Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:02):
iHeartMedia presents CEOs you should know. Hi. I'm John Dinkel,
founder and CEO of Vinkel Business Development and former publisher
of the Baltimore Business Journal. This is iHeartRadio's CEOs you
should know and I'm here today with Dimitri Comnino's, president
of Dmitri Olive Oil. Welcome, Dimitri, and thanks for being here.
Speaker 2 (00:21):
Thanks for having me.
Speaker 1 (00:22):
Yeah, looking forward to our conversation. I thought we'd begin
by getting to know you a little bit and a
little bit more about the organization. So for those who
are familiar, could you tell us about Dmitri Olive Oil.
Speaker 2 (00:32):
Yeah, of course. We own five olive farmers in my
family for over two hundred years in spart of southern Greece,
and I'm the first generation to import our families pure
extra virsion ovel and olives in the United States since
two thousand and six.
Speaker 1 (00:48):
Awesome, And what's your mission?
Speaker 2 (00:51):
Our mission is has been the same as day one,
to grow and produce the purest single source Extra vision
olivel and sell it in the USA and just you know,
give a pure product to to the to our customers.
Speaker 1 (01:06):
Gotcha, And you mentioned that it's sourced on your family
farms in Greece. Where where do you bottle it?
Speaker 2 (01:12):
So it's inspired our southern Greece. We belong to a
co op. So uh when we press well, it's when
we press our olives at the same place where we
bottle our olive oil, and then we ship it directly
from from our co op to our warehouse in Baltimore
and our warehouse in northern Virginia.
Speaker 1 (01:28):
Got it?
Speaker 2 (01:29):
Okay? Yeah?
Speaker 1 (01:30):
And one being able to ask you, I thought this
would be an interesting for our listeners to understand too
about what's the importance of quality olive oil. I mean,
you hear out there, you know where some olive oil
is sourced from multiple places and or it's mixed and blended,
or you know, talk to us a little bit about
that and the importance of like single source and you
(01:50):
know the quality that you guys produce.
Speaker 2 (01:53):
Of course, yes, our olivel is single source. We own
five olive farms in the same uh two villages that
neighbor each other in southern Greece. And it is very
important that you know where your olivel is coming from
because a lot of the times you go to a
grocery store, let's say, and pick up a bottle of
extravergent olive oil. On the back of the bottle, you'll
(02:14):
see that there is you know, it comes from three
different countries, and that means that it's been blended and
you're not getting a pure product. So that's where we
come in. We're very different because we have stuck to
the same quality since we start our company, and we
have imported nothing but our own Alevel, which is pure, unfiltered,
(02:35):
first compressed, and single source.
Speaker 1 (02:38):
Love it, love it, Thank you. Appreciate you going over that,
and let's talk about like how you're distributing it, So
where can people pick up your product?
Speaker 2 (02:47):
At the moment, we do our own distribution. We sell
directly to the consumer. We have a store Intemonium where
you can walk in and buy it. We sell at
the local farmers' markets in the DMV area, and we
wholesale it to restaurants, specialty stores, and family owned local
grocery stores. Got it.
Speaker 1 (03:05):
And you have an online presence too, correct Absolutely, Online
is a great way for us to reach that one
customer you know that lives you know, all the way
on the West coast or in a different state. Obviously
that we don't have a retail presence, but we you know,
we're slowly growing our online presence. Gotcha, Yeah, yeah, what
(03:27):
just out of care athlete, what percentage of your sales
is online versus kind of just in person retail.
Speaker 2 (03:34):
I would say between twenty five to thirty percent online
at the moment.
Speaker 1 (03:38):
And is that something that you foresee like wanting to
grow over time and make that a larger percentage of
your overall growth or is it more you're looking at
wider distribution and kind of bigger growth that way.
Speaker 2 (03:53):
No, absolutely, online is the place to be, if you will.
We want to expand online because that that's where everybody's going.
Everybody has a phone and they can just order from
the comfort of their uh, you know, just sitting on
the couch. When they need extra virgin olevel, they can
just you know, order on their phone. So we're trying
to grow that definitely, Okay, And.
