Written by: Chloe Redmond, Executive Contributor
Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise.
The story of Global Gardens begins in 1998 when Theodora Stephan, affectionately known as Theo, founded the company with a vision to bring worldly flavors to California. She was a trailblazer in the region, being the first to plant olives for extra virgin olive oil in Santa Barbara county in 1996. Two years later, in 1998, the company celebrated its first harvest, marking the beginning of a remarkable journey.
In 2003, Global Gardens reached a significant milestone with the opening of their first retail tasting counter at Buttonwood Farm Winery. The photo captured during this time reflects the excitement and joy of the team as they embarked on this new chapter.
The success of Global Gardens is not only attributed to Theo but also her two Nepalese daughters, Anita and Sunita. From a young age, they played an integral role in the business, diligently placing stickers on bottles while enjoying Saturday morning cartoons.
In 2006, Global Gardens expanded further by opening its first standalone bricks-and-mortar store in Los Olivos, CA. However, as the town became a popular destination for wine tasting rooms and rents soared, it was time for a reinvention. Though the family property in Los Olivos was not initially ready for customers, it was zoned as a legitimate location for a Farm Stand. Taking advantage of this, Theo rented a "temporary" café space in Los Alamos and created the Caliterranean Café. The café focused on serving made-to-order, delicious, organic plates of in-season recipes using locally sourced ingredients. It quickly became a favorite among European tourists and provided a fun and flavorful working environment for Anita, Sunita, and their friends.
During this time, a major renovation took place on the Los Olivos property. In 2014, after eight years of hard work and dedication, the Global Gardens Farm Stand finally opened its doors to great success. The farm stand quickly became renowned for its award-winning Extra Virgin Olive Oil, which solidified Global Gardens' reputation as the most awarded in southern California. Their product line expanded to include over 40 food products, including hand-crafted vinegars, spice blends, organic snacks, mustards, and sauces, all made with cherished family recipes. Additionally, Global Gardens collaborated with a local aesthetician to create their signature Health & Beauty products, which became highly sought after and always in high demand. To cater to their customers' needs, a full range of customized gift options was also made available.
As the business continued to grow, Global Gardens faced challenges with limited parking and production space in Los Olivos. To address these issues, they made the decision to open a new Tasting and Provisions Store in Santa Ynez, CA. This move allowed them to better serve their customers and expand their offerings.
Looking ahead, Global Gardens has exciting plans for their 25th anniversary this fall. They are preparing to make big announcements and celebrate this significant milestone with their loyal customers. Additionally, new club memberships and food product offerings are set to launch in 2024, promising even more delightful experiences for all who appreciate the flavors and quality that Global Gardens brings to the world.
Chloe Redmond of Vino Vaquera Consulting had the opportunity to sit down with Theo Stephan for an exclusive deep dive into her business and offerings.
Hello Theo! It’s a true honor to share the Global Garden’s story with the publication! Would you please formally introduce yourself to our audience?
Thank you for this opportunity, Chloe! I started my first business selling garden seeds door to door when I was eight years old. Fast forward to being 63 years young. I am celebrating my 25th year as Santa Barbara County‘s first extra-virgin, olive oil, producer! I love teaching people about my food products, public speaking and representing the fact that delicious healthy food doesn’t have to taste like cardboard.
Tell us about the early years of Theo Stephan the entrepreneur. How did Global Gardens come to fruition?
Well, we don’t really have enough space here! To make a long story short, I was born excited about business. After selling American seeds, door to door for a couple of years, I started a jewelry making business when I was 10. My 12th year brought me into an awareness of ecology (Earth Day was ironically, founded in Santa Barbara that year). I was still in Ohio at the time and started a recycling business with the help of my father, who drove me to the recycling center every Saturday I collected newspapers and soda bottles. I did that simultaneously while accepting a position with a local judge’s wife as her “home assistant”~a gloried term for furniture and silver polisher, server at her parties, etc. Her name was Grace and she gave me my foundation in foodiness. I became a graphic designer and in 1983 founded a design firm. Acquiring a huge account with Universal Studios in 1994 moved me to California. Running out of gas literally turning into Los Olivos, thumbing through Ranchland Magazine and a phone call to a Santa Ynez realtor changed my life. I founded Global Gardens in 1998, sold the design firm in 2001. I am still the voice of our brand, and also create the packaging for everything (including the formulas for what’s inside.)
We hear that there is a deep level of family and community connection that goes into your brand and messaging. Can you take us on a bit of a journey into the creative process? Who and what inspires you?
It’s funny, these questions keep playing off of each other perhaps by your design Chloe! My parents were from Greece and my grandmother lived with us, sharing Mediterranean lifestyle eats constantly. We either hosted a party, or went to a party within the Greek community of my hometown, Dayton, Ohio every weekend. This is where I learned to love, entertaining and the camaraderie great food rewards us with: fun, conversation and soulful sharing. My love for traveling the world, being introduced to different cultures, including my adopted daughters from Nepal encouraged my taste buds to develop a company, inspiring worldly flavors… Thus Global Gardens!
It’s no secret that Global Gardens has become a Santa Barbara County destination got spot. What do you feel is the ultimate takeaway from the client experience at your current storefront location in Santa Ynez, California?
