Pure oil. Is yours? The Kosterina story.

🫒 The clean label revolution not built on vibes. How you can secure a pure, clean, oil ingredient.

“We should survey our consumers to see if they care about our oils.”

I hear this a lot. How about this: do the right thing according to your brand principles.

Brands are built on the core principles they stand for, and Kosterina is an excellent example. The name Kosterina is the portmanteau of Katerina (Katina) Mountanos and her husband Kostas who started the company after discovering that the majority of the olive oils sold in the US are not what they say they are.

Kosterina offers an early-harvest Greek extra virgin olive oil made from 100% Koroneiki olives—renowned for their robust flavor and high polyphenol content. The brand has taken the unusual step of implementing full-batch lab testing for pesticide screening, polyphenol content verification, and contaminants — all the things that define quality and purity — and they have rejected loads that didn’t meet internal standards.

But most of you cannot do all that testing. So how do you deliver on your brand promise?

I’ve talked about the increasing demand for non-seed oils and recently confirmed with CEO Jonathan Rubin of the Seed Oil Free Alliance that there is a fair amount of adulteration in oils (ahem, avocado oil too!), so supplier integrity is of question.

The org does lab testing as part of certification. Fees are based on gross annual revenues. Get in touch.

Not built on vibes

During our conversation, Katina shared lab results that made my jaw drop. Some competitor oils—especially those sold in plastic bottles—tested positive for not just microplastics, but macroplastics as large as 24mm. Olive oil, it turns out, is corrosive to plastic. I did not know this!

Kosterina isn’t just a clean label story—they are poised to do for Mediterranean cuisine what Rao’s did for Italian or Siete did for gluten-free Mexican food. With EVOO as its centerpiece, the brand is expanding into a multi-category lifestyle brand. I got to try the vinegar and olives— which are naturally cured with sea salt and never treated with lye (commonly masked on labels as citric acid) — incredible!

🚀 Now Raising

Kosterina is currently in an active fundraising round to support further retail expansion, supply chain investment, and product development. Interested strategic capital partners with experience in food, wellness, or omnichannel growth please let me know if you want to learn more.

The brand doubled its SKU count in the past year and is now on shelf in over 600 Target stores, 260+ Harris Teeter locations, and 160+ Fresh Markets. They’re also in high-end channels like Crate & Barrel, Bloomingdale’s, and Food52, and seeing 150% YoY growth on Amazon.

All my best,

Jennifer