Inside Graza’s Marketing Strategy: Olive Oil As A Commodity

Olive oil used to be the definition of a commodity: a glass bottle, some faux rustic typography and a “grab whatever is on offer” mindset. Graza looked at that shelf and saw an opportunity to treat olive oil the way streetwear treats sneakers, right as food as status was exploding on TikTok. In just a few years, the brand has gone from DTC newcomer to one of the top national olive oil names, with its neon squeeze bottles showing up in chef kitchens, creator videos and Costco carts at the same time. The marketing strategy of Graza is a sharp case study in how to rebrand a pantry staple as an accessible flex.

• Graza's strategy combines fresh design, simple positioning and culture-led distribution instead of competing on origin stories alone.
  
• Graza marketing shows how to ride the food as status wave without losing everyday usability or being written off as a gimmick.
  

At a Glance

Graza launched DTC in January 2022 and sold out on day one, thanks largely to an influencer heavy social rollout rather than traditional advertising. Marketing Brew reported that the brand then moved quickly into retail and, by mid-2025, Graza was stocked in over 11,000 stores and had become the fifth largest national olive oil brand in the United States, representing roughly a quarter of olive oil category growth that year. (Inc.) (Food Network)

• Graza's success is built on single origin Spanish oil, distinctive squeeze packaging and a playful identity that cuts through the aisle. (Gambero Rosso)
• Graza marketing strategy moved from DTC and influencer seeding into omnichannel distribution at Whole Foods, Target, Costco and Walmart without losing its “cool pantry” image. (Drivepoint)
  

Food As Status: The Cultural Wave Graza Rode

Before Graza, olive oil was rarely a talking point; now it is part of the wider food as status trend where people use tinned fish, chilli crisp and designer pantry staples as signals of taste. Food and Wine notes that pantry items like premium olive oil, fish and condiments have become “accessible luxury” for millennials and Gen Z, who show off grocery flexes online as much as outfits. Food & Wine Waitrose and other retailers have also reported that chic-looking pantry goods are new middle-class status symbols, especially in the Instagram era. (The Guardian)

• Graza marketing leans into food as status by making the bottle something you leave on the counter, not hiding in a cupboard.
  
• Graza strategy positions the brand as an “everyday flex” that still feels attainable, rather than a distant luxury olive oil only chefs would know.
  

Packaging And Aesthetics: The Squeeze Bottle As Signal

Graza’s most visible move is the opaque green squeeze bottle, a shape closer to diner ketchup than old-world olive oil. Founder Andrew Benin has said he wanted “olive oil that lives on the stove” and saw squeezability as both a functional improvement and a visual disruption in a sea of glass. (Taste) Shopify’s brand case study describes Graza branding as “unfussy, bold and friendly,” using cartoon olives and big type to remove intimidation from olive oil while making the product instantly recognisable online and on shelf. (Shopify)

• The bottle format supports Graza marketing around use cases, since Sizzle and Drizzle can literally be squeezed where you need them during cooking.
  
• Visually loud but simple packaging turns Graza into a design object that fits the food as status aesthetic and invites photography and UGC.
  

Naming And Positioning: Sizzle, Drizzle, Frizzle

Instead of region and acidity percentages, Graza strategy uses behaviour-based names. Sizzle is for cooking, Drizzle is for finishing, and Frizzle, introduced in 2025, is a high-heat blend designed for frying and crisping. Forbes points out that this removes a lot of confusion in the category and lets Graza talk about “how you use it” rather than technical specs. (Forbes) Food and Wine notes that Frizzle even repurposes byproduct oil from Sizzle and Drizzle, making the line more resource-efficient as it grows. Food & Wine

• Clear names and usage cues make it easy for mainstream shoppers to upgrade from generic olive oil without research.
  
• This straightforward positioning is a quiet part of Graza's success because it aligns packaging, copy and real kitchen behaviour.
  

Influencer First Launch: DMs Instead Of TV Spots

Graza's marketing strategy at launch was almost entirely social and influencer-driven. Marketing Brew reports that ahead of the January 2022 debut, marketer Kate Dickieson DM’d dozens of food creators with quirky one-liners and no paid contract, simply offering samples and letting them decide whether to post. (Marketing Brew) According to that same piece and later breakdowns, the approach worked: Graza sold out quickly and began appearing organically in recipe videos and pantry tours without heavy ad spend.

