Olive oil is a $10B+ category in the U.S. It has over 50% household penetration. It’s crowded. Saturated. Traditional. And in just three years, Graza became the 5th largest olive oil brand nationally across retail, while leading the category in velocity.

They’re projected to hit $60M this year. With 43 employees. That’s roughly $1.4M in revenue per employee.

Here’s what most people get wrong about Graza: It wasn’t just the squeeze bottle.

Traditional olive oil had three major issues:

Graza didn’t try to make olive oil fancier.

They made it more usable.

The squeeze bottle, inspired by chef kitchens and, oddly enough, Dr. Bronner’s soap, wasn’t a gimmick. It changed the tactile experience of cooking. It made olive oil feel empowering and intuitive.

They reframed the category:

Simple. Functional. Behavior-based. They didn’t sell oil. They sold how you use oil.

Most DTC brands start with marketing. Graza started with sourcing. Benin pre-purchased harvests in Spain before olives were even picked. He spent time building trust with 60+ year-old farmers in Jaén instead of chasing co-packers for speed.

That decision made two things possible:

Luxury wasn’t the goal. Mass accessibility was.

Graza didn’t have a marketing war chest. They sent 300 bottles to influencers. That was the entire advertising budget for eight months. Launch day? Sold out in 24 hours.

Whole Foods called the next day.

Instead of scattering into dozens of retailers, they doubled down on one relationship and treated Whole Foods like a partner, driving traffic to it and investing in that channel intentionally. That focus built credibility fast.

This is the part most people miss. Great product got them attention. The team got them to $60M. Graza doesn’t run on founder energy alone.

Their team includes:

They built specialization early. Top-of-funnel brand building + bottom-of-funnel retail execution. Organic content + paid social. Influencer partnerships + email retention. In-store activations + subscriptions.

They didn’t gamble on one unicorn marketer. They built infrastructure.

Coming out of the “growth at all costs” era, Benin avoided instant-gratification marketing. No spray-and-pray budgets. No chasing every shiny channel.

Instead, they focused on:

And when competitors copied the squeeze bottle? Graza launched refill cans and glass variants, staying one step ahead operationally.

Graza proves something bigger about modern CPG:

Differentiation through packaging is table stakes. Brand equity is built through repetition and discipline. Velocity comes from operational excellence. They didn’t just disrupt olive oil. They re-engineered how it fits into everyday life. And they did it without pretending olive oil was luxury. They made it usable.

The next generation of breakout brands won’t win because they’re loud.

They’ll win because they:

Graza didn’t chase a niche. They chased a category with 50% penetration and made it feel new again. That’s how you build a $60M brand in 3 years.