Speaker 1 (04:14):
What would you say kind of sets you apart from
you know, competitors out there. I mean there's a lot
to choose from. And you know, imagine when you're at
those uh you're thinking about olive oil and whether it's
you're going to you know, a farmer's market or a
specialty store or buying it online. What's what sets you
guys apart.
Speaker 2 (04:34):
What sets us apart from our competitors is trust, quality
and definitely our consistency. Our quality has been consistent sis
every year since day one, and and people trust that
when they come to the Farmer's market or our store
when they order aligned, they're going to get the freshest
olive oil this year's production and the purest of all.
(04:56):
There's no other way to meet Youriivel. We we stand
by our our quality and we guarantee it you're not
going to get anything less. That's what we That's what
differs us from our competition.
Speaker 1 (05:07):
That's great, that's great, thank thanks for sharing that. And
and what are talk to a little bit about your
kind of plans for expansion.
Speaker 2 (05:14):
Yeah, at the moment, like I said, we're looking to
expand online because you know that's where everything is going
with technology. But at the same time, we're looking to
open up a second dmitri Alivo location, either in the
DC or Northern Virginia area.
Speaker 1 (05:30):
That great, excellent, congratulations, Thank you. Just twitching gears a
little bit, tell us a little bit about your personal
background and kind of had got to this point and
being the CEO.
Speaker 2 (05:42):
I was born and raised in Greece. I came to
the US when I was eleven and my stepdad decided
to import the family's olive oil back in two thousand
and five, I believe, and I was just coming out
of high school. So right away I said to him,
you know, I want to join the family business with
you and start, you know, distributing our family's allible throughout
(06:06):
the whole US basically, And that's exactly what we did.
I when I was a teenager, all the way up
to that moment, I was working in restaurants, and I
knew that there was a huge difference in quality of
the a level being served to consumers versus what we
grew up with in Greece. So that alone inspired me
to bring my family aulvel over to the States and
(06:27):
share the quality of our product with you know, friends
and family in the beginning, and then obviously start selling it. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (06:33):
I love that. I love that. Thank you appreciate sharing that.
I feel like talking about leadership on the show, how
would you describe your your leadership style, I'd lead by example.
Speaker 2 (06:45):
I'm always available to help in all aspects of the business.
I believe in hard work, and you got to you know,
you got to dedicate your time and your effort. One
day I could be working at Farmers Market. The next
day I could be helping with production in the kitchen,
or I could be in the warehouse or helping in
the retail stores in the retail store. And I trained
(07:08):
all my employees to treat all the customers the same,
no matter if they're buying a five dollars bottle was
available or a fifty dollars able that you know, you
treat everybody the same.
Speaker 1 (07:18):
Yeah, definitely, I love that. That's great advice. How did
the impact on the company and on on your management
style or communication?
Speaker 2 (07:27):
What?
Speaker 1 (07:27):
What did the pandemic? You know, how did that impact
your business? And I know it's been a few years now,
but we're still kind of you know, I think it's
for living with it basically at this point, but at
the time, it was obviously a really big deal and
affected companies in a lot of different ways. How how
did you manage through that? And you know, what did
you learn from that?
Speaker 2 (07:47):
Yeah, the pandemic was start Actually during the pandemic, we
were moving from Biddle Street in Baltimore City to the County,
we were building our new commercial kitchen and warehouse and
at the same time, and it was tough because it
was even a harder pool permits to do this and
at the same time having to deal with staffing and
inflation issues. That alone, that alone told me that you know,
(08:10):
no obstacles can get in the way of my business. Uh,
you know, our work and dedication will will get you
through anything. And you know, for example, during the beginning
of the pandemic, we somebody would call us and ask
us to deliver one bottle of lovel We would do
a home delivery for just one bottle bottle even though
there was no you know, there was no profit in that.
(08:31):
But at the same time, you know, those customers though,
appreciated us, and they appreciate us to this day and
they talk about it. How you know, how we helped
them out by just delivering you know, a pound of
dolls and a bottle of Bible to their house.
