Curry College MBA students in New York last month (from left): John Erickson, Olive Oil Times Publisher Curtis Cord, Donna Symolon, Erin Hooker-Thomas and Marco Dacaret
Graduate students from Curry College are touring the California olive oil industry this week to better understand the various forces shaping the business.
The cohort has chosen olive oil as the topic of its capstone project and is preparing its report for an August 13th presentation at its campus on the outskirts of Boston.
Last month, the group attended the New York International Olive Oil Competition. “There, the cohort’s awareness for olive oil peaked,” said one of the students, Marco Dacaret. “The event served as a springboard to learn more about the industry. We had the opportunity to learn about the quality assessment process, and we gained knowledge from the various presenters of the event.”
Dacaret said the group aims to enhance consumers’ understanding of extra virgin olive oil. To that end, the group is seeking to define the scope of its project during the California “fact-finding mission” that includes stops at the UC Davis Olive Center, California Olive Ranch, Veronica Foods, Agbiolab, The Olive Press, the V. Sattui Winery and Yolo Press.
Olive Oil Times invited the Curry group to share observations and discuss defining the project scope in real-time using the social discussion tool Branch.
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