Green approach
During the production of Grapoila products, every by-product is fully utilized, nothing goes to waste.
Upcycling – Creating Value from Waste
Environmental protection has been important to us since the founding of the company. Along with the idea of producing high-quality, full-value food from natural ingredients, we also aimed to create something valuable and useful from what others had discarded. This kind of value creation process, which promotes sustainability and encourages circularity, is now commonly referred to as upcycling. For example, grape pomace, the waste product of wineries, which was used only as animal feed at most, revealed to us 15 years ago the hidden treasure of grape seeds, which contain excellent physiological effects and high-quality oil. This marked the beginning of Zero Waste production of cold-pressed oils at Grapoila.
During Zero Waste production, every part of the incoming raw materials is processed, and nothing is discarded. In the case of grape pomace, we separate the grape skins rich in bioactive substances from the seeds, which we grind after drying. The packaged grape skin powder can be used for flavoring cakes and creams. We also dry the seeds, and from them – without heat treatment or additives, solely through mechanical means – we press oil using our own developed presses. The cold-pressed oils obtained in this way are highly nutritious, healthy foods or cosmetic oils, which we bottle in dark glass bottles.
Valuable By-Products
The sediment formed before filtering the freshly pressed oil is called oil sludge, which, like the oil, is rich in essential fatty acids and vitamins, but it also contains the micro particles of the seeds. We sell this – depending on its nature – as gourmet cream or cosmetic sludge.
From the “dry residue” of oil pressing, the pellets, which are low in fat and carbohydrates but rich in plant proteins, vitamins, and other nutrients, we grind into seed flours, which are excellent baking additives. Pellets are also highly popular among animal feed manufacturers.
By-products also play a role in maintaining the plant along with other eco-friendly solutions
Since we only use natural ingredients, any by-products that we cannot utilize otherwise are dried for use as feed, soil additives, compost, or fuel. The latter, along with any green waste, goes into a biomass boiler that heats the drying system, closing the loop. Environmental considerations are also taken into account in maintaining the plant. We primarily use compressed air generated by a compressor for cleaning. For wiping, we rent wiping cloths from a company that extracts the oil from the used cloths, uses it to heat their laundry, and then we receive the clean cloths again. Parts cleaning is done using a bio-cleaning system containing cleaning microorganisms that biologically break down fats and oils.
With our environmentally conscious approach, we reduce our ecological footprint, while simultaneously reducing costs and increasing profits from extra products.
Long live the Earth, long live the people!
Excellent Quality
Our all-time goal is to produce cold-pressed oils with the highest possible quality. Because oil like that is both tasty and healthy. How do we guarantee this?
The excellent quality of our products depends mainly on the careful selection of raw materials and the right conditions during their processing, into which a number of control points have been integrated, so that our customers will find products with outstanding nutritional value and taste in the packages labelled with Grapoila brand name.
When buying raw materials we act with great circumspection. We buy primarily from domestic producers, or producers from the EU, with whom we often have personal relationships, and thanks to that somtimes we even get the opportunity to follow the whole process of crop production. The proper storing and processing of the seeds is assured by the production plant’s strict certificates of the food industry (HACCP, FSSC 22000, GMP). The operation of the facility is 100% gluten-free, which means that no food containing gluten can get into it, and this is verified by the qualification given by the Association of European Coeliac Societies. We also have the necessary licenses and the capability to process organic materials.
Beyond the strict regulations of the food industry and quality assurance, the production method itself ensures the high quality of Grapoila oils. Thanks to the highly effective pressing method by the own developed, screw-type oil presses (in contrast with the conventional mode of production of the extracted oils) there is no need to use heat treatment on the raw materials, or use any additives or synthetic chemicals. The oils obtained by cold-pressing contain the natural, valuable nutrients of the seeds entirely, their tastes remind us to the taste of the seeds, and are both healthy and delicious.
Beyond the necessary testing we conduct sensory testing of the freshly pressed oils. If the high quality of the oil is confirmed during the taste testing, the process of production, filtering, and bottling can be started. The oils are bottled in dark colored glass bottles, which protect the oils from sunlight, thus guaranteeing a longer shelf life. Each Grapoila product gets regularly sent for laboratory analyses, nutritional value tests.
What testifies to Grapoila quality better than the numerous acknowledgements and awards won by these products during a number of fairs and competitions over the past years? Grapoila oils and gourmet products fascinate the professional jury of tasting competitions, food exhibitions both within the borders of Hungary and outside of it.
Our organic corn germ oil has won the golden star of the Great Taste Awards – the world’s most famous blind test based food tasting competition – both in 2018 and in 2019. The organic sunflower seed oil produced by our company has won two stars during this competition in 2019. The organic paprika seed oil has been rewarded with a silver trophy during Natexpo in Lyon. The gourmet mustard sauces developed by us have won the grand prix at OMÉK (National Agriculture and Food Exhibition Fair) in Hungary, while our rosehip seed oil had been granted the silver award of International Taste Awards in Italy in January of 2020.
