Two-year-old Graza popularized the olive oil-filled squeeze bottles that appear in every food influencer's social videos. And those influencers are playing a key role in the brand's biggest product ever, going beyond squeezable bottles: refilling beer cans.
On May 9, Glaza launched beer cans filled with olive oil and sent the new product to about 300 creators, said Kendall Dickison, Glaza's head of social and influencer marketing. The goal was to show people a more sustainable way to refill cans and kitchen funnels into distinctive squeezable bottles.
Andrew Bennin, co-founder and CEO of Graza, said this shows how influencers have played a huge role in growing brands without much paid marketing. said. Glaza cut marketing spending from 12.5% of total revenue to 5% in February when olive oil prices soared. As of May, Glaza's marketing spending was still declining, Benin said.
“There's only so much you can do with your channel and your ads,” he says. “You need a community around you.”
Olive oil isn't the only consumer packaged product facing a marketing setback. Major consumer goods brands such as Procter & Gamble and Coca-Cola have cut marketing budgets due to rising costs over the past few years.
Glaza spent $306,000 on national advertising from May 2023 to April 2024, according to ad spending firm Media Radar. Native advertising accounted for 98% of the spend, with Target's retail media arm Roundel receiving 90% of the native spend. Graza's remaining budget was split between his TikTok and display ads.
“Agencies are begging us to spend more money, but we don't see any reason to do so,” Bennin said, citing the brand's organic growth.
According to Benin, Glaza had been planning to launch canned products for about 19 months, starting soon after the company launched in 2022. He said the decision to sell canned olive oil also serves as marketing for the company itself. For example, cans are sealed with nitrogen and crack like beer cans. It's also recyclable, which Graza uses to appeal to sustainability-minded consumers.
“It has all the engineering aspects that you wouldn't expect a consumer packaging company to innovate,” he said.
Graza relies on other brands to promote new products
Glaza is working with other canned products to popularize refills. His two-part monthly series called “Cracking Cans” introduces other canned products such as alcohol and graza. For example, videos on TikTok and Instagram show how to make onion rings using Pabst Blue Ribbon beer and Glaza's olive oil. Graza has also partnered with cannabis-infused beverage brand Cann.
Dickison estimates Graza has added about 2,000 new social followers since the can's launch. Most of the content educating people about how the cans work will continue through the summer.
Benin said the challenge in marketing cans is not overshadowing the squeezable bottle, which is the core of the brand.
“Our messaging, our advertising, our websites and the way we build them all need to be structured in a way that doesn't cannibalize our current business,” he said.
Benin said Glaza's sales are split between the company's direct-to-consumer website and retailers such as Whole Foods, Publix, Target, Harris Teeter and Walmart. To launch the cans, Graza created its first subscription-only product on its website. There, you can buy two bottles, two cans, and a funnel of easy-squeeze olive oil for $65.
While subscriptions are tough on brands, “we have plenty of data that people really love our subscriptions,” Bennin said. “After two and a half years of learning about him, we have gained the confidence to launch this starter kit.”
This article has been updated with ad spending details.
