We escaped followed our dream of owning an olive grove in Italy… but it was harder than we thought

A British couple who escaped Britain’s cost-of-living crisis by buying a 110-acre farm in rural Italy to start their own olive oil business have revealed their shock at how hard running a farm in a foreign country really is. 

Lucie Davidson, 27, and Jerry O’Shea, 29, bought the historic Pitino Agricolo farm, located in the Le Marche region, nearly two years ago for €160,000 (about £136,000) after feeling disappointed by the ‘expensive property ladder’ in London.

But the pair, who had no prior farming experience, have now revealed they are at a ‘make or break moment’ after having a disappointing first year in sales.

Ms Davidson and Mr O’Shea said the journey has been a ‘steep learning curve’ and caused ‘unbelievable stress’. 

Despite long days and sleepless nights, they have sold just £8,200 in olive oil this year, and say if they don’t sell more ‘it’s hard to see us continuing making oil’.

Ms Davidson, from Streatham, south London, (pictured tending to the farm) explained how they will have ‘physically hard’ days of labour out on the farm, followed by ‘mentally hard’ evenings where they focus on business and marketing

Mr O’Shea, from Kent, said the biggest ‘difficulty’ is getting people to taste their product. He said it is going to be ‘tough selling the oil and staying afloat’. Mr O’Shea is pictured selling Pitino Agricolo olive oil at the Venn Street Market in Clapham earlier this month

Ms Davidson, from Streatham, south London, and Mr O’Shea, from Kent, met while pursuing their politics PhDs at University of Cambridge. The pair decided to leave the capital after soaring property prices left them with the prospect of spending nearly half a million pounds to ‘live in a box.’ 

They were searching for flats in the trendy Brixton, Bermondsey and Camberwell neighbourhoods, but quickly learned the cost-of-living crisis had left them with options that were less than desirable. 

UK couple quit the capital to buy 110-acre farm with no power or water: READ MORE  

They decided to escape London after discovering a healthy budget of £450,000 left them with little viable options, instead deciding to purchase the Pitino Agricolo farm outright in May 2021.

The couple used their savings and a loan from Mr O’Shea’s parents, after negotiating and getting €40,000 knocked off the asking price of €200,000 (about £170,000).

Mr O’Shea and Ms Davidson permanently moved to Italy in January last year and dove straight into their farming venture – but it hasn’t been with out trials and tribulations.

They first learned how to tend to the existing 80 olive trees and then then taught themselves how to make olive oil by reading academic papers, watching YouTube videos and asking neighbours for help.

Now the couple have planted around 2,000 new trees and started selling their extra virgin olive oil both online and at shoppers and markets in the UK. 

Mr O’Shea, who earlier this month was selling their oil at Venn Street Market in Clapham, told MailOnline the biggest ‘difficulty’ is getting people to taste their product.

But despite their troubles, the couple have insisted they ‘couldn’t wish to do anything else’. 

‘Ninety per cent of people at the market who came to try it would buy it, but it’s difficult getting people in the UK to try it and buy it,’ he explained, adding that there is ‘loads of cheap olive oil’ in Britain, but not a lot of ‘good quality, early harvest’ oil like the kind they produce.

The couple explained that the Le Marche region of Italy has the most recognised autochthonous olive cultivars of any region in the world, but noted that much of the oil farmed there stays in the country.

Mr O’Shea said he wants to ‘carry on making what I think is the best oil in the world’ but claims they are under ‘unbelievable stress because we have so much oil that we have to sell’. The couple’s oil is pictured above

The couple have planted around 2,000 new trees and started selling their extra virgin olive oil both online and at shoppes and markets in the UK. They raised money to plant using a crowdfunder that got £9,000 in donations. Pictured: An olive tree on the Pitino Agricolo farm

Mr O’Shea (pictured tending to the olive trees) said: ‘We thought people in the UK were learning to love and appreciate olive oil and thought there was space in the market – which there is – but we didn’t properly think through that we don’t have time to run a farm and sell in the UK. This year is a test of whether we could sell in the UK or just locally in Italy’

Their food market research indicated there is ‘quite a buzz around independent food market and quality produce’ in the UK, so the pair thought it was the ‘right time’ to enter Britain’s olive oil market.

‘I want to carry on making what I think is the best oil in the world,’ Mr O’Shea said. ‘But the early years are the tough ones. It’s going to be tough selling the oil and staying afloat. 

‘It is optimistic because people love the oil and deals are coming, but it is an unbelievable stress because we have so much oil that we have to sell. It is make or break at the moment. If we don’t sell the oil this year, it’s hard to see us continuing making oil.’ 

Ms Davidson, who is still in the process of pursuing her PhD, added that the couple are also trying to navigate running a farm, oil business and the online tutoring business they launched during covid lockdowns which helps pay the bills.