The exceptional quality of our products has been noticed by a number of gourmet restaurants and well-known chefs in Hungary, who are readily using our cold-pressed oils, seed flours, seed butters as ingredients of their seasonally changing food creations. Our successes in the fields of food industry and gastronomy assure us that we are on the right path, and there is a demand for plant-based, synthetic chemical free, high-quality products.
100% natural – 100% healthy
Cold-pressing is an entirely mechanical process, during which the valuable components of the raw materials are perfectly preserved.
We believe that food products that are made from natural ingredients without the use of synthetic chemicals are the foundation of good nutrition. Seeds are miracles of nature: small microcosms packed with valuable nutrients, from them stems the life of a plant, and from which we can also benefit if we pay a little attention and are a bit skillful. This “skill” is cold-pressing. This process ensures that we obtain the nutrients that are locked away carefully and strictly, by entirely mechanical means that don’t change the chemical composition of the raw materials. A process that is entirely free of synthetic chemicals, where there is no need for vitamin-destroying roasting, solvents, acid degumming, neutralization by chemicals, or deodorization.
The same cannot be said about the industrial production of cheap extracted oils, where all of these steps are used to increase the amount of obtained oil, and to speed up the extraction process. By contrast, Grapoila’s engineering team has developed screw-type oil press machines that are able to ensure the pressing of seeds of various sizes and hardness with the highest possible efficiency. There’s no need for anything besides mechanical force. We don’t have to make a compromise regarding vegetable oils even when it comes to cooking at high temperatures! The types of cold-pressed oils that have a high smoke point (rapeseed oil, sunflower seed oil, grape seed oil, sesame seed oil) can be used with no problem even in a deep fryer.
During the whole production process we ensure that the temperatures don’t rise above 40 °C, this way the nutrients and the components responsible for smell and taste are fully preserved in the final products. Each and every type of cold-pressed oil is a healthy fat, since they are mostly made up of polyunsaturated fatty acids. Besides that they contain high amounts of vitamin E and antioxidants, however, each type of oil is characterized by unique nutritional components. The linseed oil we produce is a widely known plant-based source of Omega-3 fatty acids, and the grape seed oil we press supports and protects our bodies against diseases due to its natural resveratrol content.
The gluten-free seed flours we produce by milling the pellets, that is, the dry matter which separates form the oil during pressing, are rich in vitamins and minerals. They are excellent natural, plant-based sources of dietary fiber and protein, while they are low on carbohydrates and fats. For example the pumpkin seed flour’s protein content is nearly 70%, and its amino-acid profile is close to being perfect.
We don’t let go of being all natural even when it comes to food and cosmetic products that are made of multiple ingredients. When producing them, our main aspect is that they should only contain natural components. For example in case of the OMÉK 2019 grand prize winner Grapoila Gourmet Mustard Sauces instead of adding industrial emulsifiers, which are normally used in the food industry, we have used a natural emulsifier made from the mustard seed oil mud, which is generated during our zero waste production.
Grapoila’s natural cosmetics line is also growing with more and more products that solely contain natural ingredients. All of these cosmetic products contain high amounts of their main active ingredients, cold-pressed oils, which are sought after cosmetic oils, having exceptionally good skin care and skin regenerating effects.
Being natural is not just something we only keep in mind when it comes to the ingredients of Grapoila products. We want to protect nature by having a Zero Waste production, and by using reusable and recyclable packaging materials.
Domestic procurement – domestic production
When it comes to making Grapoila products, we buy raw materials from domestic producers when possible. From receiving the raw materials to the packaging of final products, each step of the production process is carried out by us at either one of our three production plants, all of which are located in Hungary.
For the production of Grapoila products we buy raw materials primarily from domestic producers or from the EU, since high quality raw materials are essential for the production of high quality products. We have a personal relationships with most of the producers, from time-to-time we even follow the whole process of crop production. When buying from domestic and regional producers, we are not only ensuring quality, but also are supporting the domestic economy and local farmers, which are also very important.
Our company headquarters is located in Budapest, in the 22nd district, where we have established a site and storage rooms – owned by our company – in 2019. We have built our oil pressing plant in 2009 in Püspökladány located in Sárrét sub-region, in Eastern Hungary. Even our press machines are developed by us, with the goal of pressing oil exclusively by mechanical force, from as many types of seeds as possible, and with the highest possible efficiency. Thanks to that we process 18 different types of seeds by a Zero waste cold-pressing production.
Our other production plant is located in Szerencs, where mainly cosmetic production takes place. Both of our plants provide livelihood for a number of families in regions that aren’t in the best position regarding employment.
In regards to environmentally friendly food production, it is our intention to set an example for regional and domestic food producers. We also consider it important to educate everyday people with the help of our products.
Grapoila products are produced in Hungary from regional raw materials, and are available for purchase in local retail chains and wholesalers, as well as in our online shop. We export in large quantities to Europe primarily, but we also have partners in the USA, Taiwan, and Japan.