S8 Ep26: Nourishing the Body and Soul Through Mindful Cooking with Aishwarya Iyer
“The things that you run away from, you end up going back to as you get older.” —Aishwarya Iyer
Because of our busy schedules, it's all too easy to rush through meal preparation on autopilot. But cooking with presence and awareness has profound benefits for both body and soul. With each conscious action in the kitchen, whether stirring a pot of soup or mixing a salad, we nourish our mind and spirit, as well as our physical needs. The mindfulness we cultivate over the stove can spread throughout our day, improving mood and relationships toward more conscious living.
Aishwarya Iyer’s passion for conscious cooking inspired her to create Brightland, where she strives to elevate people's connection to their food through products that encourage mindfulness. By sharing the stories of the farmers and flavors behind each product, she aims to help customers more present and aware during mealtimes, allowing them to reap the mental and physical benefits of living in the moment while nourishing themselves and their loved ones.
In this episode, Justine and Aishwarya talked about overcoming self-doubt, the importance of surrounding oneself with knowledgeable people, Brightland's organic and regenerative products, Ash’s strategic approach to growing the company, and the value of mindful cooking and making thoughtful choices to nourish both body and soul.
Connect with Aishwarya:
Aishwarya Iyer is the founder and CEO of Brightland, an olive oil, vinegar, and honey company based in California. She launched Brightland in 2017 after becoming passionate about food and cooking oils. Under her leadership, Brightland has grown to produce a variety of high-quality, organic, and regenerative olive oils, vinegar, and honey. Brightland partners directly with small farms to source ingredients and tell the story of sustainable agriculture.
Prior to founding Brightland, Aishwarya worked in the beauty industry and tech startups. She credits her experiences in consumer products and the startup world with giving her the skills to successfully launch and scale her own company. Aishwarya is committed to building Brightland through a strategic and calm approach while delighting customers.
Episode Highlights:
00:55 Walking the Path of Entrepreneur
05:19 Overcoming Barriers to Success
10:30 Mindful Cooking
15:06 Partnering with Local Farmers
18:57 The Value of Advisors
23:51 Emphasis on Quality and Uniqueness
31:02 AVoiding Rancidity
Resources:
Book
Tweets:
Mindful cooking is about more than just following a recipe— it's a way of reconnecting with food and nurturing the body and soul. Join @jreichman and Brighland Co. Founder, Aishwarya Iyer as they discuss entrepreneurship, mindful cooking, building a sustainable food brand, and more. #podcast #entrepreneurship #socialgood #inspiration #impactmatters #NextGenChef #EssentialIngredients #Season8 #BrightlandCo #regenerativeoliveoil #organicfarming #womeninbusiness #startupjourney #mindfulcooking #wellness #nutrition
Inspirational Quotes:
03:44 “When you care about something a lot, and when you're curious, it can lead you down lots of paths and end up changing your life.” —Aishwarya Iyer
05:20 “Being an entrepreneur, you have to go out of your comfort zone because life changes and things shift and so does whatever you're producing or creating.” —Justine Reichman
08:52 “I was open to, not being right, but getting educated.” —Justine Reichman
11:39 “We have to be our own biggest champions and best friends.” —Aishwarya Iyer
13:43 “The things that you run away from, you end up going back to as you get older.” —Aishwarya Iyer
23:27 “Stay naive because it keeps you looking at the positive.” —Aishwarya Iyer
24:28 “It can be scary because now you know more, but it can also be comforting because you know more.” —Justine Reichman
Transcriptions:
Justine Reichman: So good morning, and welcome to Essential Ingredients. I'm your host, Justine Reichman. With me today is Aishwarya Iyer.
Aishwarya Iyer: Hi, Justine.
Justine Reichman: Hi, how are you today?
Aishwarya Iyer: I'm so good. I'm so excited to be on this podcast and to chat with you.
