Founded by Giuseppe and Skyler (husband and wife), EXAU Olive Oil specializes in the production of high-quality Italian extra virgin olive oil.
EXAU is the marriage between the modern culinary needs of Americans and 75+ years of Calabrian craftsmanship.
We had the pleasure to talk with Skyler and learn more about the company, the products they offer, and how they got to where they are now.
Initially working in the architectural industry, Skyler became interested in olive oil after meeting her husband, whose family has been making olive oil for almost a hundred years.
EXAU stands for Ex Albis Ulivis and if you Google it a bunch of olive oil brands come up and so we shortened it just down to EXAU, that’s what it stands for. It translates in Latin to white olive or olive harvested white, which actually means olive harvested young. Back in ancient times when they were harvesting the olives, the green olives, the young olives would be harvested first and that oil was reserved for the nobility. EXAU represents the highest quality product that we’re able to produce. And that’s what our customers deserve to consume.
Skyler Mapes, co-founder EXAU
Skyler is a really engaging speaker, very passionate about her brand and living a pretty crazy life between two continents, and so it is very hard to put all the full interview in writing. I suggest you watch it below, and here is a taste of the topics we covered:
- How does Skyler manage running a business on two continents
- How she got a kitten and how the kitten got his name (we’re a naming blog after all!)
- The differences between entrepreneurship in Italy and the US
- How EXAU is educating people about olive oil and making it sexy
- How do you work with your life partner
- Entrepreneurship sometimes means throwing piles of poop onto olive trees
- Running an olive oil subscription (and the benefits of having one!)
- Owning your audience
- What is next for EXAU
At some point in the interview I suggested Skyler should really start some reality show or call Netflix to do one for her – the whole story around EXAU, the local community and their daily life, the contrast with Italian and the US entrepreneurs, is all really fascinating and captivating. Apparently I was not the first to suggest that. So as we wait for Skyler to pick which Hollywood celebrity is going to play her role, while writing her book (yep, she finds time for that!), you can check the full interview below.
You can reach out to EXAU on their website and follow them on Linkedin, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
We host engaging conversations about naming, branding, and entrepreneurship, exploring everything from initial triumphs to the hurdles along the way. If you’ve got insights on innovative branding strategies, lessons learned from entrepreneurial ventures, or thoughts on the significance of a solid domain name strategy, and you’re keen to chat about them, we’d love to hear from you!
Other resources
- Top Beauty Brands and Their Domain Name Choices
- The Trends and Best Practices Around Naming a Brand: Interview with Mark Gunnion
- The Before, Now and After of Domain Names
- 10 Entrepreneurs Share Their Thoughts on How to Build a Strong Brand Online
How does your brand name match your company vision? What new horizons can a better name open? Get in touch if you feel your brand deserves a better name, we are always happy to help.
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