katina mountanos is the founder and ceo of kosterina, the greek olive oil and wellness brand betting the mediterranean diet belongs in every american pantry. two and a half years after her first read receipt conversation, she rejoins sean to talk about the walmart inbound that put their drinkable vinegars in 4,300 doors, running a multi-category brand on operational excellence, the working-capital math of retail growth, and building a founder brand on tiktok and substack.
We're creating space for the brains behind the brands we love, and asking good questions along the way. The result is a deep dive into the how and why of brand-building, from blueprints to launch day, customers as community and the detours in between. big lessons, easy listening.
In this episode of Read Receipt, Sean checks back in with Katina Mountanos, founder and ceo of Kosterina, the greek olive oil and wellness brand betting the mediterranean diet belongs in every american pantry. two and a half years after her first appearance, she walks through how Kosterina grew from olive oil and vinegar into olive-oil shots, jarred olives, and a retail footprint across whole foods, target, walmart, sprouts and h-e-b. she gets into the walmart inbound that put their drinkable vinegars in 4,300 doors, why she runs the company on operational excellence, the brutal working-capital math of retail growth, and how she's building a founder brand on tiktok and substack. plus siete as her north star, the polyphenol case for early-harvest olive oil, and why a timeless brand also has to be timely.
Katina: I did not have the connections at Walmart, and Walmart actually reached out to us. The vinegar buyer was watching the trends of people drinking vinegar, particularly as, like, the non-alc movement has been growing. And she ended up launching our products in all 4,300 doors.
Sean: I am super excited to have you back for another episode of Read Receipt. It's a deep dive into the how and why of the brands we love and the creatives behind them. From blueprints to launch day, customers as community, and the detours in between. Big lessons and easy listening. Read Receipt is hosted by Antidote, the email and SMS marketing agency by people who hate boring email.
Katina: I've been very clear on the vision of Kosterina from the very beginning. I started it as a passion project, like, a couple of years even before that. So if, all in all, it's like eight years thinking about it, but six years full time. It's always been a wellness brand centered around this very high antioxidant extra virgin olive oil, and more broadly, the Mediterranean lifestyle.
Sean: So you are in the, the suburbs of New York?
Katina: New York City, yeah.
Sean: Are y- Remind me, are you from New York originally?
Katina: I'm from New York originally. I grew up in Long Island, lived basically, like, my entire adult life in Manhattan with a little bit of London and Boston sprinkled in, and then came back to Manhattan, had kids there, and then moved back out to the suburbs where my husband and I are both from. My office is in the city, so the team and I meet in the city a few times a week.
Sean: That's awesome. And you guys have had massive growth I've heard.
Katina: Thank you.
Sean: Right?
Katina: Yeah, we're working on it. It's been good.
Sean: What, what have been the, the biggest growth channels for you? Is retail- Where you guys have focused
Katina: Well, we've always, we've always prioritized e-commerce and kosterina.com as like our main storefront. That's where we test all our products. That's where we do all our storytelling. But we've always known that retail and what we call the wholesale channel is where sort of we have a lot of growth potential. So we started in Whole Foods in our first year of business in 2020 with one SKU, and we now have 16 SKUs in Whole Foods. So- Wow ... they've been a major partner for us nationally. Um, but even more recently we've entered the mass channel and of course more natural grocery. So we're in Target, we're in every single Walmart with our vinegars. We just launched our shots, our extra virgin olive oil shots, which I am happy to tell you about, in Sprouts. And so we're in all H-E-B stores, so really growing from a retail presence standpoint and sort of meeting the customer where they are.
Sean: Wow. Um, what, uh, what has changed since we-
Katina: Yeah, I think back when we spoke probably two and a half years ago now, we were mostly just focused on olive oil and vinegar, which are still, you know, our core categories. But we have expanded in olive oil to add our ultra high phenolic extra virgin olive oil shots, which are actually to be taken as a supplement. So they're truly like the food as medicine philosophy. They're still just one ingredient, but it's ultra high phenolic early harvest extra virgin olive oil that's meant to be taken for health reasons. And so that's been a completely new category for us. And then also since we've la- we've last spoke, we launched olives. And so we have three flavors of jarred olives. They sell nationally in Whole Foods. They're also in Target and other retailers. And so that's been a growing category for us as well, and our olives taste amazing.
