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32-Year-Old Couple Launches Flavored Olive Oil Brand After Moving from Bogotá to Austin, Invests Between US$ 15,000 and US$ 20,000, Sells 148 ml Bottles, and Projects Monthly Revenue Over US$ 15,000
Mariana Carrizosa and Sebastian Jaramillo, both 32 years old, created Fiera Flavors in Austin, a flavored olive oil brand launched last year that started as a side project and now aims for monthly revenue over US$ 15,000 after moving from Bogotá to the United States.
The brand was born out of a personal experience of the couple in 2020, during their first date when Jaramillo prepared an arrabbiata sauce and Carrizosa was enchanted by the olive oil used in the recipe.
The olive oil began to be served at dinners, offered to friends, and tested in different flavor variations, until the two realized that the informal idea had commercial potential and could turn into a structured business.
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The exodus of Brazilian industries to Paraguay is already changing the logistics of the South, putting pressure on BR-277, shifting cargo between ports, and raising an alert about competitiveness in the country.
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China reduces imports to 6.5 million barrels per day, keeps oil prices below $100, and eases global pressure even with Hormuz closed.
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He had to sell 13,000 head of cattle, farms, and almost everything he had to save his father’s company, which is well known among Brazilians, during the Collor Plan crisis.
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More than 230 Brazilian companies move production to Paraguay, pay a tax rate close to 12%, compared to about 80% in Brazil, and use Mercosur to sell back to the domestic market without import tax.
At that time, Carrizosa was working as a consultant at Bain & Company, while Jaramillo ran a software development company, a job he continued even after founding the new brand.
Structuring the Business in the United States
The decision to turn the product into a company required recipe validation, food safety considerations, legal registration, and the creation of a visual identity, challenges that became more complex with the move to the United States.
The original brand, called “Bestial,” did not adapt to the American market and needed to be changed, leading to the creation of Fiera Flavors as the product’s definitive identity.
The initial investment ranged from US$ 15,000 to US$ 20,000, amounts that included consulting with food scientists, mandatory licenses, and branding services, essential for making the operation viable.
During the process, the couple identified practical tools to accelerate their routine, such as using YouTube Premium to learn operational tasks related to online sales, automation, and inventory organization.
Commercial Expansion and Initial Mistakes
Once in the United States, Carrizosa began manually approaching independent stores, sending individual emails to introduce the product, until Jaramillo developed a tool to automate the messages.
The automation brought immediate results, expanding the brand’s presence from 5 to over 40 stores in a few months and returning about three hours daily to the sales routine.
Not all initial decisions were correct, such as ordering 10,000 pre-labeled 473 ml bottles from China, which were considered too large for consumers who use olive oil slowly.
The mistake resulted in 4 months of a full warehouse, high costs, and donations of part of the stock, leading to the establishment of an internal rule to test on a small scale before final customizations.
Currently, Fiera Flavors works with 148 ml bottles, focuses on repeat customers, and grows through word of mouth, fairs, in-store demonstrations, and humorous videos on social media.
The couple’s plan is to double revenue next year, keeping operations lean, learning from initial mistakes, and consolidating the brand in the local market after a journey that started in an improvised way and gained scale.
With information from PEGN.
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