From the olive groves of Italy to the warm inland valleys of California, our founder, Nicolo Musco, brought an entrepreneurial spirit and a dedication to quality to the business of olives. Our heritage is rich and our vision remains just as strong as the day Nicolo determined to make it in America.

The fruit doesn’t fall far from the tree

From the time he was a young child in Italy, Nicolo Musco worked in his family’s merchant business, peddling olives, cheese and other food from village to village on his donkey-driven cart. Nicolo started his American success story in 1922, moving from Italy to New York to start an Italian food distributorship. Nicolo’s entrepreneurial spirit combined with a heritage that spans back many generations as a long-standing merchant of Italian food products, led him to seek his future and fortune in the olive groves of California.

Nicolo brought with him from Italy a quote and a belief that “when the sun shines it shines for everyone”. Taking this to heart, he and his young family left New York and moved to Northern California to realize a dream and produce olive oil and specialty olives. They settled in the fertile valley town of Orland, California, finding the land similar to the Mediterranean climates of home. He opened an olive oil and specialty olive facility and incorporated the Musco Family Olive Co.

Taking root

In 1960 Nicolo was joined by his sons, Nicholas and Damian, and the foodservice company grew quickly, expanding to include complimentary items. Three years later, Nicolo retired and passed the company into the capable hands of Nicholas and Damian. Taught by their father to always strive to “make a good thing even better”, it was natural for the brothers to develop their own comprehensive ripe olive processing, packaging and distribution operation in their Orland plant. This expanded focus was highly successful and expanded facilities were sought to accommodate the growing demand for their olive products.

Branching out

In the early 1980’s a 350-acre site in Tracy, California was selected as the new canning facility and headquarters. This facility is now the most state of the art olive cannery in the world. In 1987, Nicholas’ son, Felix became the next generation to follow in Nicolo’s footsteps, continuing the founder’s passion of family, food, and business.

Today, this rich heritage and expertise endures at Musco Family Olive Co. which honors its founder, Nicolo Musco, by continuing his philosophy of “making a good thing even better”. Over 500 growers, 400 employees, and countless vendors and business partners are part of the Musco family tree. It is in this spirit of family that we are now known as the Musco Family Olive Co.