Sean: And what was your background before the brand again?
Katina: I started my career in investment banking. I worked in New York and London, and after that got my MBA. Post MBA, I started to work in CPG and in startups. So I worked for a couple of years at L'Oreal doing new product development and marketing there. I then went to work for a very iconic New York City founder named Marc Lore. He started two e-commerce companies, Quidsi, which sold to Amazon, and then I was an early employee at Jet.com, which sold to Walmart. So I was employees of Amazon and Walmart after both of those acquisitions as well.
Sean: Did you, did you have the, the re- retail connections going into, going into this or no?
Katina: No. No, I did not have the retail connections. I did know how Walmart works, like from the inside, having spent several years there. I did not have the connections at Walmart, but kind of knew how it operated from the inside. And Walmart actually reached out to us. The vinegar buyer was watching the trends of people drinking vinegar, particularly as like the non-alc movement has been growing, people trying to drink a lot less and the rise of mocktails. And she reached out to us because she was interested in our crushed fruit vinegars, which are actually drinkable. They taste much better than ap- an apple cider vinegar, but they have, you know, very similar health benefits in that drinking vinegar will stabilize blood, blood sugar and glucose levels. It also increases satiety. And so people are looking for like those added health benefits, but also something that tastes amazing in a mocktail, even just in sparkling water. And so that was, you know, the initial outreach, and she ended up launching our products in all 4,300 doors.
Sean: Wow. Um, I feel like you're early on the, the trend of but like internal food as medicine, at least like in mass retail, right?
Katina: Mm-hmm. Yes. I think we are. I think, you know, the, even the olive oil shots in as food as medicine are something brand new, but they are having like a viral moment and it's great when like your brand ethos matches something that's happening in the cultural zeitgeist and, and shifting on in places like social media. So it's been, you know, really just a little bit of kismet in terms of timing and having like a product that so closely matches our ethos that we, you know, we, we were the natural brand to launch this product.
Sean: So how have you gotten to this point? Is... I'm curious like how today matches the original vision or how the vision has kind of evolved over time from what you originally launched the brand with. I know you guys have developed the product line a ton, which seems like it also kind of aligns with your background in innovation too. How does-
Katina: Mm-hmm ...
Sean: how have you kind of like pivoted and altered your vision to, to get to where you are today?
Katina: Well, the mission has always been the same, and so the mission has always been with consumer health in mind. We are big proponents of the Mediterranean diet generally. I truly believe that people who can adopt the Mediterranean diet at home more often can have better health outcomes long term, can live better and feel better, you know, on an ongoing basis. My North Star in building Kosterina has always been the Mexican food brand Siete. Are you familiar with Siete? Yeah. So they started with better-for-you gluten-free tortillas. They were more expensive than all the tortillas in the grocery store, and they've become known for all things Mexican cuisine. And I am gluten-free. I can pick up literally anything that Siete puts out, including chips, queso, g- you know, tortillas, lots of different snack options, and I always know that it's gluten-free, I know that it's clean label, and I know that it tastes amazing. I've always wanted to create the same thing, but for Mediterranean cuisine with extra virgin olive oil at our core. And so have always wanted to be like the brand that stands for no seed oils, always this like ultra high phenolic extra virgin olive oil, which has been harvested and transported to maximize health properties, and that olive oil is in everything that we make and is adjacent to everything in the product line. So, you know, everything in the product line has an underlying health reason for being. The extra virgin olive oil, of course, the health reason for being is the polyphenol content. And if, if you're not familiar with what polyphenols do, they're essentially anti-inflammatory. They fight inflammation in the body. It's been proven by hundreds of studies that this type of olive oil can reduce the risk of all chronic disease: cancer, diabetes, Alzheimer's, heart disease. Just super, super powerful stuff. And what's in the shot is even just like next level in terms of antioxidant content.
