Editorial

Think You Know Olive Oil? Meet Brightland's Founder Aishwarya Iyer Who Will Teach You a Thing or Two

Consciously crafting beautifully bottled olive oil & vinegar in California.

Of all the ingredients in the kitchen, olive oil wins the superlative for “most likely to be put on everything”. A day to night necessity, it pools in pans under frying eggs, pulls together a shallot vinaigrette, and adds the finishing touch to avocado tartines. Why then does the journey from olive to oil elude us? Brightland, founded in 2018 by Aishwarya Iyer, has brought the California sunshine to illuminate the process and change the game.

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Brightland’s selection of extra virgin olive oils and fruit forward vinegars are consciously crafted in the Golden State. The transparent storytelling behind Brightland’s process allows us to be conscious with our grocery list and swerve our carts away from the, turns out, not-so-appetizing olive oils we used to grab.

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Brightland’s standards for traceability, sourcing (they support small US-based family farms), and design has been lauded by The New York Times, Fast Company and the Wall Street Journal. But the eye-catching, Matisse inspired bottles are only a part of what’s revered. Made of nothing more than “fruit, love, and sunshine”, Brightland has rightfully been selected as the olive oil to use for baking by Bon Appetit. Just saying, the cake that bears its name should taste like it.

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This holiday season Brightland is looking forward to “new, creative partnerships and product collaborations” as well as “more in-person activations to engage with [their] community offline.” We spoke with Iyer to learn more about Brightland, heirloom olives, and how to source a bottle that will elevate your eggs, salads and avocado toast.

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The Brands

Chatting with Aishwarya Iyer

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co-op: First and foremost, how did Brightland come to be? What's the founding story?

Aishwarya Iyer: My journey to create Brightland began when I was experiencing constant stomach aches. After a process of elimination and a bit of research, I learned that my problem stemmed from the fact that the olive oil industry has had major quality and trust issues. Determined to transform and shine a light on this industry, I moved across the country and pivoted careers. In 2018, I founded Brightland in Los Angeles: a California-made, nutrient-dense extra virgin olive oil that is made with intention – from sourcing to bottling – and tastes simply delicious.

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co-op: Brightland is changing the game of olive oil, what makes an heirloom olive different from any ordinary olive?

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AI: Heirloom generally means a traditional variety of plant which is not associated with large-scale commercial agriculture. Our heirloom olives are harvested and milled on-site from our small, family farm partners located in the Central Coast of California.

co-op: When it comes to olive oil, a common pantry item, people trust any bottle that says it's olive oil. What should people look out for? What are the common toxins in olive oil that the general public is not aware of? Why is it so important to Brightland to bring high quality olive oil to people's kitchens?

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Brightland was born out of the desire for better, more honest food production – and a deep belief in the land and what it provides.

AI: The best way is to purchase from a producer that you know operates with integrity and transparency. These are some helpful guidelines:

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Find the right bottle. Look for bottles made of UV-protected glass (like Brightland) or stainless steel. Olive oil does not like light because it deteriorates the oil.

Examine the words being used. Be wary of meaningless terms on labels, like light, pure, refined, virgin, first cold-press.

Check for a harvest date. A bottle date and harvest date are not the same. The bottle date is when the already made oil was put into the bottle (versus a best-by date). With a harvest date, you have a benchmark of when the olive oil was made, and you can count forward to now to calculate how old it is. You want to pick the newest harvest date: when the olives were picked from the tree and made into oil. If you’re buying extra virgin olive oil from North America, look for the most recent Fall Harvest, with an 18-20 month timing. So for example, if you find EVOO harvested from Nov 2020, and it’s June 2021, that’s GREAT. If it’s still Nov 2019, that is not good. Brightland oils are all current from the November 2020 harvest.

