A recipe made for a first date became the starting point for Mariana Carrizosa and Sebastian Jaramillo's food business. The married couple turned their homemade infused olive oil into Fiera Flavors. It is a brand they began developing while maintaining their existing careers.
Carrizosa and Jaramillo moved from Bogotá, Colombia to Austin, Texas. Where they had to rebuild the business for the US market. By December 2025, the brand had expanded to more than 40 stores and the couple aimed to double revenue this year
Last year, during an interview with Entrepreneur, the founders shared how the idea took shape, the mistakes that cost them money and the changes that helped the business grow.
How a First Date Inspired the Fiera Flavors Business
Neither Carrizosa nor Jaramillo had planned to launch a food brand. The idea began in 2020 when Jaramillo made an infused olive oil to make chili oil as part of an arrabbiata sauce recipe for their first date.
Carrizosa loved it and took some home. They continued trying it with different dishes and sharing it with friends and family until they saw an opportunity to turn it into a business.
You Might Also Like:
At the time, Carrizosa worked as a consultant at Bain & Company, while Jaramillo ran a software development firm that he continues to operate.
Their original brand in Colombia was called Bestial. After moving to the United States, they decided the name would not translate well to the new market and started again with Fiera Flavors. They sold their first bottle in the US in May 2025.
Homemade chilli oil brand (Photo: Fiera Flavors)
Costly Mistake That Taught the Couple to Start Small
Building a commercial food brand required more than a recipe. The couple had to validate the product and its production process for safety, obtain permits, register the business, handle trademarking and develop the branding.
You Might Also Like:
The work cost more than they expected. The founders told Entrepreneur they spent around $15,000 to $20,000 on food scientist consultations, legal permitting and branding.
Packaging had turned into a costly mistake. Jaramillo shared that, "At the beginning, we got overexcited and ordered 10,000 pre-labeled 16-ounce bottles from China. We quickly realized that 16-ounce bottles were way too big and had long repurchase cycles. We ended up paying for four months of warehousing for fifty boxes of bottles and eventually had to give them away because nobody wanted pre-labeled packaging."
The experience taught them to start with generic packaging from a local distributor and keep orders small until demand was established. Their current bottle holds five ounces and lasts their best customers about two weeks, while average customers use it over roughly a month.
Photo: Fiera Flavors
Automation Helped Fiera Flavors Get Into More Stores
Getting the product into stores initially meant hours of cold emails and manually written follow-ups for Carrizosa. Jaramillo eventually built a tool to automate the process, saving her at least three hours a day.
You Might Also Like:
The couple said their retail presence grew from about five stores to more than 40 within a couple of months after introducing the tool.
They used YouTube Premium to learn how to set up Shopify store and also automating day-to-day tasks. Jaramillo said, "You can genuinely teach yourself anything on YouTube these days with the amount of knowledge people share," as quoted by Entrepreneur.
Local networking events also helped their business, Jaramillo shared that, "And on the completely free side, going to local networking events in your area. You’d be surprised by the kindness of strangers and how much people want to help fellow entrepreneurs."
According to Jaramillo, the growth of the business "requires face-time, repetition and exposure to get people to try your product, love it and eventually repurchase. We did a lot of farmers’ markets, store demos, silly social media skits — anything to get the word out."
The Couple's Plan to Double Revenue in 2026
By December 2025, the couple said it had taken a few months for their US business to generate consistent monthly revenue. They planned to double revenue in 2026 and reach more than $15,000 in consistent monthly sales by the end of the year.
Carrizosa highlighted that the small wins made running their business rewarding, she told Entrepreneur, "The small victories. Getting into a new store. receiving a five-star review or a compliment about our branding. Those small things feel huge, and you usually get to experience them every day."
Her advice to other entrepreneurs was to focus on doing something well and getting it out into the world rather than waiting for everything to be perfect, as she said, “Lo perfecto es enemigo de lo bueno.”