Is it embarrassing how much I have to say about olive oil? Maybe.
But you clicked!
Graza burst onto the scene in January 2022, taking something you’d only ever seen in a restaurant kitchen, the humble squeezy bottle of olive oil, and making it feel as natural on your counter as your salt and pepper mill.
Soon after, the collective lust for the B.O.H. bro (yes, chef!) helped boost brands like Graza that turned practical kitchen tropes into trends. Like Carmy, Graza was after that “sort of luxury experience” while also “taking some of the luxury out of it”… the exact high/low sweet spot food media loves to romanticize.
Your dirt-bag situationship puts olive oil in squeeze bottles, and now you can, too. Graza just did the packaging legwork for you, making it approachable and cute.
They sold out their first week.
But 3 years later, the packaging that made them iconic is now just one of many options… including the very glass bottle format they once set out to disrupt.
This is the story of how they innovated so far, tried to please every market, and ended up right back where they started: olive oil in a glass bottle.
By April 2023, just over a year after launch, squeeze bottles for sauces and oils were popping up everywhere. Graza was fiercely protective of their packaging. CEO Andrew Benin singled out Brightland’s “Pizza Oil” bottle in a LinkedIn post calling it copycat culture.
“While friendly competition was always welcome, I do view this as a blatant disrespect and am choosing to voice my discontent…” — Graza CEO
The internet (and other entrepreneurs) were quick to remind him squeeze bottles have been around… He posted an apology the same day, leaving his original post up with it.
Despite the drama, Graza kept landing in Target, Whole Foods, and every shoppy shop shelf. And while it’s more affordable than some other countertop-ready olive oils, the inevitable happened. People started refilling their Graza bottles with cheaper olive oil, an issue Brightland knows all too well. Same great bottle on the counter, refill at half the price.
The truth is, most people aren’t obsessively comparing cooking oils. We’re buying the ones that taste good enough, and bonus points if they look nice. Packaging becomes part of the appeal, a little lifestyle marker, an expression of identity. It’s why we refill our Aesop bottles, hang on to empty Diptyque candles, and yes, top up our Graza squeeze bottles with Kirkland. Not everyone shops this way, but when a product nails both form and function, it stands out on the shelf and sticks around in our kitchens.
And while that’s technically a retention problem for the brand, it’s also a sign they’ve made it into the “cool” tier.
May 2024 Graza starts teasing a new product and my group chats light up. Rumors swirl. Glass? A can?
They were really pumping up the marketing.
“We have a new product coming out that is revolutionary, and is going to shake up this world for a second time in two and a half years.”
Then I get tipped off that the new product was already live on Whole Foods’ site. I posted a screenshot to my story and my DMs exploded.
Snaxshot reposts it. Then suddenly Graza is watching my stories, and I get shy real quick. I congratulate them on a killer marketing lead-up, then quietly take the post down after a very nice DM from their team. That little taste of leak drama taught me one thing: I am not cut out to be Feudmoi.
(Emily posted the leak the next day to FeedMe anyway with the subject line: “Graza, don’t be mad at me.”)
Aluminum Refill cans. Nitrogen-sealed, eco-friendly, oxygen-blocking… actually kind of a good idea? They were intriguing, a little weird. They looked novel, and were funny to hold, lighter than you’d expect. A packaging format we’d never seen for olive oil before.
But the cans aren’t resealable, and they’re exactly the same size as the squeeze bottles, so your bottle better be completely empty before you refill or you’re stuck with an open can of olive oil. And what do you do with that? Clunky.
Next came Frizzle, a high-heat frying oil available in the squeeze bottle and a hefty, restaurant-style jug (which is what they could have done for refills from the beginning). They rolled out a string of collabs and kept brand awareness high.
Still, the comments kept coming: “But it’s in plastic…” And by April 2025, the microplastics conversation had really heated up. “Plastic is very polarizing… you have very vocal groups of people who hate it.” (Modern Retail).
June 2024, Brightland launches its Everyday Set in opaque, easy-squeezable bottles, $65 for the duo.
And now, August 2025, Graza has launched their glass bottle duo.
Really? After all that doubling down on squeeze bottles?
Now, 3 years after launch, their olive oil comes in three containers:
What started as the thing that set Graza apart has now become just one of several packaging options in their lineup. Don’t like microplastics? Here’s glass! Want to keep reusing your squeeze bottle? Grab an aluminum refill. Some might call it smart marketing, giving every type of customer a “yes.” I see it as losing the focus that made them special in the first place. Too many formats start to feel less like a brand statement and more like a packaging buffet. And honestly, I’d love to see the sales breakdown on those cans.
At the end of the day, I like Graza’s product. But the most interesting thing about their brand has never been the olive oil itself. It’s the branding ecosystem built around it. The irony of eventually circling back to the same glass bottles that olive oil has come in for decades, isn’t lost on me. Glass bottles feel less like the next big idea, and more like a full-circle moment.
Has Graza reached the end of its packaging innovation era now that they’ve gone through their big 3? Doubt it. I have a feeling the Graza team will be teasing another revolutionary product again in 6 months.
But what will it be?
Having a bottle of graza on the counter that you didn't get gifted is social suicide in 2025