Justine Reichman: Me too. I'm excited to chat with you because there's so many things that I feel like we can talk about that relate to the people that are listening and watching, which we'll get into in a minute, your journey as an entrepreneur, all these different things. So before we kick it off, so that our listeners and our viewers know who we're talking to, would you just please introduce yourself with your name, your title, and what you do?
Aishwarya Iyer: Yes, absolutely. So I'm Aishwarya Iyer. I go by Ash.
Justine Reichman: You could have told me that. It's very hard saying your name properly.
Aishwarya Iyer: I love to do that to people. It's a party trick. I'm the Founder and CEO of a company called Brightland. We make beautiful, delicious, indulgent olive oils, vinegars and honey. We sourced directly from independent farmers in California. We've been around for the last four and a half years, and it's been such a whirlwind. And I love food. I love wine. I love hanging out with my dogs. I love gardens. And I love putting my phone away because I think phones are crazy. And that is really my state of mind right now.
Justine Reichman: I love that. I love that. We're gonna talk about Brightland. But first, tell me about your dogs.
Aishwarya Iyer: Oh, yeah, I have two dogs, Madison and Crosby named after two special streets in New York City. Madison is a cockapoo, sort of old girl. And then Crosby is a half Yorkie schnauzer situation, and he's a grumpy old man. And they really are darlings. They're amazing. Do you have a dog?
Justine Reichman: I do. I have two dogs, a 12 and a 20. Mini and Misty.
Aishwarya Iyer: Oh, my god. I love those names.
Justine Reichman: They're very cute and adopted many when we came back from Mexico City first, by way of fostering and in every sense. You're gonna keep that? No, no, it's just temporary. Anyway, long story short, it's nine years later or something? Oh, no. It's not nine years later. She's now nine. She was three when I got her. And then Tim said about a year or two later, I think you should get another one. So we've got Misty. And now, we have two lovely dogs. They're the best. That makes the family whole, they bring it all together. They give a lot of love. It's unconditional. So do you have a third child? Is it Brightland?
“When you care about something a lot, and when you're curious, it can lead you down lots of paths and end up changing your life.” —Aishwarya Iyer
Aishwarya Iyer: Yes, yes. Founded almost five years ago. It has been a whirlwind. I did not set out to become an entrepreneur. I will tell you that I wasn't one of those people that was like lemonade stands, or trading baseball cards, or whatever those people did. I really thought that I was going to be either a lawyer or a news anchor. I had dreams of becoming an optometrist. So I was all over the map world. I'm super all over the map, but entrepreneur or CEO is definitely not one of them. And I think when you care about something a lot, and when you're curious, it can lead you down lots of paths and end up changing your life. And I became really curious and interested in the world of oils, cooking oils and olive oils. And the more I dug, the more intrigued I got. And here we are.
Justine Reichman: So what were you doing before this? Is there something in your background that landed itself naturally to this?
Aishwarya Iyer: So the short answer is no. But the longer answer is, absolutely. When I look back and can thread the dots from a short answer standpoint, I started my career at L'Oreal at Lancome, and then I pivoted into the tech world. I was working at early stage startups having a blast. But again, not thinking about entrepreneurship in any way, but the skills that I learned in those places. So at L'Oreal, I think CPG, the interest in consumer products, the interest in positioning and brand naming that also got lodged in my brain. And then when I was at the startups, I learned what it was like to be nimble to work really quickly, to be comfortable with discomfort, to be open with the gray. Not everything is black or white. And I think those things stuck with me so much that now being a part of the Brightland ship or manning the ship, it takes a lot for me to get kind of tossed in the ocean.
“Being an entrepreneur, you have to go out of your comfort zone because life changes and things shift and so does whatever you're producing or creating.” —Justine Reichman
Justine Reichman: I can imagine. Being an entrepreneur, you have to go out of your comfort zone, you have to be able to be open to new things and not stuck on one thing. Because what you came up with originally, after you do research, or after you test the market, or after things evolve, and life changes, and things shift, so does whatever you're producing or creating employees. And I think not being scared of that and not holding on so tightly that you're not open to that really makes you a good entrepreneur. It's what entrepreneurship is about.