Speaker 1 (08:44):
Yeah, that's great. That's a great way to build loyalty,
that's for sure. Yeah. And it seems like something that
came up to mind where you're talking about this is
it seems like a buzzword these days resilient, you know,
and it sounds like, you know, part of your you know,
your mindset and and and when you're you know, leading
(09:06):
the organization is you have to have a lot of resilience,
especially going through those you know, time like that, which
you know, would you agree with that absolutely?
Speaker 2 (09:16):
That's you know, you have to have a strong mindset
and you have to stay assistant and just keep going.
You can't stop for anything. No obstacle will get in
the way.
Speaker 1 (09:26):
Yeah, I love that.
Speaker 2 (09:28):
What.
Speaker 1 (09:28):
So what excites you about the future of Demitri ali Oil?
Speaker 2 (09:32):
Hoping that someday my two daughters can join the family
business and help me, Yeah, that will be really exciting.
Speaker 1 (09:42):
I have a family member, my son works with me
as well, and it's, uh, it's it's pretty neat. It
has its own challenges and stuff like that, but mostly
it's it's pretty amazing. So hopefully that that, uh that
comes true for you. What what what keeps you up
at night? What's what are some of the challenges you're
working up now?
Speaker 2 (10:00):
Oh man, you know, when you have a small family
owned business, you have a lot uh you know, keeps
you up at night if you will? You know, I
suppoke earlier about inflation. I mean that is still a
problem for a small business. Yeah, you know, we we
prepare for it by trying to buy volume. For example,
you know, you don't buy ten cases of empty bowels.
(10:21):
You'll buy a pallet or two and you know, but
then the issue is, you know, storing it. You have
to have a big enough warehouse to store everything, and
then you you know, eventually you run out of the room.
You know. Yeah, but uh, we just we we managed.
You know, when I first, at least my warehouse, I
didn't have any pallet racking. Within six months, I decided
to do pallet racking and I increased my palette and take,
(10:44):
if you will, my palate storage by I would say,
at least, you know, seventy percent more than I could
store in there. Wow, you just have to you have
to pivot and you have to make moves that will
help your business.
Speaker 1 (10:54):
Yeah, yeah, I agreed. You know, I appreciate you sharing
that so so kind of the wrap things up. Is
there anything else you'd like our listeners to know about
you and Dmitri olive oil.
Speaker 2 (11:04):
Yeah, I mean I appreciate everybody who buys a bottle
of our olive oil and all of our customers who
have been with us since day one. I'm very big
with family. My family comes first, hard work, and I'm
very big on quality. Those are probably the three biggest
things that our value in life, family, hard work, and quality.
(11:26):
So rest assured as you when you're buying to meet
your albl you're helping a small family business. We work
hard to make this product and we will always give
you the best quality and the best olive in the world.
Speaker 1 (11:38):
It's great.
Speaker 2 (11:39):
Thank you.
Speaker 1 (11:39):
And could we tell our listeners how they can get
in touch with you and get more information about Dmitri
Olive oil.
Speaker 2 (11:45):
Of course, well, the local anyone local that can just
walk into our store and we'll talk to you, will
give you any information you want to find our product
and our family business. But for everyone, please don't to
our website dmeetriolibow dot com. We'll follow us on Instagram,
on Facebook, social media.
Speaker 1 (12:02):
Well, it was great. I thank you so much to Mere.
I really appreciate you taking the time today.
Speaker 2 (12:07):
To talk with me.
Speaker 1 (12:07):
It was it was great learning about your business and congratulations,
UH and I look forward to uh to visiting your store.
Speaker 2 (12:14):
Thank you. I look forward to seeing at the store,
and thank you so much for your time and for
giving us this opportunity to share our story with you.
Speaker 1 (12:23):
This has been iHeartMedia CEOs you should know
iHeartMedia presents CEOs you should know. Hi. I'm John Dinkel,
founder and CEO of Vinkel Business Development and former publisher
of the Baltimore Business Journal. This is iHeartRadio's CEOs you
should know and I'm here today with Dimitri Comnino's, president
of Dmitri Olive Oil. Welcome, Dimitri, and thanks for being here.
