Every September, while most of Spain's olive groves are still weeks from harvest, the machines are already running at L'Albagés, a village in the dry hills south of Lleida. PONS, a fourth-generation family firm, has made a point of picking early: in 2025 it opened the season in September with Lecciana olives, according to the Lleida daily Segre, and expected around 350 tonnes of oil from the campaign.

The strategy has earned attention at home. In December 2025 three of its Janiroc oils took second, third and fourth place among large producers at the Government of Catalonia's national olive oil awards. For readers in Switzerland, however, the brand is almost invisible. This portrait sets out what can be verified about the company, its oils and where to find them, and flags the points where published figures do not add up.

Is this the Pons you are thinking of?

Probably not, if you grew up with German-language dictionaries: the Stuttgart publisher PONS has no connection to olive oil. The company profiled here sells under the brand PONS, presents itself as Grup Pons, trades legally as Euroaliment P.A.C., S.L. and appears at trade fairs as Pons Tradició. Its head office is on an industrial estate in Rosselló near Lleida; the mill and the Clos Pons winery sit on the LV-7011 road at L'Albagés.

Two further names cause confusion. Borges, the large oil and nut group, belongs to the Pont family, not Pons. And a Màrius Pons, a cooperative leader, pushed for the creation of the Garrigues designation of origin in the 1970s; we found no source linking him to the company's family.

From a 1930s mill to 140 export markets

The family story, as told to the Catalan business site Via Empresa in July 2025, starts with Miquel Escalé, a Garrigues farmer who ran a small oil mill in the 1930s. He was the great-grandfather of today's chief executive, Eduard Pons. The company itself dates its foundation to 1945, the year that appears in the name of its online shop. An undated interview in the series Testimonis per a la Història describes Eduard Pons i Suñé as co-owner with his father, also Eduard, and his brother Mario.

For decades the business sold oil in bulk. "Forty years ago the only option was to sell oil to the Italians," Eduard Pons says in that interview. From 1995, he told Via Empresa, the company changed course and began bottling under its own name. A US subsidiary followed in 1997; the producer names it Casa Pons USA, based in Parsippany, New Jersey.

In 2001 a severe frost killed 10,000 of the firm's century-old olive trees, Via Empresa reports. The family replanted part of the land with 50 hectares of vines, which became the Clos Pons winery in the Costers del Segre designation, now bottling around 700,000 bottles a year according to the same outlet. Oil remains the core: in 2023 Via Empresa put it at roughly 90 per cent of the business, wine at 10 per cent.

The Garrigues, Arbequina and a designation PONS does not use

Les Garrigues is a landscape of dry-stone terraces, almonds and olives between Lleida and Tarragona, and the home ground of Arbequina, Catalonia's signature olive. Its oil became Spain's first protected designation of origin for olive oil on 28 October 1975, originally under the name Borges Blanques and renamed Les Garrigues in 1993. The permitted varieties are Arbequina and Verdiell, as the local paper SomGarrigues recalled in its 50th-anniversary feature in 2025.

PONS farms in the middle of this area but sits outside the scheme. The list of mills and cooperatives registered with the PDO Les Garrigues, which we checked in September 2026, includes the L'Albagés cooperative but not Pons, Grup Pons or Euroaliment, and none of the product pages we saw carry the PDO seal. We found no link with Catalonia's other olive oil designation, Siurana, either. That is a matter of classification rather than quality: oils from Lecciana or Koroneiki could not qualify for the Garrigues PDO in any case.

A variety garden, hedgerows and a new mill

The 2001 frost also pushed the family into experimenting. Via Empresa writes that around 300 olive varieties now grow in a trial plot on the estate (other sources say more than 200), and that Lecciana and Arbosana emerged from it alongside the traditional Arbequina. When the new mill opened in September 2023, the producer listed Arbequina, Koroneiki, Lecciana, Arbosana and Coriana as its main varieties. Koroneiki comes from Greece; Lecciana is a recent cross bred for hedgerow planting. Our guide to European olive varieties puts them in context.

Irrigation reached the area around 2020, the company told Via Empresa in 2023, which allowed it to plant super-intensive hedgerows that are harvested by machine. In September 2023 PONS reported 125 hectares of traditional groves, 165 hectares of super-intensive plantings and a further 60 hectares planned for 2024 and 2025, with a target of 500,000 trees. By 2025 Via Empresa was citing half a million trees and plans to reach one million.

Inside the L'Albagés mill

The mill opened on 22 September 2023, with Catalonia's food secretary Carmel Mòdol and representatives of the nursery group Agromillora and the Italian equipment maker Mori-Tem in attendance. The producer gives its capacity as 200 tonnes of olives a day, with three mills, eight malaxers and two decanters. Investment came in stages: the trade title Alimarket reported €5 million for the mill, groves and winery in December 2021, while Segre cited €8 million for the mill and new plantings in September 2025.

PONS publishes process details that outsiders cannot check but that show its priorities: under 30 minutes from tree to mill, malaxing for less than 15 minutes in sealed vessels at a constant 26°C, and near-infrared analysis of each lot before milling. Polyphenol testing, it says, is carried out under an agreement with the antioxidants research group at the University of Lleida. For the 2025 campaign the harvest order was Lecciana first, then Arbequina, Koroneiki and finally Arbosana.

What is in the bottle

The Janiroc line is the one the awards are about. Named after Jan and Roc, the family's fifth generation, it comprises organic, early-harvest oils from the estate: single-variety Arbequina, Lecciana and Koroneiki, a "Varietal Garden" blend from the trial plot and a three-variety blend called AKL, in 500 ml, 2 litre and 5 litre bag-in-box formats. Organic certification comes from Catalonia's CCPAE, with USDA Organic for the American market; the US importer Medineterranean also lists BRC, IFS, OU Kosher and Halal certification.

