Today we’d like to introduce you to Alison Carroll.
Alison, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
Wonder Valley was founded by me and my husband, Jay, in 2014. Prior to that, I had been the Marketing Director for the California Olive Oil Council; responsible for overseeing the only professional olive oil taste panel in North America and quality control through our annual certification program. I worked with the absolute best authorities on domestic olive oil and worked with millers, farmers, chefs, retailers, harvesting crews and the fabricators for the mills used here. It was an immersive experience; I fell in love with California olive oil and working with mentors and contacts I had make from that role: Wonder Valley olive oil was born. Wonder Valley has been an extension of us in a way and our evolving obsession with olive oil. We truly believe this to be the Fountain of Youth. We harvest our fruit extremely young and on the green side which yields a vibrant, bright grassy olive oil packed with polyphenols (antioxidants) and packed in a sustainable, plastic-free packaging. I became fanatical about the many uses of olive oil outside of cooking and the mythology around it especially as an ancient beauty ingredient. I started formulating a face oil and saw transformative results and that sparked our unisex, inclusive, natural skincare line.
We are based in the high desert of Joshua Tree, California with our OIL SHOP and WV studio. All of our olive oil production is in Northern California in Lake County.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
Of course, it’s been a challenge! I think there’s always hurdles and uphill climbs when running a self-funded small business. We’ve had the struggle of all small business owners; more ideas than money, more work than hours in a day, and trying to find some semblance of work/life balance while working with my husband too. It’s all been a beautiful teacher though.
Wonder Valley – what should we know? What do you do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
Wonder Valley is an olive oil company. We produce an extraordinary extra virgin olive oil grown and made in California. We believe in the holistic benefits of evoo as the foundation of a healthy diet and the key to radiance skin. We have an edible olive oil line as well as it’s a hero ingredient in our natural unisex skincare collection.
What’s Wonder Valley olive oil apart is: we are certified extra virgin grade by the California olive oil council, we pick our fruit by hand (not machine-harvested) and pick it under-ripe with a great deal of care and with a higher concentration of antioxidants, we are transparent about the harvest date stamped on the top of each bottle rather than an arbitrary expiration date, our fruit is pressed within hours of harvest at a private mill and pressed by a master miller, our packaging for the olive oil is completely plastic-free using natural and sustainable materials, and for the past six years we’ve sold out of our olive oil before the new harvest so we are Never selling an old or expired product.
Our skincare is unique in that we produce one of the key ingredients so there’s added potency and transparency. We created an inclusive line of products that we believe benefits *all* skin types and elevates the daily routines of washing your face, moisturizing with the added anti-aging antioxidant rich benefits from extra virgin olive oil. I think our scent profiles also set us apart in that they are truly unisex favoring earthy resinous notes like Japanese hinoki and frankincense and Siberian fir.
What is “success” or “successful” for you?
Are we having a positive impact: are we improving the daily lives of our customers and adding beauty, are we creating products with environmental consciousness both in the ingredients used and the packaging, are we creating a positive work environment for our small team and providing jobs in a rural place? Most of all, are we happy with world of Wonder Valley we are creating – am I enjoying the ride? These are some of the things that go through my head.
We’ve created a business with relatively low overhead because of our location (and scrappiness!) and so we’ve been able to continually reinvest in our team and have sustainable scalable growth in our collection size and products. So all the financial growth continues to be gas in the tank to keep growing.
On a personal level, I define success as ways I can put myself out of a job within the company; handing off the bookkeeping to someone experienced, we have a brilliant marketing director now who handles all in-house graphic design and marketing and does a far better job than we do, we have a sales team to help us ramp up… I want to take off some of the many hats I wear so I can really focus my attention.
Contact Info:
- Address: Wonder Valley OIL SHOP 61943 Twentynine Palm hwy Joshua Tree, CA 92252
- Website: welcometowondervalley.com
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: @wondervalley
Image Credit:
Photos from Wonder Valley
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