Sean: Did you-
Katina: Um, in-
Sean: How do you
Katina: think about-
Sean: Yeah, please go ahead. I know like the, the North Star or the inspiration behind how you thought about kind of expanding categories of products in Siete. Do you, do you reach out to people in your network to try and get kind of like an inside view at how, how they went about expanding in that way? Because it seems like a, a challenging kind of path to have that many products in different categories expand in retail. Cash flow-wise- Yeah ... it seems like also an expensive endeavor.
Katina: I think it is. I always tell my team if we succeed, it will be because of operational excellence, and we really do focus on maintaining that operational excellence across supply chain, cash flow management, working capital planning, et cetera. And it is more challenging, but the truth is like that's always what I wanted to build. I wanted to build a lifestyle brand. Everyone on my team truly believes in these products, and we wanna provide ease to the consumer who's trying to eat Mediterranean at home and how to adopt this type of olive oil. It's no longer just a pantry staple. It's truly like having a cultural moment and can be used day-to-day for health, but also makes your food taste amazing. Like it's rare that you have that kind of product that's so incredibly healthy and still tastes good and that you wanna have every day. And so I think we just get really excited about, you know, influencing health outcomes, and we recognize that there's more operational and financial needs and resources required. But like that's why what we're building is ambitious, and I think if you believe in the fact that the consumer is becoming more conscious of what they're putting in their bodies, what they're buying for their families, like this is where the world is moving and, you know, we wanna be able to provide that, and we've never sacrificed on quality. That's always been number one.
Sean: So you're six, roughly six years in right now, right?
Katina: Yep. Mm-hmm.
Sean: Exactly.
Katina: Or is it eight? I would say it's six. It was... You know, there were two years of incubating. I sold our original white extra virgin olive oil on a Squarespace site that I was, you know, sort of doing just on nights and weekends. So there were definitely learnings from like a product development standpoint during that two-year time, time period. But yeah, I would say we're about six years in.
Sean: Okay. Does it feel, for you, does it feel early today?
Katina: Um, I don't know. I guess so, yeah. It f- it feels like we're really, like I, I feel like it's such a cliche to say we're just getting started, but it does feel like we're at the beginning of a, a flywheel in terms of reach and getting into the, all those doors where consumers are shopping across the country. There's still so much opportunity. We're not yet in Publix or Kroger. We're not in Costco or BJ's. You know, our olive oils are not even in Walmart yet, and our vinegars are not even in Target yet. So we just know that there's still a lot of opportunity. Once consumers begin to use our products, they become true loyalists. There's a very high percentage of people who become loyal. And so we do, you know, a lot of sampling, getting customers to try the product, making sure they have the opportunity to taste in addition to educating them on the health benefits, and then we get sort of these, you know, longer long-term customers.
Sean: Where, where today are you spending most of your time compared to two and a half years ago? Is it in similar spaces? Are you-- Have you kind of adjusted over time as you've built out the team?
Katina: Yeah, I think it ebbs and flows. I've definitely adjusted over time. You know, before we hired our COO, I was spending almost 100% of my time on all things operational and new product development. Now we have an incredible COO. We have an incredible head of new product development, which has then allowed me to shift more towards marketing. We also have a really talented CMO who has, you know, taken over a lot of that now. I had been leading sales, so all things retail relationships with, you know, buyers across these major retailers until actually just last week. We hired our first, you know, director of sales. We're very excited to now, like, kind of shift to the next thing. You know, where I'm focused a lot these days is also on content, so working on, you know, creating founder content for TikTok and Substack and Instagram, which really helps just educate the consumer on, like, the why behind the product, th- but then also the culinary uses and sort of the fun, the fun side for the foodie that we're targeting as well. So yeah, it really shifts depending on, you know, where we are in terms of building the team. And then all the while through, I do focus a lot on finance and working capital management, fundraising, things like that.
Sean: And I remember you have raised a couple rounds throughout the growth of the brand. It is a- Mm-hmm a pretty capital-intensive space, I would guess, right?
Katina: Yes. We h- we have raised venture funding. We have amazing investor partners and, yeah, we wouldn't be where we are without them. We're, we're definitely making investments in the product line and in, you know, new retailers to build the business.
Sean: How, how do you keep yourself kind of centered in terms of where you're headed? Do you check in with... Do you have mentors that you've kind of aligned with throughout the process that have experience in building in the space?
