Today we’d like to introduce you to Karie Herring.
Hi Karie, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
The inception began with my husband (Chad Herring) used to gift me infused olive oil and balsamic vinegar. He knows I love to cook and he will rave that I am exceptional cook and can put to shame any 5-star restaurant chef (he’s sweet). With that being said, Christmas of 2019 he decided to purchase a gift set from another olive oil store in Central Florida where they guaranteed delivery before Christmas. As luck would have it, the gift set did not arrive until March of 2020, well into the Pandemic. He told me it should have arrived WELL before March, in fact we could have driven to the store and purchased it much faster than the shipping snafu, and so we discussed how he struggled to source infused olive oil and balsamic vinegar during the Christmas season. We used the time we had during the Pandemic, and from our prior research years before, to seek out a high quality olive oil and balsamic vinegar distributor to start our own olive oil business. After looking at all of the different olive oil shops and realizing they all use the same distributor – and are a pseudo franchise – we knew we wanted to be different, our mission was different.
Oviedo is a very small town that wants a big city feel. We knew opening an olive oil shop would do well, despite the naysayers who told us we would fail. Our mission was to curate single sourced, farm-to-table style olive oil, balsamic vinegar, locally sourced foods and wares, that were not only higher end, but affordable. And so we found a family owned farm in Northern California whose story mirrored ours, quality ingredients in the food we prepare for our family. Food is generally the centerpiece is most gatherings: parties, family dinners and holidays, celebrations, so why not make the food taste world-class at an affordable price. The logo for the business was designed by a young woman who worked at the gym I coached functional fitness classes (I-4Fit in Longwood) and my son digitized it as a project for his high school class project. The rest is history! We partnered with the farm and their sales office to bring in their most popular flavors of olive oil and balsamic vinegar with our own private label. Their olive oil is mono-varietal (meaning one type of olive) and was exactly what we were looking for in a quality olive oil, plus we knew (know) the chain of custody with the olive oil. It isn’t blended or a partial harvest and mixed from other countries to make extra virgin olive oil.
Since starting the business was during COVID, and the world was shutdown, we signed up for outdoor markets and pushed online sales. We were like the little olive oil company that could and quickly gained a name for ourselves within the community. Soon after, local retailers sought our product to carry in their stores. We were then approached by management with Oviedo Mall at Taste of Oviedo in 2023 to test out a kiosk for proof of concept that an olive oil store is what this town needed. We signed and on May 4th moved in during a Sip & Shop event. The community was receptive and enjoyed our unique pairings and food ideas and by the end of the year we had already negotiated moving into a storefront. The community was even more receptive and welcoming and overwhelmingly supportive so we relocated to a larger, more visible location that allowed us to really spread our wings with our product line and other products.
Our expansion included offering refillable bottles in every flavor we carry and a full expansive line of pantry goods from tapenades to drink mixers to dessert sauces and spices. We even expand our local gourmet foods selections. We have a deep relationship and dear friendship with the local apiary and honey supplier, Black Hammock Bee Farms here in Oviedo, so you can always find local honey here in store. We carry local hot sauce from Orlando-based Fat Cat Hot Sauce (which we adore the owners, they are huge fans of our Basil EVOO and we are fans of them as people and their product) and we carry War Paint Hot Sauce which is owned by an Oviedo Police Officer who created his own line of (put hair on your chest) hot sauce. We carry Florida native tea from Rise Yaupon (a fellow woman and family owned business from Volusia County) and our most recent and exciting partnership is with The Spice and Tea Exchange of Mount Dora who packages our salts, sugars and spices that we private label here in house. So our customers don’t have to travel outside their comfort radius for quality, gourmet foods.
We offer tastings everyday in store and we also have scheduled events that are fun and interactive to demonstrate and educate on all of the fun, unique and interesting ways you can turn a boring meal into something extraordinary without a lot of effort, cost and time. In addition, we offer custom made housewares (cutting boards, mugs, tumblers, softlines) and custom labels for our bottles which make a truly unique gift.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
I learned a long time ago that anything of value in life is not easy.
Of course our first struggle was real estate during a pandemic. No one was leasing and the spaces that were available, no one wanted a food store…apparently at the time Oviedo was seeking more hair salons, nail salons and Pinterest style business models than a boutique olive oil shop.
So we just kept praying and seeking the right location for our business. We knew our opportunity was all “location, location, location.” Of course when Oviedo Mall approached us, we were hesitant because for one reason or another Oviedo loves to hate their local mall – which is really no different than any other strip mall other than it is indoors and has A LOT of real estate. Mall Management has been nothing but supportive and one of our biggest fans of our tenancy, they see us as a brand and business the community seeks out.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
Chad and I are both very Type-A personalities and come from strong retail backgrounds from our younger years. He worked in big box stores like Home Depot and I worked in the auto industry before transitioning to consumer lending & finance. We both learned to have very thick skin and work in tough industries as young 20-somethings.
We then advanced our careers over the years with our degrees, as he took positions as an IT Director and as an Operations Manager for multi-million dollar distribution centers and I worked in operations of Consumer Lending financial institutions, ranging from private brokers to Fortune 500 companies. We both had a solid sales background and he worked in distribution and I knew money and people’s spending habits, in addition to being consumers ourselves, parents to three awesome young adults, and self-proclaimed foodies; we felt we had a pretty well rounded foundation and humble beginnings to serve people.
Chad will tell you that I am what sets us apart, as I have a photographic memory. He knows I am “The Olive Oil Lady” and people seek me out when they come in because I remember everyone! I can remember their name, what they bought, their food allergies, you name it. I will tell you that he has an uncanny way of connecting with people when he is working with me in store. He will share with you how everything we carry can be used in the most simple and everyday ways – in true dude fashion – he’s not shy with sharing his own cooking “happy accidents” and shortcuts. In short, people want to be appreciated and valued, our customers are what drive our business so we welcome them like family.
In terms of your work and the industry, what are some of the changes you are expecting to see over the next five to ten years?
We try to avoid any fads or trends and stick with what do our customers seek and want. The majority of them want high quality, exceptional flavor, minimal processing and no preservatives.
We are always following the market and are happy that we source domestically to avoid any major shifts in regional conflicts, tariffs or geo-political impacts.
Couple that with we are GenX – middle-aged (dare I say) – so we are chasing the fountain of youth. We have always been health conscious and we see more of our clients and customer base doing the same and stick to that model. Clean, healthy, organic, non-GMO, but at the same time not devoid of flavor.
Just last year we introduced a USDA Certified Organic Estate Grown mono-varietal olive oil that is high in polyphenols and grown at the California farm we source our oil. We did this at the behest of customer request, our customers were seeking this sort of health conscious food item. Not only for the delicious flavor but for the health benefits. Luckily maintaining and being in good health is always on trend.
Pricing:
- 750ml bottles starting @ $35
- 500ml bottles starting @ $25
- 250ml bottles starting @ $18
- 100ml bottles starting @ $10
- All our dark glass is refillable in store! If the bottles are “well loved” we still offer the discount and issue a clean bottle.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.oviedooliveoil.com
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/oviedooliveoil
- Facebook: https://facebook.com/oviedooliveoil
- Twitter: https://x.com/oviedooliveoil