Aishwarya Iyer: Thank you for saying that. And I think that goes really nicely with this kind of really firm belief that I have that two things can be true at the same time. You can be really enjoying the ride of whatever journey you're on, but also be scared about what's ahead or also have some regrets. Two things can absolutely be true. And there's no absolute, getting comfortable with that as a concept. And as a construct of how I live my life has been sort of game changing too.
Justine Reichman: I appreciate you sharing that. I think that that's really great insight for founders and people that are interested in starting businesses to hear because it can be overwhelming, it can be confusing for people. And many times, people often feel like it's not possible. I can change the narrative a little bit, so much more becomes open to you and possible.
Aishwarya Iyer: I think there's also a lot around like the inner critic and the stories we tell ourselves about ourselves. When I was thinking about starting this, I didn't think it was possible. I didn't think it was possible. That was the big part about it. I was like, I'm not smart enough. I'm not capable enough. Why would anyone ever want to listen to me, and I had to really unravel where that was coming from. And it was like, my 7th grade self or my 10th grade self not feeling good enough. The self that was coming out so I had to almost go revisit that person and be like, you're okay, it's okay. You can go out and try something. And if it doesn't work, it's okay.
“The things that you run away from, you end up going back to as you get older.” —Aishwarya Iyer
Justine Reichman: I think that that kind of sentiment is really a very important part of the whole growth because you're revisiting the things that could potentially be barriers for you, and recognising why that's a challenge for you. And if you can address that, you've got a better chance of being able to move forward in a more positive way. Similarly, when I was in third grade, I was scared of being wrong. I didn't like to raise my hand and be wrong. And now, I think I've built a backbone. I have an opinion. If you don't agree with me, you don't agree with me. If I don't agree with you, we don't agree. And that's okay. I don't think you know which was on the line about getting that answer. That make sense to you?
Aishwarya Iyer: How have you moved past it now?
Justine Reichman: And so in third grade, I was nine. Now, I'm 51. So I got a few years, a little bit of experience. And I think the one thing is realizing what I was interested in. And when I found what I was interested in, I found that I just wanted to learn more. I found that I was open to not being right, but getting educated. Realizing what my skill set is what my superpower is. And so as a result, it gave me a place to come from strength, even if I don't always have the answers. And to me, that's a solid thing to say, I don't know all the answers. In fact, that's why I bring all these people on my podcast so that they can help you make more informed choices being the audience.
Aishwarya Iyer: I love that so much. And I resonate with it so much because I tell my team all the time, I better be the dumbest person in the room when I'm with y'all. Hired an amazing team to exactly provide that guidance and people that I can learn from, and that we can all learn from each other, get better and build this company into something really special.
Justine Reichman: When did you realize you needed to have a team that was smarter than you or knew more than you? Because I learned it from my mother, I can tell you that.
Aishwarya Iyer: I think I learned that when I started trying to separate my ego from what was actually the right decision for the company.
Justine Reichman: Was there something pivotal that happened that made you aware of that?
Aishwarya Iyer: I think that it was honestly, tough lessons learned over time. And it was a mistake. And I think it was a series of them that ended up making me think, wait, why am I getting in my own way?
Justine Reichman: So what would you say to somebody else that another founder or somebody else that really wanted to go out and build their own business and kept finding reasons why they couldn't do it? Because to me, you're your own worst enemy there. You're stopping the progress. What might you say to that? What could you recommend?
Aishwarya Iyer: I honestly think, one, exercise that I think could be really helpful is write out three or four questions that you would want people in your life like good friends, family members, people in your circle to answer about you. Like, hey, what's your biggest superpower? Why do you believe in me? Really basic questions like that, and send it around to 10 or 15 people. Ask them to answer it, and then read what they have to say. And I think starting there by saying, oh, my God, this is how other people see me. Why aren't I seeing this in myself? Because at the end of the day, we have to be our own biggest champions and best friends. And I always say, I'm the greatest love of my life. I love my husband, I love my family. But I have to also be the greatest love of my life. And I think being able to shift to that will then lead to a place of thinking that things are possible even when things are tough. And things will be tough. And things may not go in the right way. But at least, it opens up the mindset to think that things are possible rather than think that things are impossible.