Katina: Yes, we have, you know, a board of both investors and operators, former operators who act as mentors on all things operational, financial management, marketing, et cetera. I also have a lot of founder friends who are building concurrently in businesses either in food or supplements or beauty, and we just compare notes all the time. What's working for you? What's not working for you? And do you know anyone who could help me with this? Like recommending agencies. So I think that founder network has been incredibly valuable to me as well as mentors who are actually peers.
Sean: What do you guys see working growth-wise right now? Also, I'm curious how you think about scaling demand as you build such a big retail footprint over time. Mm-hmm. Is it about figuring out the right timing based on what you're seeing to enter new retail doors? Are you relying on the retail partners to To kind of align with what they're seeing
Katina: A little bit of everything you just mentioned. So we definitely, you know, rely on the retailer to be that billboard to the consumer as they're shopping and, you know, finding and discovering your product, or maybe they've seen you online and now they're... you know, they have the opportunity to just pick it up in store. So that retail presence is, is part of it. What we haven't done that we do wanna explore near term are, like, major influencer partnerships, like finding the right person who's, like, very well aligned from an ethos standpoint around health and, and flavor and Mediterranean diet to help amplify and, like, really just put our message out into the world. You know, we can scream it from the rooftops, but with our budget, we can only reach so many people, whereas if we can align with someone or g- a group of people who have much larger platforms, that can be really meaningful. And then you know what, you know, in terms of what we're seeing working, TikTok provides a really exciting opportunity to reach a lot of people with organic content, but also creator content driving to TikTok shop. So we've been really excited about TikTok and taking a little bit more of a focus there. And, and one of the newer platforms that we're excited about are, is actually Substack just because it aligns with the type of content that we wanna be putting out in terms of long form, educational, health-focused content and, and we see a lot of people moving over to that medium, and we're excited about, you know, building a presence there as well.
Sean: That's cool. Are you doing, are you doing, like, founder content on Substack? How are you, how are you guys using it?
Katina: Yeah. We've just started. So I have a new Substack. It's called Extra Virgin Everything. Please subscribe. It's free to subscribe. Um, and yeah, I'll be sharing founder content there that's, you know, rooted in everything I learn at Kosterina around health, wellness, Mediterranean diet and also includes some personal things like my latest post was about where to go in Greece just 'cause people ask me all the time. But of course, Greece is very closely tied to the Kosterina brand as well.
Sean: That's fun. Is it, is it mostly just you giving value to the audience? Are you doing, like, any trying to drive sales from it, or is it mostly, like, organic?
Katina: No, definitely not trying to drive sales right now. Really just, you know, trying to learn the platform, understand the types of content people are engaging with and using it as a learning tool. You know, who knows what might happen down the road, but we get excited when we feel like a platform is at the beginning of growth and it aligns well with us. So, you know, we wanna get in there and learn and, and learn from customers who we find in this, like, niche that really cares about what we do.
Sean: Yeah. It sounds like you're spending a lot of your time on content now. I guess now that the team is kind of, like, built out around you.
Katina: Yeah. Not as much as I would like, but yes. I've always been focused on content. It's just a matter of, like, how much time you can devote to it. So that, again, has, like, shifted with ebbs and flows depending on where we are from a team standpoint.
Sean: Is, is content something that you feel- Is natural for you?
Katina: Certain types. Certain types. So yeah, I'm often asked to, like, do TV shows where they want me to, like, cook a recipe, and I am not a chef. Wow. So I always say, like, That is not, you know, not something I'm comfortable with. I don't wanna pretend that I'm some amazing chef. Like, I cook the most basic Mediterranean meals at home every single day. It's like chicken with our spice blend and, like, really, really simple things. So, you know, whereas we do develop tons of amazing recipes, they're always a- very simple, so we're not trying to be like some, you know, gourmet chef or, like, the content that a restaurant chef would put out. What I am very comfortable doing is teaching people about olive oil, how to find good olive oil. How do you know if it's high quality? I love teaching people, you know, what I'm learning about health and how our food system can affect product quality and, you know, the health outcomes that could come from consuming certain foods that are very normalized here in the US, the Mediterranean diet, and I think that all links to, you know, fitness, nutrition, mindfulness, and, and general health.
