10 Domande Con Laura Pugliano of Ciccio's Olives

1) Tell us about yourself!

I'm a third generation Italian American, who absolutely fell in love with Italy after a family trip when I was 16. Determined to learn the language and return to Italia, I studied the Italian language for years and studied abroad in Perugia. I ended up marrying a Southern Italian man (who I met in the States!), got married in his hometown in Calabria, and started an olive oil company with him where we import his family's extra virgin olive oil to the USA. We have three little ones and spend time in Italy and the USA.

2) How did Ciccio's Olives come about and what products do you offer? 

After we got married in Italy, we had a reception in the States for friends and family who could not make the trip. We gifted them with my in-laws' extra virgin olive oil that we brought over in a suitcase from Calabria, as that was something personal to us that we wanted to share with others. It was a hit! People went crazy over it, and after years of thinking and praying about if we could actually launch a company of bottling and importing the Pugliano family's EVOO, we realized that we had all the pieces we needed to put together to make it a reality. We imported our first shipment in 2019 and sold our first bottle in 2020. Along with our EVOO, we sell other Italian imported olive wood items, pottery, and handloomed textiles, and utilize the EVOO stateside to create bath & body items, candles, chocolates, and more. With our first store, we now offer hands-on food classes and tastings, as well as launching tours to Calabria to visit our farm and underdiscovered gems of Southern Italy.

3) What does La Dolce Vita mean to you? Recognizing the beauty in the simple things that matter the most, slowing down and simplifying life, and spending time in nature, sun, and sea.

4) Favorite Italian dish to cook? Spaghetti al sugo semplice like a good Italian Italian, penne alla vodka like a good Italian American :)

5) As a working mom, how do you create balance? It's so hard to create balance as a working mother when you're also building a business that you love and believe in. I strive to be present to my kids in the best way possible, and am constantly reevaluating how I can best manage time and attention between family, home, and business. I'm a work in progress; I just do my best at being productive and utilizing dedicated time for business needs, being okay with what has to wait until another day, and holding dear the precious time with my little ones that I'll one day wish I had back.

6) Favorite place or town in Italy? That's a hard question! I fell in love with Southern Italy as an adult, left some of my heart in Perugia as a student, and I love Parma, all the Tuscan towns, and the Amalfi Coast. 

7) Go-to gelato flavor. Amarena & Kinder Bueno

8) Favorite Italian saying? "Anni, amori, e bicchieri di vino non si contano mai."

9) Tell us how olive oil can transform your life.

Real olive oil is magical! Unfortunately, it's the most adulterated product in the world. Once you taste the authentic stuff, there's no going back. It's an incredibly clean food that has not only been used for centuries for consumption, topically for beautiful and nourished skin, and as a commodity holding value, but is also being studied as a nutraceutical for its amazing health benefits.

10) Advice for other women pursuing their passions? 

Don’t wait for things to be perfect to chase your dreams. If the desire is on your heart and you believe it’s what you’re called to do, go and do it! Set the world on fire.