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Malatrice Montgomery and Ayanna Carver never knew their >Vine & Olive, which offers a plethora of premium olive oils and balsamic vinegars.

“The idea started way back in 2020. I wanted to think of what’s next for me, what’s the next step, how can I show up and serve my community.” Montgomery, who has been a physician’s assistant for more than 15 years, said in an interview. During the pandemic, she was on the frontlines as an essential worker. But after a post-pandemic vacation when the spread slowed, Montgomery witnessed the joy in an olive oil shop in town and wanted to bring it back home to Atlanta. 

She called up Carver, who is a director of sales for a broadcast television station, to see about starting something together. And building a brand together that revolved around such a personal product all made sense as a natural next step. 

“Some of our favorite moments are centered around the table. So when we started to think about entrepreneurship, we knew we wanted to do something that brought joy and community and connection to the world,” Montgomery, who also serves as adjunct faculty at the Agnes Scott College in Decatur, Ga., told Fox 5 Atlanta. Plus, “there’s nothing like this in the city of Atlanta.”

Since founding the brand in 2023, Montgomery and Carver have expanded its product offerings to more than 40 different flavors of extra virgin olive oils and more than 30 variations of their balsamic vinegar. Their olive oil flavors range from pasta-ready lemon pepper to a blood orange-infused olive oil that’s ripe for mixing into mocktails and cocktails alike.

The co-founders have doors open at four locations across Metro Atlanta,  where they frequently also host experiential tasting events. Vine & Olive hasn’t just helped bring joy and creativity into the lives of its founders, but that bubbly energy spreads to customers, too, especially at in-person events. This is why the co-founders have already successfully partnered with business leaders like Sarah Jakes Roberts and corporate groups like KPMG.

For Montgomery and Carver, this was a side hustle at first. It was “lots of nights and weekends building this business,” Carver recalled, burning the midnight (olive) oil. But it was also the opportunity to follow through on something her dad always said: “Feel the fear and do it anyways.”

“Jump. If it’s something you’re passionate about, take the leap. BE prepared for some sleepless nights,” Carver advised for anyone thinking about starting a side hustle. And, don’t quit your day job until you’re confident the side hustle is becoming the main one, Montgomery added.

Ahead, big things are planned for what is currently the only Black woman-owned olive oil brand based in Atlanta. A fifth retail partnership is reportedly coming soon, and the co-founders are preparing for more corporate tasting partnerships in the near future. After all, “we can do hard things. Sometimes, we tend to count ourselves out and say ‘this is too much.’ But we’re capable of doing whatever it is we set our minds to,” Carver said.

The post How Two Black Women Turned A Pandemic Idea Into One Of Atlanta’s Fast-Growing Olive Oil Brands appeared first on Essence.

Author: Kimberly Wilson

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