Sean: You... Is your type of content l- that you like producing mostly written? Do you like writing?
Katina: Or how do you get ideas out? Yeah, I do like writing. I have become more comfortable in short form, you know, reels for TikTok and Instagram, especially in terms of educational pieces. I get a lot of my content ideas from podcasts. I'm like a voracious podcast listener. I have an unlimited appetite for podcast content, particularly as it relates to health and wellness podcast content. So, you know, I call it podcast university, but often learning it on there, then go do my own research, find the studies, and then, you know, can come up with the, the outcomes. We do write-- I write a weekly wellness newsletter for the Kosterina community that we distribute via the Kosterina email list, and we have, you know, hundreds of thousands of subscribers on that list.
Sean: It's like I feel, I feel like most founders or anyone, y- you know, you talked about how hard it is to spend time on content because you have other- Mm-hmm priorities-
Katina: Yeah ...
Sean: of running the actual business. It is interesting, like if you look at the biggest creators or personalities, they spend most time on content and then somehow figure out the business aspects behind it. Do you feel like that trend will continue in terms of like you putting more time-- not more time than other things, but you investing- Mm-hmm more time into, into the kind of like visibility aspect of things?
Katina: There-- I think there's really two paths that founders can take. You can take like a founder-led approach to content or you can, you know, take a back seat depending on, you know, the comfort level of the founder. You know, for me, what was always happening was I was always very comfortable with educational content, so I'd go on, you know, how to tell if your olive oil is real or fake. And then my team would sit me down and be like, "Okay, here's all the th- things we posted last month and that one did the best. Do more of those." And so it kind of like slowly creeps up on- Yeah ... can creep up on you that way. You know, some people may be much more comfortable like filming just their life or, you know, where they're going out to eat or their kids or their outfits. Like, I don't really do that. Mine is definitely like very focused on educational, like health and wellness content. So yeah, I feel comfortable with that. It's not an insignificant amount of time that I spend on it, but I would say it's definitely not the, the majority by any means.
Sean: What, what is your favorite area of the business to spend your time in? Is it product, new product development?
Katina: Good guess. I love new product development. Yes, I would say new product development and, and marketing. It's just super exciting to be able to tell the world about your product. Like, I couldn't be more proud of the products. I love gifting them. I love getting people's feedback. One of my favorite things to do is read our customer reviews, just they get published on the website, 'cause they're always amazing and I'm like, it's just like t- people saying nice things about your children, you know? Um, you can't get enough of it. So yeah, I, I also really love sales. I love working with the retailers and our, you know, our big retail partners like Whole Foods and Target and Walmart. It's always super exciting. So there's a lot of pieces of the business that I, that I love. Operations, I would say, is probably the most difficult, but we have an amazing team supporting us and, you know, ensuring that we're efficient along the way, but there's just always work to be done there.
Sean: Has anything changed in terms of, like, the production standpoint? I think the last time we talked, you had mentioned either being interested in more, like, vertically integrated production or changing, changing up how you guys produce product in some way.
Katina: Not much has changed in terms of our supply chain. We still bring our olive oil from Greece in bulk, and we make our flavors here, and we bottle our olive oils and vinegars here. The only thing that's changed is that we've added products, so we've now got the mini shots. They're just one tablespoon, so it's a very small serving size, so we require different fillers who can fill bottles this tiny at a much more scale. And then we have a different supply chain for our olives and testing procedures across all the different products have always evolved. So yeah, no major changes, just adding to the long list of things that we do across all the categories.
Sean: How do you, uh... What is your process for coming up with new products? How do you choose what to invest in and kind of green-light after, after maybe more of the brainstorming?
Katina: Yeah, I wish I could tell you that it was like a very scientific process or like data-oriented. Obviously, we're looking for markets that are gonna be sizable, that are gonna be meaningful at the retailers where we currently are. I think we're constantly just going back to the ethos of like keeping consumer health in mind and promoting the Mediterranean diet amongst the consumer, trying to get people to cook more at home and make it easy. So things that make sense there and sort of meeting the customer where they are is interesting as well. So like, you know, you can't completely flip the way someone's eating overnight. It's a, a process and it evolves over time. So we do have a number of different products already built out and recipes created where we think olive oil can improve the products in new categories and, you know, we obviously have to be very disciplined about when we launch in completely new categories. We're constantly looking at that strategically with our team, with our board. We're excited because we do have one coming in 2027 that's in a completely new category for us.
