How Brightland Founder Aishwarya Iyer Shook Up The Olive Oil Industry

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Following May 24, 2023, 05:10pm EDT | Share to Facebook Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin Under The Radar is our monthly column where we highlight some of the coolest, most inspiring founders of brands in the home and kitchen space. Entrepreneurship did not come naturally to Brightland founder Aishwarya Iyer. She was not, as she recalls, one of those “lemonade stand kids,” the ones who spent their childhoods pitching products and forming business plans.

But food was a big part of her life growing up in an Indian-American household, so starting an olive oil business did, in many ways, feel like a natural extension of something she has always been passionate about. Aishwarya Iyer launched Brightland in 2018 in an attempt to bring high-quality and sustainably . .

. [+] produced olive oils and pantry staples to home cooks across the United States. Illustration: Forbes / Photo: Retailers “My family was super into food,” says Iyer.

“That’s how we greet each other. If we were to call my dad or mom right now, they would ask, ‘What did you eat for breakfast? What did you eat for lunch?’” As a student at New York University, Iyer became enamored with the city’s restaurant scene and dining culture. Later, as she started cooking more, she found herself analyzing the products she used.

“I started looking more closely at every single ingredient. It started with the easy ones, like vegetables, then I thought about the dairy, cheeses and yogurts I was using. Then, I was thinking about spices.

I kind of just kept going backwards and the starting point for almost every food was oil. Brightland Brightland Awake Buy From Brightland Moving to Los Angeles and visiting California’s olive farms only deepened her fascination with the ingredient. In 2018, after a decade working in public relations and communications, Iyer launched Brightland, a direct-to-consumer olive oil line made from California-grown fruit.

At a time when home cooks were seeking high-quality products that also matched their design aesthetic, it was no surprise that Brightland quickly took off, becoming the go-to olive oil for food editors, cookbook authors and even Oprah. MORE FROM FORBES VETTED Bodily’s The Do Anything Bra Review: Simply The Best Nursing Bra By Elyse Moody Contributor Auden Women’s Nursing Seamless Bra Review: A $17 Wonder By Elyse Moody Contributor On Sustainable Sourcing And Launching New Products “As I was moving through the concept of what Brightland could be, I learned that my ancestors were salt farmers in Tamil Nadu in South India. I think that really solidified a deep-rooted connection between land and food,” says Iyer.

After touring farms across California’s Central Coast, it was clear that sustainable sourcing and transparency would be an important part of Brightland. The olives, which come from family-run farms in the Paso Robles, Templeton and Atascadero area, are harvested once a year between October to November and cold-pressed to form Brightland’s custom signature blends. Bestsellers include Awake, a cooking oil made from early-harvest Arbequina olives, and Alive , a blend of Arbequina, Arbosana and Koroneiki olives that’s ideal for dressing salads and drizzling on dips.

Brightland Brightland The Bestsellers Capsule Buy From Brightland Brightland’s offerings have expanded over the years and the company continues to debut innovative new pantry products, including fruity double-fermented vinegars , aromatic raw honeys , and most recently, a garlic-infused pizza oil . “Some of my earliest childhood memories were my dad making pizza. And my husband and I love eating pizza together.

I took a step back and thought, ‘Who doesn’t love pizza?’ So why can’t we take the joy of pizza and bring it to Brightland in a fun way?” On Overcoming Imposter Syndrome It took a while for Iyer to develop the confidence she has now as a CEO and leader. “After I met the farmers, honestly, the first thing that I had to do was convince myself that I was even smart enough or good enough to start a business. That took time,” she recalls.

But having a good product and strong point of view—along with a community of like-minded founders—has been integral in overcoming both external and internal hurdles. “Being gracious and grateful, and treating people how you want to be treated with kindness, that can go a really long way in terms of building goodwill and reputation. And knowing that you have a community of people who really love and support you, I’ll never take that for granted.

” On Building A Joyful, Colorful Brand Home cooks will notice an immediate difference between Brightland’s olive oils and those that typically line supermarket shelves. Rather than the slim plastic bottles that feel like the packaging standard for olive oil, Brightland’s products come in a white recycled glass bottles capped with a cork and adorned with what’s become the brand’s signature splash of color. Brightland Brightland The Artist Capsule Buy From Brightland Creating a product with a unique, vibrant aesthetic was important to Iyer.

“I would just stand and look at the shelves and think, ‘What’s missing here?’” The second piece of it was, I am Indian. We love color, we love brightness. There was just no way that color wouldn’t be a part of the brand.

” The design also matched the emotion that Iyer hopes that cooking with Brightland will bring. “I ended up thinking of the words like happy, wholesome, cheerful, warm, inviting. Those are the words that kept coming to my mind, making the everyday feel really special,” she says.

“Our olive oil is made with so much integrity and craft, and I wanted to build a brand that celebrates both its modernity and heritage. ” Follow me on Twitter or LinkedIn . Check out my website .

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