Justine Reichman: I love that. I never thought about thinking of myself as the love of my life. And I think that to be able to do that is very empowering to be able to say that. To own that is really empowering.
Aishwarya Iyer: Then you come from a place of love no matter what. If you love yourself and you've truly believed that, then you're radiating it and like it's the universe sort of shifts in that way not to get so woo woo. You're a New Yorker, and I lived there for so long. And here we are talking about this, but I firmly believe it.
Justine Reichman: I think that's amazing. It's an amazing story to tell yourself. And I don't mean a story that it's made up, but in a story to narrate to yourself and to create that narrative for you to build from. So when you decided on olive oil, what was it about olive oil and all the different things that honey, I didn't even know you made honey.
Aishwarya Iyer: Yeah, we started with olive oil. And the reason for that was, I come from a family of very passionate, very judgmental home cooks who are very quick to ask, what are you eating for lunch? What are you eating for dinner? It better be home food. And so I totally went the other direction. Lived in New York for a decade and never cooked. I was out every night living it up, and then slowly started shifting. I always say like, the things that you run away from, you end up like going back towards as you get older. And so started going back into cooking and just being more mindful about the ingredients. I was going to the Union Square Farmers Market, I was looking at what kind of kale am I buying. Maybe I shouldn't be shocked. I love Trader Joe's, but maybe I shouldn't be buying all my produce from there. And as I got more conscious and thoughtful, I kept coming back to the foundation of all of our meals, which is olive oil or cooking oil. And I was like, hmm, am I using a good quality? I don't even know what I am using. And so I started Googling, what is good olive oil? What's bad olive oil? And when I Googled bad olive oil, there were some crazy articles about the Italian Mafia maybe being involved at one point in the olive oil trade. And I was like, what are you talking about? This is insane. I also love The Godfather, and like that whole Sopranos. So I was like, this is wild and interesting. And so it just became this pop culture meets my own personal interests, meets my family's interests. Like everything coming together and couldn't get it out of my head. I started just researching the world of olive oil more. And when I was in California, I started visiting some oil farms. And that blew me away because I was like, wait, I thought good olive oil was only found in Europe. So the fact that the United States is producing gorgeous, beautiful extra virgin olive oil right here, there's something really amazing about that. Is there a way for me to partner with any of these farmers to tell that story? And that was the genesis.
Justine Reichman: What was your next step? You realize you knew that you wanted to partner with the farmers because partnering with the farmers was going to allow you to choose going regenerative. Are you going organic? You have so many choices and things to know.
Aishwarya Iyer: Well, I didn't know what those things meant because I was coming from the world of tech. So I was coming from like, I think naive. I think newcomers have a sort of mentality. So honestly, a lot of people didn't take my calls. I remember emailing a bunch of people and no one responded. Or I would show up and they'd be like, this is very cute that you have this project in mind, like by project. What I did was try to educate myself. I read an incredible book that I would highly recommend to people, it's called Extra Virginity by Tom Mueller. That was a big point of education, kind of like a stepping stone. And then I took classes at the UC Davis Olive Center, which there's a real place that it's the olive oil center. They research olive oil and the chemical and sensory analysis of it. And it was a really wonderful place to learn. So I got a little more educated there, and then I found a farming family that decided to take a chance on me. They had organic regenerative practices, and so I was really excited by that. And that's how we got started.
Justine Reichman: That's amazing. So what was the first store you got into?
Aishwarya Iyer: Well, we started directly with consumers. So originally, it was from shipping from my little office. It was me and some interns packing bottles and boxes. Crazy, like we were packing thousands of boxes, which makes no sense. So we started doing that, and we were shipping directly to customers around the country. But the first or second week that we launched, we got an inquiry from a really cute lifestyle store in Brooklyn. They were like, we'd love to carry your olive oil. And I was so excited. And that was the first store that carried us.
