#115 Be the First AND the Best - Amanda Gillies, House of Spain Olive Oil

It’s always great to be first, and Amana Gillies of House of Spain Olive Oil created the first. The first producer of Premium CBD infused Extra Virgin Olive Oil. However, not JUST the first, but also the best. She uses only the highest quality, organically grown, Oregon hemp derived CBD. Their CBD contains zero heavy metal or heavy solvent residuals and completely non-detectable THC. And they use the purest CBD crystalline available worldwide. How did this all come about? The company name is a big clue. Amanda’s father is Spanish and immigrated to the US in his later 20s. No money, no English language but his background in furniture and indomitable spirit was the springboard to a real American success story. Amanda and her husband had spent their working lives in the service industry and had experience in hospitality and restaurants and then Amanda’s entrepreneurial father approached them with an idea. Since they had deep family connections living in Spain, would they be interested in importing the country’s premier olive oils? Her husband, Peter, and she had wanted to start their own business anyway, so the timing could not have been better. They received their first half-pallet of olive oil and before they had any business materials, even business cards, Amanda signed them up for the Northwest Food Service Show in 2018. Talk about fearlessness! There was one hitch; since they didn’t even have a legal entity, they had to sign up under Amanda’s father’s business name, House of Spain, in order to be in the show. The show was a huge success for them, and they had tons of names for follow up, but it was definitely too late to change the name of their business. So, it stuck. They did add on the phrase EVOO, which stands for Extra Virgin Olive Oil, but essentially they have kept the father’s namesake. A quick look at their website will show how their product offering has evolved and expanded since those first days. However, the company name really does reflect the authenticity and sourcing of the company’s products. Combining her family heritage along with the millennial-long history of Spain is an amazing story behind the product in the package. Beyond the romance of the story, however, is the practical matter of sales and competition. Olive oil is a saturated market and even with their early success, Amanda and Peter knew they needed to ladder on more products to grow the business. The idea of infusing the olive oil with premium CBD came about because they were both using CBD and in a brainstorming session, it seemed very natural to create something that differentiated itself and was also making people’s lives better. Beyond olive oil, they also have infused CBD into gummies, teas, pet products, tinctures, salves and honey. House of Spain products are available in select stores and online, where they ship from their headquarters in Portland, Oregon.

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