‘The work never stops,’ she said, explaining how they will have ‘physically hard’ days of labour out on the farm, followed by ‘mentally hard’ evenings where they focus on business and marketing.

‘It’s so hard and you really have to teach yourself,’ Ms Davidson said of the business. ‘It’s just a steep learning curve bringing a new project to market in an already saturated market. But the lows are also the biggest highs.’

Mr O’Shea, who completed his PhD last November, added: ‘We thought people in the UK were learning to love and appreciate olive oil and thought there was space in the market – which there is – but we didn’t properly think through that we don’t have time to run a farm and sell in the UK.

‘This year is a test of whether we could sell in the UK or just locally in Italy.’

The couple also noted that the low cost-of-living in Le Marche is a big reason that they are able to push on with their farming venture. Their Pitino Agricolo farm is pictured above

Ms Davidson added that the couple built a ‘godsend’ greenhouse which has allowed them to be relatively ‘self-sufficient for food’. They grow a lot of their own vegetables and have a chicken coup where they collect fresh eggs. Their greenhouse and crops are pictured 

Mr O’Shea is pictured with the olive harvest

Mr O’Shea and Ms Davidson are selling their olive oil in the UK. Their product is pictured on the shelf at Panzer’s Deli in London

The couple also noted that the low cost-of-living in Le Marche is a big reason they are able to push on with their farming venture.

‘We are so lucky rent is cheap here, which makes this possible, and the cost of living here is so much lower,’ Mr O’Shea said. ‘If we didn’t have a cheap cost-of-living and the business we would be under water.’

Ms Davidson added that the couple built a ‘godsend’ greenhouse which has allowed them to be relatively ‘self-sufficient for food’. They grow a lot of their own vegetables and have a chicken coup where they collect fresh eggs.

Despite the saturation of the olive oil market and the harvesting struggles plaguing the industry, Ms Davidson and Mr O’Shea are optimistic about expanding their business in the near future.

Leading oil brands saw prices surge by more than 23 per cent in the last year and bosses declared that the industry was ‘in crisis’. Pictured: Pitino Agricolo farm

Despite the saturation of the olive oil market and the harvesting struggles plaguing the industry, Ms Davidson and Mr O’Shea are optimistic about expanding their business in the near future. Their extra virgin olive oil is pictured above

The couple want to renovate the dilapidated farmhouse on the property and rent it out on AirBnB as a luxury farm stay. None of the homes on the property are currently in liveable condition. Pictured: A dilapidated structure on Pitino Agricolo farm

‘We have put our heart and soul into this product,’ Ms Davidson said. ‘We are putting region on the map that isn’t well known – everyone knows champagne region in France but we want people to know the Le Marche region in Italy.

‘We couldn’t wish to do anything else. We are our own bosses and the business is so important in sustaining that way of life.’

They want to create wine and other farm-to-table speciality products, such as truffles. They have launched another crowdfunder to plant oak trees which would allow them to grow and sell truffles.

‘The valley is good for truffles which makes more sense economically,’ Ms Davidson said, noting that they hope to send truffles to their donors in five to six years. ‘We are also doing wine, but it’s not ready yet. Hopefully it’ll be ready in the next few years.’

The couple’s other goal is to renovate the dilapidated farmhouse on the property and rent it out on AirBnB as a luxury farm stay. None of the homes on the property are currently in liveable condition.

Ms Davidson says building plans are in the works, but ‘things are a bit slow’. They are hoping to start building next year so they can push on with the hospitality side of their business and start hosting guests.

Ms Davidson says building plans are in the works, but ‘things are a bit slow’. They are hoping to start building next year so they can push on with the hospitality side of their business and start hosting guests. The couple are pictured together on their farm

They are also trying to restore an old lake bed which will be ‘really important’ to their environmental initiatives and sustainability. They want to utilise the bed to water olives and truffles, as well as ‘bring the history of the farm back to life’. Mr O’Shea is pictured tending to the farm

They are also trying to restore an old lake bed which will be ‘really important’ to their environmental initiatives and sustainability. They want to utilise the bed to water olives and truffles, as well as ‘bring the history of the farm back to life’.

Last year, the pair sold about £6,000 worth of oil, but noted they were able to plant a lot of new trees through a ‘successful’ crowdfunder that raised about £9,000.

They have already exceeded last year’s sales after having sold about five per cent of their oil to Panzer’s Deli, which has multiple shoppes in London, for about £4,000. 

They also made about £1,200 selling at Venn Street Market and did £3,000 by selling directly to customers on their website. 

The couple added that the also gave a bottle of olive oil from their harvest to those who donated to their crowdfunder and intend to do so again next year.