Olive Oil + Wellness! Katerina Mountanos on bringing health benefits of Mediterranean EVOO

Let's talk EVOO!⁠

(That's short for extra-virgin olive oil, aka. the good stuff.)⁠

Katina Mountanos is the Founder & CEO of Kosterina, a modern wellness company centered around early harvest, extra virgin olive oil with high polyphenol content from her native home in Southern Greece. She saw a huge gap in the American market for authentic, high-quality extra virgin olive oil, and recognized that most mass-produced olive oils here are late harvest and poor quality, which negates most of the health benefits. Prior to starting Kosterina, Katina led Walmart’s Brand Incubation team, which focused on incubating and operating brands in the fashion, beauty and home categories. This role furthered her skills in brand development and marketing, and in 2016, she left her corporate career behind and set out to create a premium Greek olive oil for the American market. Her mission is to educate American consumers on the benefits of premium olive oil, and introduce the market to a better-for-you option.

In this episode we chat about leaving a career in corporate America, key indicators your product/brand might have legs, getting discovered by Whole Foods on Instagram, how to tell if your olive oil is actually extra-virgin, and why PR and partnerships can be hugely beneficial in building a wellness brand. 

To learn more about Kosternia and shop the products visit kosterina.com and follow them on Instagram @kosterina

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