Curt Campbell has a franchise that sells premium olive oils and has an already established business called the Oilerie, which sells balsamic vinegar and olive oil throughout the United States.
There are 6 franchises that are currently operational in America, and Curt is looking for investment to further expand his business, which is already doing extremely well.
He finds the best quality ingredients from Rome and uses the fresh olives to make olive oil with the help of his friend, Adriano Mantova.
Curt’s olive oil stores sell a variety of oils, up to 30 different kinds that customers can sample before choosing to buy a bottle.
The Oilerie in Fish Creek has an annual income of about 1 million USD, which is pretty impressive.
Campbell now hopes to secure funding from a shark to grow his business and reach more customers.
He appeared on Shark Tank wanting 500,000 USD for a 35% stake in the company and began by telling his life story to the sharks.
He goes into detail about how he developed the idea with his wife of 38 years and expanded from Poland to the United States.
His goal is to make his products available in every store in America to appeal to the masses.
After handing out his samples to the sharks, it became obvious that the sharks liked the flavor and could tell it was more premium than the cheap counterparts generally found in stores.
Curt informed them that he pays 3.60 USD per bottle and sells it for 16.50 USD.
He had managed to generate sales of over 3 million USD the previous year and informed the shark about the 8% royalty he charges per franchise.
He explains about the stressors involved in reaching out to stores, which puts Lori off, and she backs out.
The other sharks are also not swayed by the pitch and fail to make an offer, leaving Curt tearful as he leaves the set.
In the end, he couldn’t strike a deal with the sharks.
Our Review of The Oilerie
The Oilerie is pretty successful and has a functioning website that showcases all of the olive oil products Curt sells.
After getting exposure from his Shark Tank debut, he received a lot of enthusiastic responses from the general public, who were eager to try his products.
Curt was approached by more than 550 investors who were looking to invest in an Oilerie Franchise, which was a massive surprise.
However, he didn’t have the infrastructure to accommodate many of these demands, which led to him being unable to respond efficiently.
Online sales skyrocketed after the episode’s airdate, and his retail locations saw a lot of traffic from customers who really wanted to try samples of the olive oils Curt was looking to sell.
In 2015, Curt gave an interview where he said that if he had received investment from any of the sharks, he would have been able to return the investment within months.
He managed to sell 3 licenses and had expanded to 25 business outlets.
Currently, however, you can only find 8 locations to sample and buy premium olive oil and balsamic vinegar.
If Curt had been better prepared with his presentation on Shark Tank, he would have possibly secured a deal, which would have skyrocketed the business in terms of sales and expansion.
As it currently stands, Curt’s vision of opening 100 stores in the United States is yet to come true, but he has displayed great enthusiasm and professionalism, which is an indicator that he might just pull it off eventually.
The business is still operational, and the owner is continuously working alongside his wife to make changes and optimize the operations, leading to more potential growth in the future.
Pros of The Oilerie
Some of the pros of the Oilerie are described below.
- The Oilerie allows customers to sample olive oil before buying, allowing them the choice to pick and select the oil they like.
- There are 30 kinds of premium-quality olive oils and several kinds of balsamic vinegar available to be sampled and bought by customers.
- The company uses the freshest and highest quality of ingredients possible to create premium olive oil bottles.
Cons of The Oilerie
Some of the cons of the Oilerie are listed below.
- The Oilerie’s products may not be affordable to many people who will likely go for the 5 USD varieties from their general store.
- The company failed to have adequate infrastructure in place to deal with many investors.
- Not many people are enthusiastic about premium olive oil and balsamic vinegar, which means the target audience is somewhat niche.
Who is The Oilerie For?
The Oilerie products are for anyone who loves cooking with olive oil and balsamic vinegar since these items can be used in many dishes.
Health-conscious people find it appealing to choose olive oils due to the presence of healthy fats that are preferable to general cooking oil.
Individuals looking to make a positive lifestyle change may also find olive oil products to be appealing, especially since they can choose the sample they like after visiting a store in their location.
Cooks and food enthusiasts are also incredibly enthused about the types of cooking oils, allowing them to experiment with their dishes and opting for different flavors of premium oils.
Those who are willing to spend more than 15 USD for a bottle of premium olive oil are the main target audience, and the products cater to a specific economic bracket.
Are There Any Alternatives?
There are numerous kinds of olive oils and other cooking oils available in the market that you can buy for a cheaper price.
With cooking oil, people are usually looking for the cheapest option, which is sunflower oil, but many people like experimenting with types of olive oils.
Other alternatives include peanut oil, coconut oil, avocado oil, and sesame oil, which are also quite popular for specific kinds of food dishes.
However, premium olive oils are appealing to many people who are curious about the different flavors of olive oil and would like to try samples, kind of like wine tasting.
Since olive oil is known for its health-inducing benefits, such as protection against obesity, heart disease, and strokes, many people will jump at the opportunity to try premium-quality oils when given the chance.
Our Final Thoughts
The Oilerie was not successful in getting funding from any of the sharks from Shark Tank despite being somewhat established beforehand, which was surprising.
Although the sharks liked the company’s idea and respected the owner’s vision, they did not feel like it was a worthwhile investment that could bear fruit in the future.
If the company had received backing from one of the sharks, they could have capitalized on many deals from investors that quickly started coming in after gaining exposure from the episode on Shark Tank.
It’s a bit confusing how the company went from several retail stores back to eight, which speaks about the owner’s lack of infrastructure and failure to capitalize on opportunities.
Premium olive oils have a large market, and many people are curious to try the best products in the world for an affordable price, which was evident due to the increase in sales after the oilerie’s debut on Shark Tank.
With time and effort, the company will likely manage to grow and expand, and the owner’s vision of having 100 stores in the United States might just come true.