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Adulterated olive oils can contain a blend of inferior quality vegetable oils like soybean oil, sunflower oil, palm oil or canola oil. Olive oil can go bad during a variety of commercial production processes. Olive oil becomes moldy when the olives have been crushed with dirt and mud. Old or rancid olive oils (often characterized by a wax crayon-like taste) are the result of inadequate storage and exposure to damaging light, heat or air. A grubby or dirty tasting olive oil is likely contaminated by larvae. When olive flies lay eggs in developing olives, the larvae feeds on the pulp—and end up getting processed into the oil.

Brightland was born out of the desire for better, more honest food production – and a deep belief in the land and what it provides.

co-op: Expanding into honey and vinegar, are there other pantry staples Brightland wants to clean up?

AI: We’re going to continue to create intentional and delicious products through special blends and creative collaborations, and anywhere else this journey leads us.

co-op: The branding pops. What was the inspiration behind the artwork on each bottle?

AI: I kept hearing from people within the industry that “no one cares about packaging” and I knew that just was not true, so I was really committed to coming out with a brand that celebrated peppery, bold flavors, and thoughtful, design-centered packaging. I wanted to channel Matisse, California living, and elevate the overall idea of what an olive oil bottle looks like. I worked with an incredible brand firm, Stitch Design Co, who helped bring my vision to life. We’ve since expanded to partner with wonderful artists including B.D. Graft, Marleigh Culver, and Lilian Martinez for special artist-designed labels on our flavor-infused olive oils.

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co-op: Most people are only aware of extra virgin olive oil. Can you illuminate the world of olive oil to us? How many different kinds are there and what makes them different and why does that matter?

AI: There are hundreds of different varietals of olives, and blending various olive varietals results in different olive oil flavor profiles and tastes. We work with multiple olive varietals including Arbequina, Arbosana, Coratina and Frantoio olives. Brightland has several different blends of olive oil, each with unique olive varietals and infusions:

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ALIVE - Made with heirloom California Arbequina and Arbosana olives and is perfect for salads, dressings and baked goods. ALIVE has a smooth but nutty flavor and contains hints of green tomato and green pear.

AWAKE - Made with heirloom California Arbequina olives and is perfect for stews, hearty pastas, and warm bread. AWAKE is herbaceous olive oil with grassy and artichoke flavors.

ROSETTE - 100% garlic olive oil, made for plush and sumptuous fare, lovingly blended with garlic and Frantoio olives. ROSETTE is strong and rounded with a delightfully zesty flavor.

ARDOR - 100% chili olive oil, blended with red chili peppers, jalapeño peppers, chipotle peppers, and paprika, and heirloom Frantoio olives. ARDOR has a smoky, bold, and fiery flavor.

ARISE - 100% basil olive oil, lovingly blended with basil and heirloom Frantoio olives. ARISE is warm and peppery with hints of clove and undertones of mint and anise.

‍LUCID - 100% lemon olive oil blended with lemon and heirloom Frantoio olives. LUCID is citrusy and zesty in flavor, but also luminous and smooth in texture.

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Products Aishwarya is loving right now

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Whiled’s Spot the Teckel Puzzle

"I was so thrilled to see B.D. Graft, the artist behind LUCID's label, collaborate with Whiled to create a wonderful, dog-inspired puzzle. This puzzle uniquely doubles as artwork that I’m proud to show off in my home." - Aishwarya Iyer

Spot the Teckle Puzzle, $37, Whiled

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Ghia's non-alcoholic apéritif

"My go-to non-alcoholic drink when hosting, and also to enjoy on my own. Delicious!" - Aishwarya Iyer
Non-Alcoholic Apertif, $33, Ghia
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Golde's Pure Matcha

"I don’t drink coffee and instead love to occasionally sip some matcha in the mornings—Golde makes my absolute favorite." - Aishwarya Iyer
Pure Matcha, $28, Golde
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Material’s reBoard

"I love how easy it is to cut and slide veggies into the pan because of how lightweight the board is, and then for cleaning, you can just wipe it down and slide it into the dishwasher. I also just think the colors are really lovely." - Aishwarya Iyer

reBoard, $35, Material