u/BossMatereddit999

Hey everyone,

I’m looking for some advice from people who have experience with e-commerce, dropshipping, food products, or online distribution.

I’m from Montenegro and I currently own around 150+ olive trees. The trees are mine and I have access to the production of the olive oil as well.

The problem is that the local market is pretty small. Most of the demand here comes from tourists during the summer season, but even then, there’s only so much I can realistically sell locally.

This got me thinking about whether I could turn the olive oil into a small international business instead.

I’m not really interested in competing with supermarket olive oil on price. I’m thinking more along the lines of a *small-batch, premium product*, with the story and origin being part of the value — something like olive oil produced from a small family-owned olive farm in Montenegro, with proper quality testing, harvest information, etc.

I’m still figuring out the best business model, though.

One idea I had was to work as a \*\*supplier/producer\*\* and find people who already have experience with e-commerce and could sell the product in their market.

For example:

Me → wholesale/distribution partner → customer

The partner could handle the webshop, marketing and customers, while I would handle the production, bottling, packaging and supplying the product.

Another possibility would be a dropshipping-style model, where someone has their own online store and I fulfill the orders directly to their customers. However, I’m not sure if that makes sense for a product like olive oil, especially considering international shipping, food regulations, customs, etc.

I’ve also thought about potentially doing \*\*private label\*\*, where an existing online food/gourmet brand could sell olive oil under their own brand and I would be the producer/supplier.

I’m basically trying to figure out which of these models makes the most sense.

A few questions I’d really appreciate some input on:

\- Is selling olive oil internationally through e-commerce realistically viable?
\- Would you approach this as dropshipping, wholesale, distribution, or private label?
\- How difficult is it to deal with international shipping and food regulations?
\- Would you focus on finding individual online retailers, restaurants, specialty food stores, or distributors?
\- What would make you interested in buying olive oil from a small producer rather than an established brand?
\- Does the fact that the product is from Montenegro and comes from a small olive farm have enough value to build a premium brand around?
\- What would be the best way to find potential partners who already have an audience or an online store?

I’m not looking to immediately build a huge business. I’d be happy to start small, test the market with a limited amount of product, and see if there’s actual demand before investing heavily.

And if anyone here already runs an online food/gourmet store, has experience with olive oil, or thinks they could potentially be a good distribution/e-commerce partner, \*\*feel free to DM me.\*\*

I’d also genuinely appreciate any criticism or advice from people who have tried something similar.

Thanks!

Hey everyone,

I’m looking for some advice from people who have experience with e-commerce, dropshipping, food products, or online distribution.

I’m from Montenegro and I currently own around 150+ olive trees. The trees are mine and I have access to the production of the olive oil as well.

The problem is that the local market is pretty small. Most of the demand here comes from tourists during the summer season, but even then, there’s only so much I can realistically sell locally.

This got me thinking about whether I could turn the olive oil into a small international business instead.

I’m not really interested in competing with supermarket olive oil on price. I’m thinking more along the lines of a small-batch, premium product, with the story and origin being part of the value — something like olive oil produced from a small family-owned olive farm in Montenegro, with proper quality testing, harvest information, etc.

I’m still figuring out the best business model, though.

One idea I had was to work as a **supplier/producer** and find people who already have experience with e-commerce and could sell the product in their market.

For example:

Me → wholesale/distribution partner → customer

The partner could handle the webshop, marketing and customers, while I would handle the production, bottling, packaging and supplying the product.

Another possibility would be a dropshipping-style model, where someone has their own online store and I fulfill the orders directly to their customers. However, I’m not sure if that makes sense for a product like olive oil, especially considering international shipping, food regulations, customs, etc.

I’ve also thought about potentially doing **private label**, where an existing online food/gourmet brand could sell olive oil under their own brand and I would be the producer/supplier.

I’m basically trying to figure out which of these models makes the most sense.

A few questions I’d really appreciate some input on:

- Is selling olive oil internationally through e-commerce realistically viable?
- Would you approach this as dropshipping, wholesale, distribution, or private label?
- How difficult is it to deal with international shipping and food regulations?
- Would you focus on finding individual online retailers, restaurants, specialty food stores, or distributors?
- What would make you interested in buying olive oil from a small producer rather than an established brand?
- Does the fact that the product is from Montenegro and comes from a small olive farm have enough value to build a premium brand around?
- What would be the best way to find potential partners who already have an audience or an online store?

I’m not looking to immediately build a huge business. I’d be happy to start small, test the market with a limited amount of product, and see if there’s actual demand before investing heavily.

And if anyone here already runs an online food/gourmet store, has experience with olive oil, or thinks they could potentially be a good distribution/e-commerce partner, **feel free to DM me.**

I’d also genuinely appreciate any criticism or advice from people who have tried something similar.

Thanks!