Why we decided to write this comparison

There is no shortage of articles telling people which olive oil to buy. Far fewer explain how to compare one properly.

Following a recent ONSURI comparison of another premium extra virgin olive oil, we received a surprising number of emails asking essentially the same question:

“How does ONSURI compare with Aeons Ancient Roots olive oil?”

It is a perfectly reasonable question. Ancient Roots has become a prominent name in the UK high-polyphenol olive oil market, supported by polished wellness messaging and its association with Dr Sarah Brewer as the brand’s public-facing medical ambassador.

However, if you are buying extra virgin olive oil because of its polyphenol content, nutritional qualities or potential health benefits, we believe the comparison should begin somewhere other than the label.

It should begin with evidence.

This article is not about telling you what to buy. It is about giving you the information needed to decide for yourself.

What should consumers compare?

Many olive oil comparisons focus on taste, packaging and branding. Those things matter, but we do not believe they should be the starting point when a product is being purchased primarily for its nutritional value.

We believe consumers should first ask:

• Who grows the olives?
• Who mills and produces the oil?
• Has the finished oil been independently analysed?
• Are the laboratory results publicly available?
• What is the measured polyphenol content?
• Are free acidity and peroxide values disclosed?
• Has the producer received recognised industry awards?
• Can the oil be traced to a specific harvest and production batch?
• What are you paying per litre?

Only after these questions have been answered should presentation and marketing enter the conversation. Beautiful packaging can elevate a product, but it cannot replace information that has not been supplied.

What is Ancient Roots olive oil?

Ancient Roots is presented as a premium Italian extra virgin olive oil within the Aeons wellness range. Its marketing places significant emphasis on polyphenols, antioxidants, healthy ageing, volcanic growing conditions and the benefits associated with consuming high-quality extra virgin olive oil.

Dr Sarah Brewer is closely associated with the brand and is an important part of its public identity. Her involvement has undoubtedly helped introduce a wider audience to the potential benefits of good extra virgin olive oil.

It is nevertheless important to distinguish between the person who promotes or endorses a product and the producer who grows the olives and makes the oil.

Ancient Roots operates as a branded wellness product sourcing olive oil from an external Italian producer. ONSURI operates as the grower, miller, producer, brand owner and direct supplier of its own estate-grown oil. Those are fundamentally different models.

Who actually produces your olive oil?

Many consumers understandably assume that the business named on the bottle also owns the groves, harvests the olives and operates the mill. Sometimes that is true. Sometimes the finished oil is bought from an outside producer and subsequently packaged and marketed under another brand.

Neither model automatically determines whether an oil is good or bad. However, the model can affect traceability, transparency, control and the final price paid by the consumer.

At ONSURI, we are first and foremost a family of olive growers. Our olives are grown exclusively on our own single family estate in Jordan and processed in our own family-operated mill, typically within approximately one hour of harvesting.

We oversee:

• Cultivation and grove management
• Harvest timing
• The harvesting teams
• Transport from the trees to the mill
• Milling and extraction conditions
• Sensory assessment
• Independent laboratory analysis
• Storage and temperature management
• Bottling and packing
• Fulfilment and final dispatch

Every ONSURI production batch has its own unique reference. Our records identify the precise harvest day, the team responsible for harvesting, the operator who milled the olives and the relevant milling conditions recorded during production.

Traceability is not simply an administrative exercise. It is part of quality control.

Claims and proof are not the same thing

The premium olive oil market is filled with phrases such as “high in polyphenols”, “rich in antioxidants”, “nutrient dense”, “premium”, “functional” and “wellness”.

There is nothing inherently wrong with those descriptions. The essential question is whether consumers are also shown independent evidence demonstrating what the finished oil contains.

If an olive oil is described as high in polyphenols, how high is it?

Ancient Roots promotes the polyphenol and nutritional qualities of its olive oil, but it does not publish a current independent third-party Certificate of Analysis stating the total polyphenol content, hydroxytyrosol and tyrosol derivatives, free acidity, peroxide value and wider analytical profile of the oil being sold.

This does not prove that the oil contains no beneficial compounds. It means customers are not given measured figures through which the product’s composition can be independently assessed and compared.

It is one thing to describe an oil as high in polyphenols. It is something entirely different to publish accountable, third-party laboratory evidence proving exactly how high those levels are.

Why independent laboratory analysis matters

A Certificate of Analysis is one of the most useful documents associated with a production batch of extra virgin olive oil. Depending on the testing undertaken, it may report measurements including:

• Total polyphenols
• Hydroxytyrosol
• Tyrosol
• Hydroxytyrosol and tyrosol derivatives
• Oleocanthal and oleacein
• Free acidity
• Peroxide value
• UV absorbance and related chemical parameters

These measurements do not tell you whether you will personally enjoy the flavour, but they provide objective information about the composition and condition of the tested sample.

Laboratory analysis does not have a marketing department. It simply reports what was detected in the oil submitted for testing.

That is why we believe an independent analysis should accompany strong nutritional and high-polyphenol claims.