Sean: How early are you involving your retail partners in, in the ideation process? Are you getting feedback from them throughout?
Katina: Yeah, great question. We involve our core retail partners very early. Whole Foods was our first partner. They're definitely our-- the partner where we work the most closely. They have 16 products in the line on shelf across all their stores. And so we really work closely with their buyers to get feedback on what they think will work as we're doing new product development, and that's always been like such a valuable partnership for us.
Sean: And are you showing them ideas before you've committed to-
Katina: Sometimes ...
Sean: even entering that, that space?
Katina: Sometimes yes. It depends on the buyer. Sometimes the buyer will engage really early and, like, be excited about helping to develop something. Sometimes the buyer will be like, "You know, send me samples when you have them." We always still wanna send them early enough where we can affect the, you know, take their feedback into account and make product changes. So either way, I would say we are involving them early.
Sean: How do you test ideas? Are you guys, like, doing sampling? Are you- Mm-hmm ... sharing it with friends and family? Is there, like, a bigger pool that you try and get feedback from-
Katina: Yeah
Sean: from people early
Katina: on? Um, all, all of the above. So very early we start with friends and family, and the team of course when we're doing new product development. When we find something we like, we do bigger testing samples, either with, like, a group of brand ambassadors that we've identified through kosterina.com, through, like, Kosterina friendlies, creators, influencers, people who have worked with the brand in some way. So we do have groups that we tap into for, you know, product development feedback along the way, and we have done that across all our categories. And then we also do qual- quantitative testing digitally on product packaging and things like that to make sure that, you know, product h-hierarchy on labels are telling the story that we want the consumer to see when they're l- shopping.
Sean: That's interesting. How do you guys do that? Is it you're just showing people the, the labels and, and getting-
Katina: Yes ...
Sean: feedback on them?
Katina: Yeah. We, we can make, like, five different versions on the label. You can ask questions like, which one are you most likely to purchase? Which one do you think is, you know, most beautiful? You can figure out exactly what each label is saying to them. Um, and so yeah, that qual- quantitative feedback also helps.
Sean: That's awesome. Are you guys-- Do you like getting-- How do you get good feedback from people on new products? I've always found it hard to know what feedback is, like, the real, real information versus somebody-
Katina: Mm-hmm
Sean: either trying to have an opinion where they maybe don't or-
Katina: Mm-hmm ...
Sean: sugarcoating feedback.
Katina: Yeah, I mean, I think we, we on the Kosterina team are all Kosterina customers to the max as well. So, you know, we do take things home, we try them, we live with them for weeks at home, uh, at a time. And I think our feedback is probably, like, the most valuable because we truly are that consumer too, and we're, you know, living it and breathing it. When you do bigger groups, you have to condense that feedback and see, like, what themes are reoccurring, where you don't wanna pull out an insight from just one person. You wanna see what's recurring and what's being repeated. Sometimes one person though will say something that, like, really teaches you how the consumer thinks about it. So direct quotes can provide, like, key consumer insights as well, and you just have to look really carefully for it
Sean: Do you guys have like a schedule that you're working on new products or is it constantly just like ideas that you're grabbing onto when they- It's
Katina: constant. It's constant. We also travel in Greece several times per year, so we're constantly like exploring restaurants, exploring grocery stores in Greece. Yeah, trying new things. You know, I grew up between New York and this very small town in southern Greece. There's like so many very common Greek snacks and even vegetables that I'd like one day wanna bring to the US under the Kosterina line, and it's really just a matter of prioritizing what is the US consumer ready for, what are they looking for, what trends are happening right now, and does it fit in?
Sean: Wow, that's an incredible benefit of the brand positioning.
Katina: Yeah. Yeah, no, it's-- We say like, "I can't believe this is work," and when work becomes play, you'll never work another day the rest of your life. We truly feel that way.
