The Pizza Oil Product That Has Created Quite The Controversy

There are a few things to unpack in this delicious pizza-news. First, consumers really do love products that combine different ingredients and put it in one convenient, easy-to-use packet or bottle. Think taco sauce, Chinese five spice, garam masala, and now, Pizza Oil from Brightland. It features ingredients you would often associate with pizza, such as garlic, oregano, and basil, infused in cold-pressed olive oil from California. Brightland prides itself on being "farm-to-customer," and at $32 for a 12-ounce bottle, its new oil is a top-shelf ingredient that may appeal to a subset of pizza aficionados.

Second, the pizza oil controversy is not about the ingredients or retail price. It is about the packaging. Brightland's other products, including olive oils like the ones that were on Oprah's 2022 favorite things list, come in beautifully designed glass bottles with a clean look. The bottle is modern enough to double as a vase, which is exactly what Brightland suggests you do with it once it's empty.

But the Pizza Oil comes in a squeeze bottle with a rustic checkered tablecloth-inspired print. It divided fans and angered a competitor enough to air his frustration on social media.

It might be helpful to understand the controversy's players. First we have Brightland, which entered the artisan olive oil industry in 2018 and is led by CEO Aishwarya Iyer. Then there's Graza, which launched in 2022 and is led by CEO Andrew Benin. Graza's product is Spanish olive oil that comes in a signature green plastic squeeze bottle. So when Brightland launched its Pizza Oil in squeeze bottles, Benin took to LinkedIn to angrily call out Iyer for creating what he deemed a "copycat" product, stating that he saw it "as a blatant disrespect." He has since apologized, but the post is still up.

This sparked intense and bemused discussions since squeeze bottles are already widely used in the food industry, even if they are not typically filled with olive oil. This may also be a case of chickens coming home to roost because when Graza first launched its range of olive oils, reviews noted that the container's narrow tip "looks like it was stolen from a bottle of sriracha."

Throughout this, Aishwarya Iyer and Brightland have not made any comments or statements. It is unclear why Brightland departed from its signature design and used squeeze bottles for its Pizza Oil.

However, a CNN review of the company's ceramic bottles of olive oil hints at a plausible explanation: The bottle's wide mouth makes it difficult to drizzle the oil. Instead, the pour came out fast and trickled down the side of the bottle. Some customers solved this by attaching a pour bottle spout, which made it more similar to a standard olive oil bottle.

It's possible there was a rethink of the bottle design but rather than revert to a standard olive oil bottle, Brightland went down the squeeze bottle route, much to Graza's — or, more specifically, Andrew Benin's — chagrin. If Graza patented its design, it may have some legal recourse while also starting a case study on who gets to patent squeeze bottles. If not, the company may need to back up its claim that its oils comes in proprietary, chef-inspired bottles.