What do the current ONSURI laboratory results show?

ONSURI independently analyses each harvest and publishes the results so customers can see the evidence relating to the oils available for purchase.

Our current-harvest Arbequina achieved an exceptional total polyphenol result of:

Our current-harvest Arbosana achieved:

These are not estimates, generic averages or figures prepared by our marketing team. They are independently verified analytical results relating to the oils we sell.

That distinction matters. Customers are not simply being told the oil is high in polyphenols. They are shown how high.

International recognition provides another form of evidence

Laboratory analysis measures the chemical composition of an extra virgin olive oil. International olive oil competitions provide a different form of independent assessment, examining characteristics such as aroma, flavour, balance, complexity and the absence of sensory defects.

ONSURI oils have received recognition from established international competitions across Europe, Asia and North America. Our Arbosana was also ranked No.1 Arbosana worldwide for the 2025/26 harvest by the EVOO World Ranking.

The £200-per-litre question

We then looked at the retail price.

Ancient Roots retails at £49.95 for a 250ml bottle as a one-time purchase, or £44.95 through its Subscribe & Save option.

That is equivalent to:

By comparison, ONSURI’s 500ml oils retail between £21.95 and £25.00, equivalent to between £43.90 and £50.00 per litre.

For approximately the same amount of money, a customer could purchase close to four litres of ONSURI rather than one litre of Ancient Roots.

Premium extra virgin olive oil is not inexpensive to produce, and exceptional oil is worth paying for. The more useful question is what proportion of the price reflects the oil itself and what proportion reflects the commercial structure surrounding it.

Are you paying for independently verified polyphenols, international recognition, production expertise and complete traceability—or is a substantial part of the price supporting branding, endorsements, marketing and the additional stages between the producer and the consumer?

Why can two premium oils have such different prices?

The answer often lies in the business model.

When a finished oil is bought from an external mill or producer, the original producer needs to earn a margin. The purchasing brand must then cover its own packaging, positioning, endorsements, advertising, warehousing, fulfilment, overhead and profit.

Every commercial stage has a cost. Those costs are ultimately reflected in the final retail price.

At ONSURI, we follow a direct producer-to-consumer model. We do not buy someone else’s finished olive oil and then build a brand around it.

We grow the olives, operate the mill, analyse the oil, control its storage, oversee its bottling and fulfil orders through our own team.

We also undertake comparatively limited large-scale marketing and do not rely on celebrity endorsements to establish the quality of our oils.

We have chosen instead to invest in our farm, our mill, our people, temperature-controlled storage, independent analysis and the production of exceptional olive oil.

Quality does not stop when the oil leaves the mill

Producing high-quality extra virgin olive oil is only part of the challenge. Protecting it after production is equally important.

Exposure to heat, light, oxygen and time can gradually affect the oil. That is why storage, packaging and transportation should form part of any meaningful quality comparison.

ONSURI oils are shipped from our family estate to the United Kingdom in refrigerated containers and stored within our own temperature-controlled warehouse.

The oils are packaged in fully opaque tins that protect them from light. Bottling and fulfilment are not outsourced to an unknown third-party network. Every order is stored, picked, packed and dispatched by our own team.

This gives us direct oversight from the olive tree to the customer’s kitchen.

Five questions to ask before buying a high-polyphenol olive oil

Does ONSURI provide the same health-related qualities as Ancient Roots?

This was the question that originally prompted the comparison.

Our answer is an emphatic yes.

ONSURI oils are not simply described as high in polyphenols. Our current Arbequina and Arbosana results demonstrate exceptionally high measured levels of total polyphenols and hydroxytyrosol, tyrosol and their naturally occurring derivatives.

Those results are supported by independent analysis, extensive international recognition, complete batch traceability and direct control over production.

Without equivalent published analytical figures for Ancient Roots, it is not possible for consumers to conduct a genuine number-for-number comparison of the two oils. What can be compared is the evidence each brand makes available.

Our conclusion

Ancient Roots has successfully introduced many consumers to the idea of using premium extra virgin olive oil as part of a daily wellness routine. Its presentation, messaging and ambassador association have clearly resonated with a significant audience.

ONSURI represents a different proposition.

We are a family producer rather than a wellness company sourcing finished oil. Our reputation is built on estate-grown olives, our own mill, international awards, complete traceability and independently verified analysis that customers can examine for themselves.

We also offer that oil at between £43.90 and £50.00 per litre rather than approximately £179.80 to £199.80 per litre.

Ultimately, every customer must decide what matters most to them.

Our advice is simply this: know what you are putting into your body. Look beyond the label, ask for the evidence and make your decision using measurable information rather than marketing alone.

About this comparison

This comparison has been prepared using publicly available information together with independently published laboratory analysis relating to ONSURI's current harvest oils. Its purpose is not to tell readers which olive oil to buy, but to encourage consumers to compare premium extra virgin olive oils using transparent, independently verifiable information wherever possible.

We encourage readers to review the original sources, published laboratory analyses and information provided by each producer or brand before making their own purchasing decision.