From modest beginnings at the local farmers’ market, Molives founder Mo Amin has watched his pouch-based business grow – one fresh olive at a time.
Australian gourmet olive company Molives began humbly at the Orange Grove organic farmers’ market in Sydney in 2010 when founder and owner Mo Amin was still at university.
At this time, Amin says, the enterprise was nothing serious.“Mom was onboard, and we just did our own thing at the markets,” he says.
“We were marinating olives, stuffing olives, sourcing from farmers – just having fun with it really.”
Over time, however, Amin and his mother built a strong following. “We thought, Why are all these people coming to us?” he says.
“So I did a bit of market research, and what I learned was that there wasn’t really much going on in the olive category – it was stale.
“You had olives in a jar – not that there’s anything wrong with olives in a jar – but not much else.
“And yes, there might be flavours or different suppliers, but essentially, the final product has been the same for ages.”
Amin’s research also raised a question: Where were the local growers?
“When I was sourcing for the markets, I met so many different growers, and I learned about their difficulties in taking their product to market and selling through retail channels because they’re dominated by imports,” he says.
He decided he would take on the challenge of introducing innovation and supporting local growers.
“It’s the hardest thing I’ve ever done!” he says, but eight years on, we’re still going.”
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