Orovita Oil Canada: Bringing Traditional Oil-Making to Canada

This story is part of the Immigrant Entrepreneur Canada Retail Incubator Program, presented by RBC and supported by Meridian.

The program provides hands-on retail experience and business training to help immigrant entrepreneurs launch and grow their ventures in the heart of Ottawa.

As you explore the ByWard Market Vendor Village, you will discover more than bottles of oil. Behind Orovita Oil Canada is a story of heritage, friendship, tradition, and a desire to bring something truly unique to the Canadian market.

Originally from Russia, Vera Murzina brought her connection to traditional food-making and cultural heritage with her to Canada. For Vera, the journey began with a simple question: Could there be a healthier and more traditional alternative to the oils commonly found in grocery stores?

A few years ago, Vera and her friend began looking into alternative ways of producing oil. They purchased a small screw press from Amazon and started experimenting with making their own oil at home.

An unexpected family story soon changed the direction of their journey. Her friend's husband's grandmother, who had also travelled to Canada from Russia, visited them and learned about their experiments. She shared a story about her family's heritage. Her husband's grandfather had operated a facility where he made oil himself more than 100 years ago.

His traditional method was very different from modern oil production. Instead of using machinery that could generate heat through friction, the traditional process relied on a simple wooden press. Seeds were placed inside a bag in a barrel, pressure was applied from above, and the oil was extracted without the use of metal equipment.

The story inspired Vera and her friend to see if they could recreate this traditional process in Canada.

“We thought, okay, well, that's a sign we need to try to figure it out and actually make this kind of real traditional oil,” Vera recalls.

Finding the right equipment was not easy. They could not find a press like the one they were looking for in Canada, so they searched internationally and eventually found a traditional press produced in Ukraine.

The equipment weighed approximately 200 kilograms and travelled all the way from Ukraine to their door in Canada.

When they finally tried it, the result surprised them.

The oil was fresh, flavourful, and noticeably different from what they had previously made with their small press or purchased from grocery stores. The traditional process allowed them to press the seeds and enjoy the oil immediately, without filtering or additional processing.

They experimented with the process for several months before deciding that the product was too special to keep to themselves.

They first introduced Orovita Oil Canada to members of the Russian-speaking community through word of mouth. Interest quickly grew, and they began receiving positive responses from Canadian-born customers as well.

For Vera, that response showed that there was an audience in Canada looking for something natural, traditional, and different.

Today, Orovita Oil Canada is growing, and the business has already reached an exciting milestone. After investing in equipment, marketing, supplies, bottles, and packaging, the company broke even within six months of operating primarily within the Russian-speaking community.

“That definitely was very inspiring,” Vera says.

The milestone gave Vera confidence about the possibilities ahead. If the business could reach that point within a relatively small community, she saw even greater potential in introducing Orovita Oil to a much wider Canadian audience.

The company has also taken another major step forward by ordering a second press.

However, growing the business has come with challenges. One of the biggest has been sourcing the specialized equipment required for production. Because the traditional presses are not readily available in Canada, Orovita Oil has had to import them from overseas, with shipping costs adding another layer of difficulty.

Another major challenge is educating customers.

Many consumers are familiar with conventional grocery-store oils and may not immediately understand what makes Orovita Oil different. Vera believes that explaining the traditional production process and helping customers understand the qualities of their product is an important part of building the brand.

For an immigrant entrepreneur bringing a product that is not widely available in Canada, communicating what makes it unique can be challenging.

“You have to explain to the customer that, hey, this is something unique, different, and this is why you want to try it.”

The IEC Retail Incubator Program has helped Vera approach that challenge with greater confidence.

She describes the program as a valuable source of practical knowledge, highlighting how the sessions covered many different aspects of running a business, from accounting and photography to advertising, social media, and websites.

“I have so many notes,” she says. “And now I go back to that every time I think about something.”

For Vera, the diversity of information was one of the program's greatest strengths. The opportunity to participate in the ByWard Market Vendor Village also encouraged Orovita Oil to think beyond its existing Russian-speaking customer base and begin reaching a broader Canadian audience.

“It’s not as scary,” she says.

Looking ahead, Vera hopes to continue expanding Orovita Oil Canada and introduce its traditional products to more people across the country.

Her advice to other immigrant entrepreneurs is not to be afraid of bringing something different to Canada.

“Be proud of your heritage, bring it to the country and yeah, just educate people that it exists and you'll see how much interest you're going to get from that.”

For Vera, Canada's diversity is one of its greatest strengths. She believes people are open to discovering new cultures, learning about different traditions, and supporting entrepreneurs who bring something unique to the community.

Her journey with Orovita Oil Canada is a reminder that sometimes a business begins with a simple experiment, an unexpected family story, and the courage to try something different.

What started with two friends searching for a healthier alternative has grown into a business preserving a traditional method of oil production and sharing it with a new generation of customers in Canada.

As Orovita Oil Canada continues to grow, Vera hopes to bring its traditional approach to even more people, one bottle and one story at a time.

At Orovita Oil Canada, every bottle represents more than oil. It represents tradition, heritage, craftsmanship, and a commitment to preserving a time-honoured method of oil production.

Visit Orovita Oil Canada at the ByWard Market Vendor Village to discover their traditionally pressed oils and learn more about the story and process behind each product.

Explore Orovita Oil Canada or stay updated on their latest products and projects. Follow them on Facebook @vera.murzina.1 to follow their journey as they continue bringing traditional oil-making, cultural heritage, and unique flavours to communities across Canada and beyond.

This story is part of the Immigrant Entrepreneur Canada Retail Incubator Program, presented by RBC and supported by Meridian.