The cook and creator behind DRZZL discusses why simplicity, stand-out design and a community-first approach are central to the young brand’s grocery ambitions.

Just three months after launching olive oil brand DRZZL, cook and creator Natalia Rudin has secured a listing across Whole Foods Market stores. A milestone she describes as difficult to take in.

“Honestly, I can’t even put it into words. It’s just been such a roller coaster of emotions. It’s amazing. I’m so thrilled,” shares Rudin.

As a long-time Whole Foods Market shopper, she calls it her “mecca” and praises its track record of giving shelf space to smaller businesses. “To be able to slot in there is a huge compliment already in itself,” she notes.

Taking DRZZL beyond DTC

Rudin built an audience of more than 1.5 million people cooking from her own kitchen

DRZZL began with a direct-to-consumer model, supported by the sizeable online community Rudin had already built around accessible cooking.

But the ambition soon widened as she wanted the brand to become a recognisable presence in the olive oil category, both online and on grocery shelves.

She shares: “We originally were like: ‘We’re going to soft launch and do DTC and see how well that goes’. Then it became more apparent that we wanted to take up as much space as we could and really be that olive oil that’s recognised in the category. Whole Foods is sort of the beginning of that.”

Rudin is candid about entering a new industry: “This is my first time doing anything like this. I’m very much just learning as I go.”

She adds that founders across the independent consumer-goods sector have been notably open with advice, helping her navigate the shift from chef and content creator to grocery entrepreneur.

Making olive oil easier to understand

The proposition is intentionally uncomplicated. DRZZL offers two products: Kitchen, for cooking, and Table, for dressing and finishing. Rudin says the distinction is designed to cut through the questions shoppers often face in the olive oil aisle. This includes provenance and blends; smoke points; and whether premium extra virgin oil should be heated.

She explains: “We wanted to keep it super simple. Your Table is for dressing, and it’s kind of to be used like a condiment. Then Kitchen is for cooking. It’s just about simplifying the decision-making process for the audience.”

Rudin argues that shoppers can spend more intelligently when they understand which oil to use for which job. “In this economy, we want to be saving our pennies where we can,” she says. “If you’re cooking every day with this super, super high-quality oil, you’re wasting your money because you’re not getting the benefits that you want to be getting from it.”

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Designed to disrupt the shelf

DRZZL created two extra virgin olive oils around two distinct jobs: Kitchen for cooking, Table for dressing.

DRZZL’s brightly branded squeeze bottles are as central to the proposition as the two-product system.

Rudin had long decanted oil into squeeze bottles while working as a chef. Squeeze bottles offer more control, are quick to use and do not shatter if dropped.

She adds: “The squeezy format was really important to me because that’s what I’ve always used. It’s what’s made my cooking feel easier and more quick and achievable, which is essentially what my recipes do for my audience.”

Where much of the category leans into provenance, harvest imagery and elegance, DRZZL is deliberately taking a more disruptive route.

“There’s so much space for reimagined design where it appeals to a different market,” Rudin says.

“You want it to be something that people are proud to have on their side, that they’re not putting in a cupboard or hiding away.”

Listening, learning and taking up space

Rudin can’t share future launches just yet. But she does stress that DRZZL’s immediate priority is to build awareness, learn from its earliest customers and establish itself as an everyday kitchen staple. The name itself captures that ambition.

“When we chose it, I really wanted the product to be something that people would say, ‘Oh, can you pass the DRZZL?’ rather than, ‘Can you pass the olive oil?’.

“It’s becoming that sort of extended hand in the kitchen and being something that everyone uses.”

Customer feedback will shape what comes next. “As a business, you really have to listen to your customer in order to grow,” Rudin says.

“We’re at a very early stage of the business, so now we are really, really monitoring what our audience wants and how they’re using it.”

Therefore the Whole Foods Market listing is both validation and a launchpad. “The biggest goal at the moment is just to make a huge splash and really take up space,” she notes.

“The goal is to be the olive oil that everyone uses, that everyone leans towards.”