market in addition to cover any technological need.

2014

Through years of effort and dedication as well as uninterrupted passion for work has led to the success of the company, which has been able to adapt to the new demands and market trends. So many things have changed from its initial starting point to the current company but the traditional taste of authentic olive oil remains unchanged as that is unchangeable.

José Luis, Jesús and María Dolores Marín Fuentes, owners and managers of Urzante S.L., are awarded the 2014 Entrepreneur of the Year Award; this distinction is granted annually by the magazine “Negocios en Navarra” In conjunction with the Navarra Entrepreneurs’ Confederation (CEN).

2019

Two of Urzante’s products are awarded the Silver and Gold medals at the prestigious Los Angeles, California Extra Virgin Olive Oil competition: Ondoliva Blend No. 1 and the Los Sibaritas del Trujal monovarietal collection,

The awards recognize the quality of the oil in the case of Ondoliva Blend Nº1 and the creativity and innovation in the design of the labelling in that of the monovarietals Los Sibaritas del Trujal.

2020/2021…

This year we managed to overcome the crisis and pandemic and continue to do so on a daily basis with the trust of our clients and consumers. We support and believe in our land, traditions, our way of doing things… Making our future more present each and every day.

Together, we continue to move forward.