Speaker 2 (00:21):
Thanks for having me.
Speaker 1 (00:22):
Yeah, looking forward to our conversation. I thought we'd begin
by getting to know you a little bit and a
little bit more about the organization. So for those who
are familiar, could you tell us about Dmitri Olive Oil.
Speaker 2 (00:32):
Yeah, of course. We own five olive farmers in my
family for over two hundred years in spart of southern Greece,
and I'm the first generation to import our families pure
extra virsion ovel and olives in the United States since
two thousand and six.
Speaker 1 (00:48):
Awesome, And what's your mission?
Speaker 2 (00:51):
Our mission is has been the same as day one,
to grow and produce the purest single source Extra vision
olivel and sell it in the USA and just you know,
give a pure product to to the to our customers.
Speaker 1 (01:06):
Gotcha, And you mentioned that it's sourced on your family
farms in Greece. Where where do you bottle it?
Speaker 2 (01:12):
So it's inspired our southern Greece. We belong to a
co op. So uh when we press well, it's when
we press our olives at the same place where we
bottle our olive oil, and then we ship it directly
from from our co op to our warehouse in Baltimore
and our warehouse in northern Virginia.
Speaker 1 (01:28):
Got it?
Speaker 2 (01:29):
Okay? Yeah?
Speaker 1 (01:30):
And one being able to ask you, I thought this
would be an interesting for our listeners to understand too
about what's the importance of quality olive oil. I mean,
you hear out there, you know where some olive oil
is sourced from multiple places and or it's mixed and blended,
or you know, talk to us a little bit about
that and the importance of like single source and you
(01:50):
know the quality that you guys produce.
Speaker 2 (01:53):
Of course, yes, our olivel is single source. We own
five olive farms in the same uh two villages that
neighbor each other in southern Greece. And it is very
important that you know where your olivel is coming from
because a lot of the times you go to a
grocery store, let's say, and pick up a bottle of
extravergent olive oil. On the back of the bottle, you'll
(02:14):
see that there is you know, it comes from three
different countries, and that means that it's been blended and
you're not getting a pure product. So that's where we
come in. We're very different because we have stuck to
the same quality since we start our company, and we
have imported nothing but our own Alevel, which is pure, unfiltered,
(02:35):
first compressed, and single source.
Speaker 1 (02:38):
Love it, love it, Thank you. Appreciate you going over that,
and let's talk about like how you're distributing it, So
where can people pick up your product?
Speaker 2 (02:47):
At the moment, we do our own distribution. We sell
directly to the consumer. We have a store Intemonium where
you can walk in and buy it. We sell at
the local farmers' markets in the DMV area, and we
wholesale it to restaurants, specialty stores, and family owned local
grocery stores. Got it.
Speaker 1 (03:05):
And you have an online presence too, correct Absolutely, Online
is a great way for us to reach that one
customer you know that lives you know, all the way
on the West coast or in a different state. Obviously
that we don't have a retail presence, but we you know,
we're slowly growing our online presence. Gotcha, Yeah, yeah, what
(03:27):
just out of care athlete, what percentage of your sales
is online versus kind of just in person retail.
Speaker 2 (03:34):
I would say between twenty five to thirty percent online
at the moment.
Speaker 1 (03:38):
And is that something that you foresee like wanting to
grow over time and make that a larger percentage of
your overall growth or is it more you're looking at
wider distribution and kind of bigger growth that way.
Speaker 2 (03:53):
No, absolutely, online is the place to be, if you will.
We want to expand online because that that's where everybody's going.
Everybody has a phone and they can just order from
the comfort of their uh, you know, just sitting on
the couch. When they need extra virgin olevel, they can
just you know, order on their phone. So we're trying
to grow that definitely, Okay, And.
Speaker 1 (04:14):
What would you say kind of sets you apart from
you know, competitors out there. I mean there's a lot
to choose from. And you know, imagine when you're at
those uh you're thinking about olive oil and whether it's
you're going to you know, a farmer's market or a
specialty store or buying it online. What's what sets you
guys apart.