The wider range is broad. Medineterranean's catalogue includes the Family Reserva Arbequina (traditional, organic and early harvest), the Selección Familiar blends and single-variety oils, infused oils with basil, garlic, lemon zest or fig leaf, and even an olive oil with Tabasco. The Selección Familiar includes Picual and Hojiblanca, both typically Andalusian varieties that PONS does not list among its estate trees; the product pages we saw do not state where those oils come from.

Tasting notes, with attribution

We have not tasted the oils ourselves. The descriptions below come from the producer or from independent parties, as indicated.

OilProducer's descriptionIndependent view
Janiroc ArbequinaPicked early October at about 500 m; floral, fresh grass; delicate green fruit, balanced, slightly pungentSabato (New Zealand): fruity and lively, peppery finish
Janiroc LeccianaPicked late September; cut grass, fig leaf, tender almond; intense bitterness, powerful pepperCatalan jury: intense green fruity
Janiroc KoroneikiHerbs, grass, tomato leaf; medium bitterness, rising heat, minty freshnessCatalan jury: intense green fruity

On polyphenols, PONS claims at least 325 mg/kg for the Arbequina and higher minimums for Lecciana and Koroneiki, though its own pages differ (350 to 400 and 450 to 500 mg/kg respectively). Our article on polyphenols and antioxidants explains what such figures mean.

Medals and numbers: separating verified results from marketing

The Catalan national awards of December 2025 are the most solid evidence. The government's press release lists 186 entries and a jury drawing on the official Catalan tasting panel, tasters from Italy, Greece and Andalusia, and design and restaurant professionals. Among large producers, Janiroc Koroneiki came second, Lecciana third and Arbequina fourth; the Lecciana also won a packaging prize.

The NYIOOC's own marketplace lists a Gold Award for Janiroc Arbequina, and Via Empresa mentions recognition at Monocultivar Olive Oil Top 2025 and the Dubai Olive Oil Competition. Further golds at London IOOC, Biofach and Il Magnifico, and scores of 93 and 92 points in the Evooleum guide, appear only in the producer's material, which dates the Evooleum result to 2026 on one page and 2027 on another.

How big is PONS?

Exports are well documented: 92 per cent of output in 2023 and 93 per cent in 2025 according to Via Empresa, to more than 140 countries including the US, Brazil, the UK, Pakistan, South Korea and Australia. The same outlet put turnover at around €70 million in 2023.

Volumes are another matter. Via Empresa wrote of 10,000 tonnes of oil a year in 2023 and 500 tonnes in 2025; Segre expected 350 tonnes from the 2025 harvest. Our reading is that the larger figure covers everything the group bottles and trades, the smaller ones its own olives. The company has not, as far as we can see, published a breakdown.

Buying PONS from Switzerland

Coop's online shop has listed a "Pons Extra Virgin Olive Oil with Lemon" in a 0.25 litre bottle, an infused oil rather than one of the prize winners. When we checked on 27 September 2026 the page no longer loaded, so we cannot confirm a Swiss franc price. We found no listing at Manor, Globus or other Swiss retailers, and no shop in Andorra that demonstrably stocks the brand. If you are heading to the Pyrenees anyway, our guide to olive oil shopping in Pas de la Casa covers what is on offer there.

That leaves the producer's shop at pons1945.com; we could not verify whether it ships to Switzerland or on what terms. For a sense of price level abroad, Medineterranean charges USD 33.09 for 500 ml of Family Reserva Organic Arbequina and Sabato NZD 42.50 for 500 ml of Janiroc Arbequina. Duties, shipping and margins make any conversion to Swiss prices meaningless.

Visitors can go to the source: the Lleida wine route lists weekend tours, tastings and harvest-day experiences at Clos Pons in L'Albagés. We found no dedicated olive oil museum.

Our assessment

PONS illustrates how part of Spain's olive oil sector has reinvented itself over three decades: from bulk oil for Italian bottlers to its own brand, from old rain-fed trees to irrigated hedgerows, from one variety to many. Our piece on why Spanish olive oil ranks among the world's best looks at that wider shift.

In its favour: full control of the Janiroc chain from tree to bottle, early picking, organic certification and a strong showing in a government-run competition with a mixed, partly international jury. The tasting descriptions point to robust, bitter and peppery oils, which is worth knowing if your idea of Arbequina is soft and sweet.

The caveats are real, though. PONS is not a Garrigues PDO producer. Its catalogue runs from award-winners to flavoured oils where origin matters less. Published volume figures conflict. The polyphenol numbers come from analyses the company commissions, and we found no independent publication of them. Super-intensive olive growing is debated in Spain for its water use and landscape impact; we do not judge that here, but it belongs in the picture. And for anyone in Switzerland the practical problem remains: the oils that won the prizes are hard to buy here.

Frequently Asked Questions

Where exactly is PONS based?

The groves, mill and Clos Pons winery are at L'Albagés in Les Garrigues, province of Lleida. The head office is in Rosselló, near Lleida.

Is the Janiroc range early harvest?

Yes, according to the producer. The Lecciana is picked in late September and the Arbequina at the beginning of October, both from the company's own organic estate.

Does PONS carry the Les Garrigues PDO?

No. It is not on the PDO's list of registered mills that we checked in September 2026, and its product pages show no PDO seal.

Which awards can be independently confirmed?

Second to fourth place among large producers at Catalonia's national awards in December 2025, confirmed by the government's press release, and a NYIOOC Gold Award for Janiroc Arbequina listed on the competition's marketplace.

Is PONS related to the dictionary publisher?

No. The olive oil company is a Catalan family business; the dictionary publisher is based in Stuttgart and unrelated.

Sources