By Steve Seepersaud
After Andrew Benin '13 moved to Spain, his mother-in-law introduced him to driving with a stick shift. The family's subsequent travels throughout the Andalusian countryside in a manual-transmission car led him to a deeper knowledge of the subtleties of olive oil. The second of these lessons has proven more useful.
In January, Benin launched Graza, an oil made of 100% Picual olives from a single origin and never blended. There are two product lines: Drizzle for finishing and topping, and Sizzle for everyday cooking. Benin says Graza offers premium taste at a more palatable price point.
"I was observant of my wife's family in Cadiz, and they used olive oil so liberally, freely and frequently in their cooking, it just stood out as the glue to all things in the kitchen," Benin said. "We tasted olive oil at every farm or co-op that would let me in. Most did, thankfully."
Benin filled suitcases with the Spanish homegrown creations and brought them to Manhattan for a tasting at Gramercy Tavern, where he had done staging. He thought the oils would be well-received; instead, the reaction was more like grinding gears.
"The head chef put me in my place by reminding me that we don't really need another ultra-luxury, small-batch and super-expensive olive oil," Benin said. "They're cost prohibitive and don't increase the likelihood of people cooking with olive oil over unhealthy, highly processed cooking fats."
The blunt New York-style feedback started things in motion for Graza. While some brands come in as high as $34 for a 500 ml bottle, Benin was able to set his price at $20. When Graza launched Jan. 11, Benin thought his inventory would take five months to sell. Instead, it was gone in less than 24 hours.
That's not to imply his venture has been easy. Benin said being first to market with a proprietary, patent-pending squeeze bottle was a tremendous challenge. His team tested more than 200 packaging variations, engaging mechanical engineers to create the molds.
"Working with manufacturers in antiquated industries to conduct massive overhauls in packaging is always a challenge, but we continued innovating all the way through becoming the first induction-sealed olive oil."
In addition to his experience in the food industry, Benin said majoring in management at Binghamton gave him a breadth of experiences that were enormously helpful.
"Binghamton teaches you to be resourceful," he said. "In the School of Management, Dane Blevins [former assistant professor of strategy] challenged us to be creative in the context of business and think outside the norms.
"Also, blending in elective education while studying business was healthy for my development. Taking alternative and interesting mindsets and experiences into account when conceiving a new business is critical," Benin said. "I found that being able to study abroad, in addition to studying a diverse range of subjects, helped me greatly.
"We want to become a household name and embrace the imperfect nature of cooking to help people find more confidence and joy in the kitchen. Drizzle Graza on salads, eggs, pasta, bread or even ice cream. We won't judge! In fact, we encourage you to experiment as much as possible in the kitchen. Cooking should be fun!"