• Graza's strategy treated creators as partners and early adopters rather than just paid media, which built credible buzz and early trust.
  
• The squeeze bottle and playful names made Graza a natural fit for TikTok and Instagram cooking content, accelerating Graza's success in a way traditional ads likely could not.
  

Culture, Content And Community As Amplifiers

Once the initial buzz hit, Graza marketing leaned into culture and community rather than rushing straight into big-budget campaigns. An analysis of Graza's marketing strategy describes how the brand built a “beloved” status through content that highlighted user recipes, restaurant collabs and humour about its own hype, instead of only polished product shots. (Informatechtarget) On its own blog, Graza even pokes fun at itself, responding to a comment that “you are just an olive oil company” by reframing that as “an olive oil company that makes people smile.” (Graza)

• This tone of voice keeps Graza marketing from feeling too precious and helps defuse critique around food as status branding.
  
• UGC reposts, chef partnerships and drops like limited Graza potato chips give fans ongoing reasons to talk about the brand. Food & Wine
  

Omnichannel Expansion: From DTC To Costco Without Losing Edge

After the DTC sell out, Graza's strategy focused on disciplined omnichannel expansion rather than “everywhere now.” Drivepoint explains that Graza picked retail partners like Whole Foods, Target and Walmart carefully, assessing each for brand fit and velocity, and used data to pace expansion. (Drivepoint) By 2025, Inc. reports that Graza was available in over 11,000 retailers, including Costco, and had become the fifth largest national olive oil brand by Nielsen data while still running a strong DTC and subscription business. (Inc.)

• Consistent packaging and story across channels helped Graza feel like “the same brand” whether you meet it on TikTok, at Whole Foods or in a Costco aisle.
  
• Smart sequencing of accounts is a big part of Graza's success because it preserved scarcity and excitement during rapid growth.
  

New Formats: Glass Bottles And High-Heat Oil As Brand Signals

In 2025, Graza launched glass bottle versions of Sizzle and Drizzle alongside its iconic squeeze bottles, a move Food Network and Yahoo Finance both noted was aimed at addressing sustainability and microplastic concerns without abandoning the brand’s core identity. (Food Network) The brand also expanded Frizzle into different formats such as spray bottles and large jugs, reinforcing its role in high-heat cooking and professional kitchens. Food & Wine

• These moves show Graza's strategy using line extensions to deepen its position in the kitchen rather than to chase random categories.
  
• Product updates anchored in function and sustainability support Graza marketing messages around quality and modernity, which matter in the food as status conversation.
  

Post Rollout Success

Graza's success did not come from inventing olive oil or shouting the loudest about provenance. It came from recognising that food as status had turned the pantry into a stage and then designing every part of the brand to look, feel and behave as it belonged in that spotlight. The squeeze bottle, the behaviour-based naming, the influencer first rollout and the careful retail ramp up are all pieces of a coherent Graza marketing strategy that treats a commodity like a cultural object without losing sight of everyday cooking. For any marketer looking at a sleepy category and wondering if it can be revived, Graza is proof that the answer is yes, if you are willing to be specific, playful and consistent.

FAQ

What is the core Graza marketing strategy?

The core Graza marketing strategy is to make high-quality, single-origin olive oil feel fun and everyday through squeeze bottle packaging, simple use-based naming and a creator-first social presence that spreads the brand through real cooking content rather than traditional ads.

How does food as status factor into Graza's success?

Food as status is central to Graza's success because the brand understands that customers now use pantry items to signal taste, so it designs bottles and campaigns that people want to display and share while keeping the product accessible and practical.

Why is Graza’s squeeze bottle so important for the brand?

The squeeze bottle is both a functional upgrade and a visual signature, making Graza easy to use on the stove and easy to recognise on social media or in stores, which supports both Graza's strategy and Graza's marketing.

How big is Graza now in the olive oil market?

As of late 2025, reports based on Nielsen data state that Graza is the fifth-largest national olive oil brand in the United States and accounts for a significant share of category growth, which is remarkable given it launched in 2022.

What can other brands learn from Graza's strategy?

Other brands can learn to pick one or two strong differentiators, like packaging and tone, align them with cultural shifts, such as food as status and then scale distribution carefully so that early buzz turns into sustained success.