Sean: Is it hard for you to remember to kind of get out of the office and get out into the world to experience new, new ideas, or is that something that you've always kind of like gravitated towards naturally?
Katina: No, we've always done it. We go to Greece every harvest season as a team to taste the new harvest, work with our existing producers on quantities and, you know, to s- to buy the olive oil for the new season, and then we also source new suppliers every year because we're constantly growing. So, you know, we do like this grand tour of southern Greece to all the producers that meet our very strict parameters. We do a lot of testing in Greece. We visit mills. You know, we are-- We work with like family farms, and we go to every single one to like make sure we know where is this product coming from. Is this person reliable? Is the family reliable? You know, are they sending product that they say? We, of course, test everything chemically, and we send for chemical analysis to ensure that, you know, the science backs up, you know, the methodology for how they're harvesting and how they're milling. But yeah, that is always, has always been part of the Kosterina ethos, always been part of just what we do as a team. So that always naturally provides an opportunity to be in Greece for a week. You know, you, you s- you're stopping at the rest stop, you're seeing what they're selling there, you're going to restaurants every night. So that always has become, has been a core part of our company ethos and, and part of the strategy.
Sean: What's been, what's been like the most challenging aspect for you building the brand over the past two and a half years since we, since we launched?
Katina: I would say definitely working capital management. I always like joke that no one ever told me that if you have a little bit of success, you're never gonna have any cash because you're always sort of building for that next, you know, big inventory run or the next retailer who's launching you. And that's definitely been the hardest part, just making sure like we can tighten, you know, the sales cycle from when we first invest in a bottle to when we can actually sell it to, you know, drive that conversion cycle. The working capital management has been the hardest part, but we've managed.
Sean: And do you-- Or h- Have you, are you going out to raise more throughout the process as you guys grow in terms of retail, big retail launches?
Katina: We will. Yes, we prob- we probably will raise one more, like, big round, like a Series B round, hopefully in 2027. That's probably on the horizon, but, you know, we're, we dr- are looking at how the business is evolving every single day.
Sean: Is that-- Do you think you're naturally gifted in terms of raising, raising capital and-
Katina: Naturally gifted? No. I think it's definitely, like, an, you know, an earned skill that you kinda learn on the way.
Sean: Okay. I mean, you seem like you would be naturally gifted in terms of, like, vision painting, and that seems like a great skill to have for raising money, especially, like, consistently over time. I feel like it's a certain type of- demeanor to be able to see success and then realize that the more success that you have in this type of business, often the less working capital you have and- Mm-hmm ... and less breathing room that you have. Mm-hmm. That's like a daunting cycle to be up against. When you have the most success, it almost becomes like the most challenging circumstances to have.
Katina: I would agree with that. That part is tricky. I think in terms of I've been very clear on the vision of Kosterina from the very beginning. It really hasn't changed that much. It's always been a wellness brand centered around this very high antioxidant extra virgin olive oil, and more broadly, the Mediterranean lifestyle. Our mission is so core, so we always just come back to that mission. And so when fundraising, it- that is the story. And that hasn't changed. So you know, we've been lucky. We have incredible, an incredible group of investors that have supported us, you know, multiple times throughout this process and we, you know, meet new investors, you know, every time we're raising as well, and have just added to the people on our cap table who are then just essentially on our team and helping us
Sean: What is, what's your, like, end goal? Do you have, like, a time horizon for, for the goal with the brand? Are you building it to, to sell at some point, I'm assuming, with the, the investor situation that you have involved?
Katina: Yeah, we don't have a time horizon. You know, we truly wanna build the best possible brand that we can. You know, if we're successful enough to have an exit, you know, in the future, you know, all I want is to still be a part of it in some way. And so yeah, I think we just have our, you know, consumer-focused mission, and that just lines up and aligns nicely with what an investor would want as well over time.
Sean: How do you personally manage your mindset over time in such a long, long game that you're playing that also becomes more challenging as you have more success?
