Today on the show we welcome Skyler Mapes, a native of Oakland, California. Skyler is the co-founder of EXAU Olive Oil, which she founded in 2017 alongside her husband, Giuseppe. Prior to starting out in the olive oil business, Skyler worked in both the design and wine industries. She became interested in olive oil after meeting Giuseppe and learning about olive trees. In 2017 she made the move to Calabria in Italy to learn all she could about the olive oil industry where she harvested, pressed, and bottled EXAU olive oil, designed the packaging, and exported it to the US to sell directly to their customers. EXAU has been recognized for producing one of the world’s best olive oils, and recently started an olive oil membership. Skyler is dedicated to educating the public about high quality olive oil and the fair representation for women of color in the industry. To this day, she's never met another black female olive oil producer. During our conversation we also discuss our connection to our food, being a woman in the olive oil industry in the US versus in Italy, and what it’s really like to work with a significant other. For all this and some advice from Skyler for women looking to get into a difficult industry, don’t miss out on this episode!
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