Justine Reichman: Which store in Brooklyn?
Aishwarya Iyer: Oh, my god, they're not open anymore. But it was called like, some really cute name and it was chic. And it was in Cobble Hill. Yeah, unfortunately, they closed during the pandemic.
Justine Reichman: I was thinking about the store Whisk.
Aishwarya Iyer: Oh, yeah, I love that store.
Justine Reichman: I love that store. But I was like, they should sell your olive oil there. They sell all that stuff. I think whiskey would be a perfect spot, and they've got the one in Brooklyn. I think it's better for cheese.
Aishwarya Iyer: If anyone from Bedford Cheese or Whisk is listening, please contact us.
Justine Reichman: We'll send it to them, and we'll tell them how much we liked it. My friend actually lived in the building above Whisk on Bedford when she first bought her first apartment with her husband. And so I would go to Whisk. I was on my way up, it was literally the corner store. And you opened the gate, and then they had these apartments above it. That's so sweet. Where are you sold here? I'm just curious about the Bay Area.
Aishwarya Iyer: We are about to be sold at every Whole Foods. We're so excited about it.
Justine Reichman: That's a big deal.
Aishwarya Iyer: It was its own journey. They reached out about a year after we launched. I had an amazing call with a former buyer there. I was like, unfortunately, we're gonna have to say no to you, which was a crazy thing because I think brands don't say no to Whole Foods. But I didn't think we were ready. Operationally infrastructure. I wanted to make sure we did it right when we did it. And so I said no. And then they reached out the next year. And I said no, again. And then they reached out again. And then finally, we were like, okay, I think we're ready. And so they've been incredible partners, and I love them so much. And yeah, we're really excited to continue growing with them.
Justine Reichman: Finally that moment to say, yeah.
Aishwarya Iyer: We had some team members who were ready from a team member standpoint. And they also said, well, what about you launch just in one store to start to test it? And that felt really achievable. And that's how we started.
Justine Reichman: That's amazing. Because I've heard so many different stories about local Whole Foods and going to stand online these days, do you know what I'm talking about? When they look at products, I don't know if they still do that.
Aishwarya Iyer: People have all kinds of stories. I think we've been really lucky with our retail partnerships so far. But I'm sure as our story continues, I'll have the craziest stories over time.
Justine Reichman: You've been at this now for four or five years. Did you go after raising money? Did you bootstrap this?
Aishwarya Iyer: I bootstrapped for the first year and a half. And then we got to a place where I was saying NO more than I was saying YES to whether it was making the product, whether it was being able to hire someone, whether it was an interesting marketing partnership. And that was the sign for me of like, we are giving up growth because I'm bootstrapping it. And I've also proved out enough product market fit. There's a lot of demand from all avenues. And so I went out and raised like an angel with cool friends and family around. And then about a year and a half ago, I raised a seed round from mostly family offices and angels. And we had one amazing lead investor join. But I feel incredibly lucky. And also it was strategic of me, I guess, to bring on people who really believe in Brightland who are 100% supportive and are kind of in everything that we're doing. A lot of founders told me that their investors give them a lot of headaches. I can't say that about ours, so I feel lucky.
Justine Reichman: Was it scary bringing the investors on when everything you had done until this point was all because you made it happen?
Aishwarya Iyer: Two things can be true at the same time. So yes, scary. But also really grateful and excited, and like jazzed to say, wow, this is going to accelerate our growth. And I can now hire that director of operations that I couldn't afford, and all of that stuff that opened up a lot of doors for us.
Justine Reichman: As you're talking to these investors and you're bringing them on board, did you look at it as wasn't just a financial investment or reserve human capital as well as part of that raise?
Aishwarya Iyer: It was mostly financial.
Justine Reichman: Because I always think it's interesting when you bring people on, sometimes people need the resources of the knowledge, sometimes even finances. And sometimes, they need both.
