We have some good news and we have some bad news. The bad news: Today is our last AAPI HERitage Month feature. The good news: It’s with Aishwarya Iyer, an olive oil connoisseur and overall amazing person. Keep reading to learn more about her delish products, and a special recipe from Aishwarya herself.

You’re oil we need! 🫒 That’s what Aishwarya Iyer (she/her), founder and CEO of Brightland, says to her collection of EEVO, anyway. When she and her husband started to get into cooking, they didn’t have a show-stopping experience. They realized that was because they were using subpar olive oils—and yes, there are both bad and good quality products. Luckily, with the creation of her brand, she ensures we can get the good stuff.

“My personal experience inspired the idea for Brightland, which was born out of a desire for time-honored food production—and a deep belief in the land and what it provides,” Aishwarya says, “My ancestors were salt farmers in South India; the land provided for them, and in turn they provided salt for people in the South. I believe in sun, soil, and our standards—and the beautiful olives, grapes, and fruit they yield, which in turn create the beautiful, wholesome, and delicious Brightland products.”
 

What makes your products different? Why is it important for olive oil and vinegar to be high quality?
We carefully source all of our pantry essentials from family-run farms, primarily in the central coast and valley of California. Each new product we release is intentionally considered and made with only the highest quality ingredients. Our olive oils are fresh (our current harvest is less than a year old from November of ‘22) and extracted within minutes of being harvested to ensure the best flavor possible. Our fruit-forward vinegars are also made on nutrient-dense, family-run farms and without any additives or preservatives. We are committed to bringing the freshest, most wholesome and delicious products to home cooks across the country.

You have a lot of different olive oils. What are the differences?
All of our oils are unique and can be used in a variety of ways! While we provide our customers with recommendations and different recipes that highlight each product, we encourage you to spend some time exploring what works best for you and your taste buds. We have two hero olive oils that our brand was founded on—AWAKE and ALIVE. AWAKE (associate ED Reina’s fave) is perfect for soul-warming, hearty meals such as soups, pastas, stews, and braised meats or veggies. ALIVE is bright and grassy, making it perfect for a salad dressing or marinade, or even for sautéing greens like kale or spinach. We also have a collection of infused olive oils: ARDOR (chili olive oil), ROSETTE (garlic olive oil), AURORA (rosemary olive oil), ARISE (basil olive oil), and LUCID (lemon olive oil). Use them in their natural state to ensure a bright and zingy flavor, or use them to cook with for a more complex flavor.

What’s a recipe you like to make?
We just released our first-ever Pizza Oil and have been indulging in all of the cheesy goodness of pizza since! I might be biased, but I believe that we’ve perfected a margherita pizza that serves as the perfect vessel for our new drizzling oil.