We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Lindsay DiDonna a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Lindsay, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. We’d love to go back in time and hear the story of how you came up with the name of your brand?

I had been making charcuterie boards for over ten years and served them at every Sunday dinner I hosted each week. As I thought of transitioning my hobby into something more official, I knew I needed a name that would catch attention and make a long lasting impression. It didn’t take long for me to come up with something that I knew was the perfect fit.

I’ve always loved the elements that make up a charcuterie board, all except one thing…the olives!

Funny enough, when I was thinking of branding, I knew that I loved the color of the Castelvetrano olive because they have such a striking green color and I felt that you couldn’t truly have a well-rounded board without olives…this is where it clicked… olive needed to be in the name, branding was castelvetrano green and they’re “ornery” because they’re so stubborn and follow me everywhere!

Hello, Ornery Olive Charcuterie Co.!

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers

I’ve always loved to cook and entertain. My house has been a staple for Sunday dinner, celebrations, evenings on the patio and the place you come to when you want to relax, enjoy good company, conversation and food.

Growing up, I never thought that I’d be in the food business. Only natural though, that I’d have something I could call my own, something that I control 100% and could build from the ground up. Both of my parents were business owners and always instilled in me that if I wanted something, I should put in the work to get it.

After years and years of working the corporate grind, constantly competing for the next level, I wasn’t fulfilled. Then came Ornery Olive. My love for making people feel good through food came to life and I’m now building something that I fully intend to leave to my kids when they’re older. Everything that I make for my clients is custom. I’ve enjoyed getting to share local flare, top-quality products from destinations like Italy and aesthetically paired items to make enjoying food a social dining experience they won’t forget.

How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?

I firmly believe that what’s helped me to build my reputation in my market is my constant dedication to delivering exactly what I promise, plus some, to my customers. The past three years, I’ve grown my clientele from scratch, seeing repeat customer after repeat customer. When I first started to identify this, I knew I was doing something right and I vowed to continue providing my customers with the freshest ingredients, items that they couldn’t just purchase at the market and beautiful creations they’d want to share with others and talk about for years to come. I remember who I serve and I pride myself on ensuring that I remember the details about them (what they like, don’t like, how willing they are to try new things, who they share my products with, etc.) It’s all about the details for me. The details and the quality of those details is what keeps people coming back.

Any advice for growing your clientele? What’s been most effective for you?

Word of mouth!

I spent the first year making board after board and hand-delivering to other businesses, introducing myself and offering my services. The only way for people to truly know what I was about, was for them to meet me face to face and try my products. This worked really well for me. I tracked who I delivered complimentary boards to and then tracked who of those people purchased boards from me at other times. I have seen steady, responsible growth since I started and I’m quite careful when I look at varying avenues to build business. It has to be a form that I’m passionate about and believe in. It has to be genuine and there has to be relationship building.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.OrneryOlive.com
• Instagram: OrneryOlive
• Facebook: OrneryOlive

Image Credits
Ornery Olive Charcuterie Co. owns all rights to these photos.