Aishwarya Iyer: Yeah. I had a couple of amazing folks who came on board as advisors to the company early on. One of the founders of Sweetgreen, a couple of really amazing people. They were really instrumental. And I think opening my eyes again, I was really naive. So which I think is the right move actually. For any entrepreneurs listening who are early in their journey, stay naive because it keeps you looking at the positive. Because if I had I knew everything I know now and how hard it all is. I don't know if I would do it. Why? I think I would, but I would go in with the sort of like, oh, my God, a lot more fear than I did.
Justine Reichman: I could see that. I can also see through, right? So let's just look at your five years, and let's look five years later, right? You could have a whole exit, you could sell to give me a big Olive Oil Company. Colavita, I'm just making it up. And you could have some other journey that you then go on. And now, because you've learned all these lessons along the way, you have more information to make more informed choices too. And you'll make new mistakes. So I think there's a balance, right? I think it can be scary. Because now, you know more. But it can also be really comforting because you know more. Like you said, two things. Two are the same.
Aishwarya Iyer: But I'm pretty calm. I want to build this company in a calm, strategic, calm, cool, collected way. So even when we make decisions, it's calm. We got this, it's gonna be okay. And if it's not, we'll figure it out one step at a time. I've been a part of companies where it's really chaotic. People are making a lot of decisions rooted in fear and scarcity.
Justine Reichman: I started a conversation earlier where I was talking to somebody and I said, I think when we make these decisions, sometimes you have to take a minute and not react. But rather yet, give that moment to reflect and then respond. Yes, it may seem scary if you surround yourself with more knowledgeable people that can help guide you and create the resources or provide the resources for you to better understand what the challenges are. As a result, you come from a better place of strength, less fear, and you can handle it.
Aishwarya Iyer: You said it beautifully. Exactly.
“It can be scary because now you know more, but it can also be comforting because you know more.” —Justine Reichman
Justine Reichman: I want to go back to your olive oil for a second because I want to know how you perceive it's different and more revolutionary than some of the other olive oils out there.
Aishwarya Iyer: When I was looking at the market, I think I was looking at two things, the outside and what's the packaging, the outside and what's inside. And for the most part, grocery stores, olive oils, the word on the street is that a lot of them are kind of old. We don't know when they were made. We don't know who made them. It doesn't really say like harvest day. It doesn't really talk about all of the varieties, there isn't much going on. And so those were the things that I wanted to change up and say, hey, you know what? For this kind of olive oil, we use arbequina and elbasan olives. Here's what that means. Here's what it's gonna taste like. Here's when it was made. Here's where it was made. Here's how it was made, milled within 90 minutes and stored in stainless steel temperature controlled rooms. We share that because I think most people don't. And then I think from an outside perspective, I used to walk the Whole Foods and grocery store aisles and I just noticed people looked very confused when they were in the olive oil set. They were just like, I don't know what to buy. And I thought, why not build something or create something that is so beautiful that you're like, oh, my God, I want this on my kitchen countertop. I want to give this to somebody. I want this for myself, and make it something really covetable and exciting. So that way, you're also more present and aware when you try what's inside rather than being like, it's the same old oil. Doesn't matter. I'm just gonna add it to whatever and keep moving on. So we love to tell our customers like, yes, it's pretty and that's great. But open up a bottle and really taste the oil on its own. Think about what the flavor profile and the tasting notes are and you should taste green herbaceous grassy, maybe fruity, like you should taste nuanced things because it basically is a fruit juice.
Justine Reichman: How many flavors do you have? Do you call them flavors?
Aishwarya Iyer: We have two oils. One is really robust, peppery. The other one's a little milder, a little more buttery. And then we have infused flavored oils. So garlic is infused with basil flavor, lemon, chili, and rosemary. And then we even came out with something called a pizza oil where we blended jalapeno, basil, garlic, rosemary, oregano together to make this, and it's so fun on pizza.
Justine Reichman: I love garlic and rosemary olive oils because it can change the dynamic of a very simple salad in a heartbeat.
