Deoleo's Bertolli is entering the hybrid cooking oil segment with a new SKU designed to convert canola-oil loyalists — a move that targets the roughly 43% of U.S. households that Circana panel data shows have yet to adopt olive oil in any form. The product, Bertolli Canola + Olive Oil, Healthy Blend, launched at Kroger stores nationwide in September 2026 in a 25.36 fl. oz. squeeze bottle and a 50.72 fl. oz. family-size bottle, with retail prices starting at $6.99.
The formulation — 85% canola oil, 15% Bertolli olive oil — is engineered to deliver the neutral taste profile, high-heat performance, and versatile use cases that drive canola's strong velocity in the edible-oils aisle, while appending olive oil's health credential (omega-3 ALA, vitamin E) to the proposition. Both SKUs are also available on Amazon, and the brand has signaled broader retail distribution is in the pipeline.
Category Strategy
The edible-oils category has seen meaningful polarization in recent years. Premium extra-virgin olive oils have captured share at the top of the shelf, while private-label canola and vegetable oils continue to dominate volume at lower price points. The mid-tier — blended oils positioned on accessible health — has been comparatively underdeveloped by national brands, making Bertolli's entry a deliberate planogram play. By anchoring the blend's flavor profile to the canola experience rather than the distinctly fruity notes of pure olive oil, Deoleo is betting it can pull mainstream canola buyers upmarket without alienating them at the moment of trial.
Maca Garau, Vice President of Marketing North America and LATAM at Deoleo, framed the launch around conversion rather than conquest. "For those who already cook with olive oil every day, we hope they continue doing exactly that," she said. "Our ambition is to help more people discover how easy and enjoyable cooking with olive oil can be by giving them a familiar place to start." The accompanying "Bring the Oomph" marketing campaign is built around that same accessible messaging.
Retail & Distribution Outlook
Kroger's national footprint gives Bertolli immediate scale at grocery's largest traditional supermarket operator, providing meaningful ACV out of the gate. Amazon availability extends reach into the growing e-commerce grocery channel, where oils and pantry staples have demonstrated strong repeat-purchase velocity among Subscribe & Save users. Deoleo has not yet disclosed which additional retail banners are under discussion, but the two-SKU lineup — a standard squeeze and a family-size format — is structured to satisfy both the everyday shelf slot and secondary placements like end-caps or promotional floor stacks.
The launch aligns with a broader category-growth play for Deoleo, which markets Bertolli in more than 40 countries and holds the No. 1 global olive oil position by retail value sales per Euromonitor's 2025 edition. Thierry Moyroud, CEO of Deoleo North America and LATAM, called the new blend "the first step" for households that haven't yet embraced olive oil, positioning the SKU as a funnel entry point rather than a cannibalization risk to Bertolli's core extra-virgin and pure olive oil lines.
For category managers evaluating placement, the product occupies an interesting adjacency: it competes directly with mainstream canola and vegetable oil blends on a per-ounce basis at entry pricing, while offering the brand equity and health narrative of the olive oil set. How it scans against both cohorts over the first 13-week velocity read will determine whether Kroger — and follow-on retailers — treat it as a standalone segment or a bridge SKU warranting dedicated shelving strategy. Operators in the oils and condiments space will be watching closely, as will those tracking new product launches in the better-for-you grocery segment.
Written by Michael Politz, Author of Guide to Restaurant Success: The Proven Process for Starting Any Restaurant Business From Scratch to Success (ISBN: 978-1-119-66896-1), Founder of Food & Beverage Magazine, the leading online magazine and resource in the industry. Designer of the Bluetooth logo and recognized in Entrepreneur Magazine's "Top 40 Under 40" for founding American Wholesale Floral, Politz is also the Co-founder of the Proof Awards and the CPG Awards and a partner in numerous consumer brands across the food and beverage sector.
