İZMİR, TÜRKİYE — 5 August 2026 — Zeste Seasoning has opened 2026 harvest allocations for volatile-oil-graded Turkish dried oregano, and will ship every lot with a certificate of analysis stating its measured volatile oil (VO) content. The exporter supplies dried oregano leaves ranging from approximately 0.3% to 2.5% VO, hand-selected bay leaves, and carvacrol-rich oregano essential oil to food manufacturers, spice packers and private-label brands across Europe, Asia, the Middle East and the Indian Ocean region.

The announcement addresses a recurring problem in international spice procurement: oregano is frequently bought and sold as a single commodity, when in practice its aroma strength, flavour intensity and antimicrobial activity vary by a factor of five or more between grades.

Why does volatile oil content matter when buying oregano?

Volatile oil content is the measurable concentration of aromatic compounds — principally carvacrol and thymol — in the dried leaf. It is the single most reliable indicator of oregano's sensory strength and the specification most likely to determine whether a lot performs in a given application.

A pizza-topping blend, a retail table-oregano jar and a raw material destined for oleoresin extraction are not interchangeable purchases, even when all three are labelled "dried oregano leaves." Buying without a stated VO figure means accepting whatever the season and the sorting line happened to produce.

Zeste Seasoning grades its oregano into distinct VO tiers rather than offering a single undifferentiated product.

The standard blending grade, at roughly 0.3% to 0.5% volatile oil, is specified for high-volume seasoning blends, sauces, pizza toppings and cost-led formulations where oregano is one note among many. The mid grade, at approximately 0.8% to 1.2%, is the usual choice for retail and private-label packing, food service and table oregano. The high VO grade, at approximately 1.4% to 1.7%, serves premium retail and aroma-led culinary applications. At the top of the range, the extra high VO grade of roughly 1.8% to 2.5% is bought as a raw material for oleoresin and essential oil extraction and for nutraceutical and supplement inputs.

Buyers specify the tier that matches their formulation and their price point, rather than negotiating on price alone and discovering the aroma profile after the container lands.

What does Zeste Seasoning include with each shipment?

Every lot leaves İzmir with a certificate of analysis covering volatile oil content and the microbiological and physical parameters agreed with the buyer at the contract stage. Where a destination market or a customer's own quality system requires third-party verification, Zeste Seasoning arranges independent laboratory testing before shipment.

"A certificate of analysis is not paperwork — it is the product specification made verifiable," said CEO and Managing Partner at Zeste Seasoning. "When a buyer in Seoul or Warsaw opens a bag, what is in that bag should match what was written on the offer. Publishing the VO figure lot by lot is how we make that checkable rather than promised."

The company works on standard international trade terms including EXW, FOB, CFR, CIF, DAP and DDP, with mixed-grade and mixed-product container loading available for buyers who need more than one specification without committing to a full container of each.

Which markets does Zeste Seasoning currently export to?

Zeste Seasoning ships from Türkiye to buyers in Bulgaria, Poland, the United Kingdom, Albania, Lebanon, India, Pakistan, South Korea and Mauritius, among other markets. Each destination brings a different regulatory and commercial profile — from EU pesticide residue and contaminant limits, to UK retail specification sheets, to the documentation required for customs clearance in South Asian and Gulf markets.

That range of destinations is deliberate. Working across multiple regulatory regimes at once means the company's documentation, testing and labelling practices are shaped by the strictest requirement in the portfolio rather than the most permissive.

What else is in the 2026 range?

Alongside dried oregano leaves, Zeste Seasoning supplies:

Oregano essential oil — steam-distilled from Turkish oregano, with carvacrol content around 75%, supplied to food, feed additive, cosmetic and supplement manufacturers.
Bay leaves (laurel) — offered in semi-selected, FAQ and hand-selected grades, graded on leaf size, colour retention and foreign matter content.
Mediterranean culinary herbs and spices — including thyme, sage, rosemary and sumac, in cut, rubbed and ground formats to buyer specification.

Private-label and contract packing are available, including customer-specified cut sizes, mesh grades and packaging formats.

"Most of our customers are not buying a herb, they are buying consistency across repeat orders," said the CEO of Zeste Seasoning. "The second container matters more than the first. Grading discipline at origin is what makes the second container look like the first one."

How can buyers request samples or a quotation?

Buyers can request graded samples, current certificates of analysis and pricing on any Incoterm by contacting [email protected]. Sample requests are most useful when they state the intended application, the target volatile oil range, required volume and destination port — this allows the company to send the grade that actually fits the specification rather than a general sample.

Allocations for the 2026 harvest are being confirmed on a first-committed basis through the current season.