Speaker 2 (04:34):
What sets us apart from our competitors is trust, quality
and definitely our consistency. Our quality has been consistent sis
every year since day one, and and people trust that
when they come to the Farmer's market or our store
when they order aligned, they're going to get the freshest
olive oil this year's production and the purest of all.
(04:56):
There's no other way to meet Youriivel. We we stand
by our our quality and we guarantee it you're not
going to get anything less. That's what we That's what
differs us from our competition.
Speaker 1 (05:07):
That's great, that's great, thank thanks for sharing that. And
and what are talk to a little bit about your
kind of plans for expansion.
Speaker 2 (05:14):
Yeah, at the moment, like I said, we're looking to
expand online because you know that's where everything is going
with technology. But at the same time, we're looking to
open up a second dmitri Alivo location, either in the
DC or Northern Virginia area.
Speaker 1 (05:30):
That great, excellent, congratulations, Thank you. Just twitching gears a
little bit, tell us a little bit about your personal
background and kind of had got to this point and
being the CEO.
Speaker 2 (05:42):
I was born and raised in Greece. I came to
the US when I was eleven and my stepdad decided
to import the family's olive oil back in two thousand
and five, I believe, and I was just coming out
of high school. So right away I said to him,
you know, I want to join the family business with
you and start, you know, distributing our family's allible throughout
(06:06):
the whole US basically, And that's exactly what we did.
I when I was a teenager, all the way up
to that moment, I was working in restaurants, and I
knew that there was a huge difference in quality of
the a level being served to consumers versus what we
grew up with in Greece. So that alone inspired me
to bring my family aulvel over to the States and
(06:27):
share the quality of our product with you know, friends
and family in the beginning, and then obviously start selling it. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (06:33):
I love that. I love that. Thank you appreciate sharing that.
I feel like talking about leadership on the show, how
would you describe your your leadership style, I'd lead by example.
Speaker 2 (06:45):
I'm always available to help in all aspects of the business.
I believe in hard work, and you got to you know,
you got to dedicate your time and your effort. One
day I could be working at Farmers Market. The next
day I could be helping with production in the kitchen,
or I could be in the warehouse or helping in
the retail stores in the retail store. And I trained
(07:08):
all my employees to treat all the customers the same,
no matter if they're buying a five dollars bottle was
available or a fifty dollars able that you know, you
treat everybody the same.
Speaker 1 (07:18):
Yeah, definitely, I love that. That's great advice. How did
the impact on the company and on on your management
style or communication?
Speaker 2 (07:27):
What?
Speaker 1 (07:27):
What did the pandemic? You know, how did that impact
your business? And I know it's been a few years now,
but we're still kind of you know, I think it's
for living with it basically at this point, but at
the time, it was obviously a really big deal and
affected companies in a lot of different ways. How how
did you manage through that? And you know, what did
you learn from that?
Speaker 2 (07:47):
Yeah, the pandemic was start Actually during the pandemic, we
were moving from Biddle Street in Baltimore City to the County,
we were building our new commercial kitchen and warehouse and
at the same time, and it was tough because it
was even a harder pool permits to do this and
at the same time having to deal with staffing and
inflation issues. That alone, that alone told me that you know,
(08:10):
no obstacles can get in the way of my business. Uh,
you know, our work and dedication will will get you
through anything. And you know, for example, during the beginning
of the pandemic, we somebody would call us and ask
us to deliver one bottle of lovel We would do
a home delivery for just one bottle bottle even though
there was no you know, there was no profit in that.
(08:31):
But at the same time, you know, those customers though,
appreciated us, and they appreciate us to this day and
they talk about it. How you know, how we helped
them out by just delivering you know, a pound of
dolls and a bottle of Bible to their house.
Speaker 1 (08:44):
Yeah, that's great. That's a great way to build loyalty,
that's for sure. Yeah. And it seems like something that
came up to mind where you're talking about this is
it seems like a buzzword these days resilient, you know,
and it sounds like, you know, part of your you know,
your mindset and and and when you're you know, leading
(09:06):
the organization is you have to have a lot of resilience,
especially going through those you know, time like that, which
you know, would you agree with that absolutely?