Katina: How do I manage my mindset? Let's see. I think, like there's nothing I'd rather be doing than building this company. There's no other job that I'd rather have, so I think that makes it easy. I get really excited about what we're building. I get really excited for the new challenges, always looking for, you know, how we're gonna still tell the story of our like original olive oil that we started with six years ago, but also how do we weave this brand new product that we just launched into that story as well. So, um, yeah, I would say the biggest challenge for me is I have three young children, so it's just a matter of balancing family life and work life, um, particularly as it relates to travel. I think in my, you know, previous life before I was a mom, I would just be able to travel so much more to every food show, to every sales meeting, and now it's just a matter of prioritizing, like I just can't do all those trips, um, that I was able to do in the past. So that, that's a little hard.
Sean: What's your-- I feel like the CPG landscape has changed a ton since we-
Katina: Mm-hmm ...
Sean: initially connected. What's your view on the, the CPG space as a whole now? I think also venture funding in CPG, I would assume is, is not up compared to when, when we initially talked, right?
Katina: You know what? I, it's hard to-- I have to put blinders on and not just keep looking around at what's happening in the market. I think for the right companies, there will always be those opportunities. The capital will be there if you can build a solid business and a product that people know and love with healthy, healthy margins. And so we've really been heads down looking at that. You know, in terms of what's happening in CPG, you know, we do look a lot at what's happening in the trends. There's been a huge protein trend, of course. We don't really fit into that. You know, the, the Mediterranean diet is s- the healthiest diet for overall health, but it's not viral. It's not controversial. Everyone agrees. So you, you know, we haven't been able to, like, capture that attention as it relates to that. Now things are shifting towards fiber. You know, we are still a healthy fat that, like, aligns very well with protein and fiber, and so it's a matter of, like, finding our path and how do we fit into what's, what's timely. And, you know, a founder friend of mine once said, "In order to be a timeless brand, you also have to be timely." And so figuring out how we fit into what's being said, you know, in the cultural zeitgeist at any given moment has always been our challenge and, and our focus and our opportunity.
Sean: Is that something that you feel like you you're interested in or, or excel at, or is that something that you've brought in the team around you that, that's tapped into those, those trends and figuring out angles for you guys to kind of fit into them?
Katina: Yeah, I think I'm definitely interested in it. I would say my team is definitely talented in that facet and, and looking at those opportunities and how to do our storytelling. I think we've just been so focused on health and wellness and another big trend in CPG is the rise of the conscious consumer who is looking at labels and is concerned about what they're putting in their body. And so with that, we've of course been very aligned and, and taking that like rising ship or rising tide ride alongside that, that trend. And
Sean: how has your direct-to-consumer business evolved over time? Do you guys-- Are you guys investing in growth on direct-to-consumer right now? How, like how do you balance that also with cash flow-
Katina: Yeah ...
Sean: against retail?
Katina: We are still growing our D2C business. We see it as our biggest door, basically. The place where we do all our storytelling, where we put out all our organic content. That's where every new product goes, so everything gets tested there. We're also working on some partnerships, like collabs with other brands that will be sold on our D2C business. So those true fans, those true loyalists are coming to kosterina.com for one reason or another. But a lot of the growth really is on the retail side just 'cause we can get to so many more people with partners like Walmart, Target, and Whole Foods.
Sean: Yeah. Incredible to see how much you've grown, the product line, the retail doors, everything in such a- Thank
Katina: you ...
Sean: competitive, competitive land- landscape. I also recently went into a Whole Foods and saw your assortment. I feel like with a bigger assortment, the brand really stands out among kind of the categories that you guys play in, in such a visually distinctive way, too. It's, it's-
Katina: Thank you. Appreciate it. Yeah, we're kind of obsessed with the aesthetic of the brand. We take a lot of pride in the way things look and our minimalist packaging and we wanted to note Greece, but not like Greek mythology and the Greek key. We wanted to note modern Greece, so we think a lot about how the product looks on shelf as well.
Sean: Congratulations on all of the success so far.
Katina: Thank you.
Sean: I love checking in and hearing about kind of the evolution of everything. It seems like you guys are on a incredible path ahead.
Katina: Thank you. Thanks so much for having me. I appreciate the opportunity to share the story.
Sean: Yeah. And I would love to stay in touch again.
Katina: Sounds good. Let's do it. Two and a half years, put it on the calendar. Perfect. 2029. January 2029.
Sean: Incredible.
Katina: Awesome, Sean. Thank you.