Aishwarya Iyer: Exactly. It adds so much magic. I always tell people, you don't even need to mince garlic. You can use our garlic oil, or you don't need to add pesto because you can use the basil oil. So it really works, and an amazing hack tool.
Justine Reichman: I love that. I know you mentioned that you have these olive oils, you have honey, you mentioned a few other things. Can you just remind me?
Aishwarya Iyer: We have vinegars as well. So we have a Blackberry Balsamic Vinegar and a Citrus Champagne Vinegar. The blackberries are triple crown blackberries that are double fermented with California Chardonnay Grapes. And then the citrus champagne vinegar is made with navel and Valencia oranges that are double fermented with Zinfandel grapes, and they are so punchy and zesty. Zingy is what I like to say. And also grown, all made in a regenerative organic family run farm. It's a husband and wife in the Central Coast, and they're really standouts. I highly recommend them. And then we have two honeys as well.
Justine Reichman: That's a lot of skews for a short amount of time.
Aishwarya Iyer: We've been cranking them out. But you know what's funny? It is a lot, but it's also not a lot when I look at the grand scheme of so many consumer product brands. People come out with products every other month. You look at other categories, and even in food, I've seen a lot of folks like they suddenly have 50, 60 skews of products. But we've been, I think, methodical and intentional. But I also want to make sure that our customers are delighted.
Justine Reichman: I bet. I'm excited. I want to try the olive oil, and I want to try the vinegar. I'm very curious about honey. Do you filter your honey? Is it unfiltered? I love unfiltered raw honey.
Aishwarya Iyer: It's unfiltered raw honey. One is like a wildflower, and the other one is an orange blossom. Really delicious.
Justine Reichman: Well, that's true. What was the first item you had that you kicked it off with?
Aishwarya Iyer: We kicked off with two flagship olive oils.
Justine Reichman: So those are the ones with the difference, you said they were green and grassy, and one was more bright, right?
Aishwarya Iyer: Yep, exactly. So we launched with those two.
Justine Reichman: Such an amazing line of beautiful products that are built with farmers, and that use organic and regenerative practices, which I think is just the epitome of what we're trying to support here in terms of building a more regenerative and sustainable future. And so you share that story and the fact that you didn't even know about it, but then learned about an amazing choice to work with somebody like that, I think is really important.
Aishwarya Iyer: Thank you. I think that at the end of the day, every single choice we make matters so much. And if we can inspire and delight people to be more mindful about their cooking basics, like an olive oil, then we've done our jobs.
Justine Reichman: I think that that's super important. Because I think as you're talking about this, and I'm learning about all these things, you mentioned people go to the grocery store and they look really confused. What's one thing you might tell them when they go to the grocery store to help them in their journey to choose the right olive oil?
Aishwarya Iyer: A couple things. One, don't buy olive oil that is in an open glass where you can see through. It should not be seen through. One of olive oil's biggest enemies is light. So never buy an olive oil that is see through. And then the second is to always look for a harvest date, not just a Best Buy date, because a harvest date truly tells you when an olive oil was made. And that's important because you want to make sure that it was made maybe like max a couple years before. Because otherwise, if you don't know when it was made, it could be three, four or five years old. And at that point, the oils, definitely rancid.
Justine Reichman: Thank you so much for this great conversation, all the information. I love following your journey, and I can't wait to try more products. So for those guests and folks watching, and if they wanted to learn more about Brightland, where would you send them to?
Aishwarya Iyer: I would send them to brightland.co, our website. I would also send them to check out our Instagram, it's @wearebrightland. You can start there.
Justine Reichman: I was looking to partner with you, get in touch to maybe carry the product, who would they reach out to? And how would they do that?
Aishwarya Iyer: Just DM us on Instagram, and someone will definitely reach you in the right direction.
Justine Reichman: Awesome. Thank you so much for joining me today.
Aishwarya Iyer: Thanks, Justine. This was wonderful. It was great.