Speaker 2 (09:16):
That's you know, you have to have a strong mindset
and you have to stay assistant and just keep going.
You can't stop for anything. No obstacle will get in
the way.
Speaker 1 (09:26):
Yeah, I love that.
Speaker 2 (09:28):
What.
Speaker 1 (09:28):
So what excites you about the future of Demitri ali Oil?
Speaker 2 (09:32):
Hoping that someday my two daughters can join the family
business and help me, Yeah, that will be really exciting.
Speaker 1 (09:42):
I have a family member, my son works with me
as well, and it's, uh, it's it's pretty neat. It
has its own challenges and stuff like that, but mostly
it's it's pretty amazing. So hopefully that that, uh that
comes true for you. What what what keeps you up
at night? What's what are some of the challenges you're
working up now?
Speaker 2 (10:00):
Oh man, you know, when you have a small family
owned business, you have a lot uh you know, keeps
you up at night if you will? You know, I
suppoke earlier about inflation. I mean that is still a
problem for a small business. Yeah, you know, we we
prepare for it by trying to buy volume. For example,
you know, you don't buy ten cases of empty bowels.
(10:21):
You'll buy a pallet or two and you know, but
then the issue is, you know, storing it. You have
to have a big enough warehouse to store everything, and
then you you know, eventually you run out of the room.
You know. Yeah, but uh, we just we we managed.
You know, when I first, at least my warehouse, I
didn't have any pallet racking. Within six months, I decided
to do pallet racking and I increased my palette and take,
(10:44):
if you will, my palate storage by I would say,
at least, you know, seventy percent more than I could
store in there. Wow, you just have to you have
to pivot and you have to make moves that will
help your business.
Speaker 1 (10:54):
Yeah, yeah, I agreed. You know, I appreciate you sharing
that so so kind of the wrap things up. Is
there anything else you'd like our listeners to know about
you and Dmitri olive oil.
Speaker 2 (11:04):
Yeah, I mean I appreciate everybody who buys a bottle
of our olive oil and all of our customers who
have been with us since day one. I'm very big
with family. My family comes first, hard work, and I'm
very big on quality. Those are probably the three biggest
things that our value in life, family, hard work, and quality.
(11:26):
So rest assured as you when you're buying to meet
your albl you're helping a small family business. We work
hard to make this product and we will always give
you the best quality and the best olive in the world.
Speaker 1 (11:38):
It's great.
Speaker 2 (11:39):
Thank you.
Speaker 1 (11:39):
And could we tell our listeners how they can get
in touch with you and get more information about Dmitri
Olive oil.
Speaker 2 (11:45):
Of course, well, the local anyone local that can just
walk into our store and we'll talk to you, will
give you any information you want to find our product
and our family business. But for everyone, please don't to
our website dmeetriolibow dot com. We'll follow us on Instagram,
on Facebook, social media.
Speaker 1 (12:02):
Well, it was great. I thank you so much to Mere.
I really appreciate you taking the time today.
Speaker 2 (12:07):
To talk with me.
Speaker 1 (12:07):
It was it was great learning about your business and congratulations,
UH and I look forward to uh to visiting your store.
Speaker 2 (12:14):
Thank you. I look forward to seeing at the store,
and thank you so much for your time and for
giving us this opportunity to share our story with you.
Speaker 1 (12:23):
This has been iHeartMedia CEOs you should know
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On Purpose with Jay Shetty
I’m Jay Shetty host of On Purpose the worlds #1 Mental Health podcast and I’m so grateful you found us. I started this podcast 5 years ago to invite you into conversations and workshops that are designed to help make you happier, healthier and more healed. I believe that when you (yes you) feel seen, heard and understood you’re able to deal with relationship struggles, work challenges and life’s ups and downs with more ease and grace. I interview experts, celebrities, thought leaders and athletes so that we can grow our mindset, build better habits and uncover a side of them we’ve never seen before. New episodes every Monday and Friday. Your support means the world to me and I don’t take it for granted — click the follow button and leave a review to help us spread the love with On Purpose. I can’t wait for you to listen to your first or 500th episode!