When people come in to our store, they always remark about how good it smells, and feels… Without doubt, we love what we do and it shows and how we brand and share tastings at our provisions store. The entire Global Gardens team embraces the philosophy of educating our customers about what we do, flavor profiles and the joy that comes with eating deliciously and healthfully.
We have to highlight the olive oil tasting experience. When we talk about a true sensory explosion, this checks every box. Will you walk us through this unique offering?
Oh, nobody ever asked me this question, so thank you! We have created an original Tasting experience based on my training as an olive oil, sommelier (I am one of less than 300 in the world), the tasting takes you from the most mild to the most robust of olive oil‘s, and then, into our infused all of oils, basil, lemon, and blood orange. we serve the tasting in a literal tasting palette created with me by a Global Gardens club customer who owns a food grade plastic injection molding company! 12 oils are featured in the tasting “wheel” along with Tasting Notes we provide per varietal. Considering freshness, mid tones, scale of robustness, and terroir, are all discussed and taught in the tasting. People leave Global Gardens as quasi experts themselves, especially if they join one of our olive oil, clubs!
This year marks Global Garden’s 25th anniversary in the biz! Can you share touch on a career highlight or a pivotal moment in GG history that helped to pave the way to this incredible bench mark?
Honestly, Chloe for me, it was Covid… I will never forget that day in mid March when we put everything on our farm-stand shelves into storage and been tearful farewells to each other. I went into my home, and the next few months reinvented the business, creating a strong foundation for mail order on which I had never focused, one of my goals is to be a lot more prolific and communicative in this next year via social media and better outreach to our mail order customers. Well, my staff was not on site I personally wrapped and packed each package, and was overwhelmed by the demonstrative love of our regional and national customers to whom I offered free shipping prior to that I would get up and work every day as hard as I could, and fall into bed at night, literally seven days a week without really stopping to reflect about what I was doing or how important my business was to me, my family and customers. The time working alone allowed my reflection and ability to see what I do best, encouraging me to make damn certain the business would grow and succeed. It’s been three years since then and I am still implementing changes I learned during that time.
How can the public join in on the 25th Anniversary celebration this year?
Truly, the best way is by joining one of our olive oil clubs. Anyone joining during the month of November will allow us to donate $10 to the Santa Barbara Food Bank so we can give back to the community we love so much. We would not be here without our local customers and this is a way for us to grow our family business as we pay it forward. We are generous with club member discounts and perks, and it is definitely a gift that keeps on giving, even though that’s a cliché it’s true!
With the holiday season just around the corner, we think that a Global Garden’s Olive Oil Club is the perfect gift for a loved one. Can you share some of the perks that the good enthusiast may enjoy as a ‘GG Clubbie’.
There you go again! Maybe I should’ve known all these questions before I began the interview, but I love how everything is tagging into each other so thanks again. Every club customer, no matter which club is joined, receives a 20% discount throughout the lifetime of their membership, 25% in November and December, a $25 gift certificate for any gift memberships they share with friends, family or customers, invitations to Clubbie-only events and discounts to foodie tours and classes like a week’s stay at Rancho La Puerta where I teach Mediterranean Diet cooking classes and a Clubbie-only food and wine tour of Crete slated for next year.
Ok, we are going to switch gears just for a moment to get an expert opinion on one of this year's TikTok trends- the olive oil shot. Are there health beifits to participating in the craze? Does this mean our skin might look like yours if we swop out the AM coffee for EVOO? Spill the tea please!
Haha. Well, I’m not one who is big on trends but I do admit, I have used olive oil on my skin since I was a young girl. As far as shots of olive oil, I’d rather use olive oil in my daily meals (even if it’s just a couple of spoons used to make eggs for breakfast, pour over greens in a quick lunch wrap or baking brownies for dessert!). I leave shots to enjoying my favorite mezcal! But seriously, if one really wants to learn about the differences between varietal fresh extra virgins, be prepared for your throat to tickle like crazy, some coughing and perhaps a sneeze or two. Any “real“ extra-virgin olive oil, will finish with a peppery essence that will cause one of the aforementioned symptoms. If your olive oil isn’t fresh, you won’t have any of these symptoms, so I’m concerned about seeing so many people do shots of olive oil when they don’t have a reaction…it means they’re not shooting the good stuff! Haha.
Thank you for sharing! As our interview comes to a close, please share with the audience what lies ahead for Global Gardens! How can the public best support your company and its delicious offerings?
Thank you, Chloe. I very much appreciate this time together. I do hope to draw a larger foodie audience via our social media platforms but also and create a “Theo’s boots on the ground” continuum of education, recipe – sharing, food journalism writing and creating food forums. forums. My goal is to get myself out there, teaching more, making public presentations for conventions, groups large and small, all over the country and even the world. After all, Global Gardens has exceeded my expectations in longevity and flavor profiles…I want to share them with a global audience! We all eat so I want to be a foodie guru who teaches deliciousness and healthfulness to all ages, for all ages to come!
Contact Theo for more information on Global Gardens, including public appearances, tastings for your business, off-site cooking classes, and presentations on flavorful wellness eating. Additionally, Theo is proud to be one of fewer than 300 Olive Oil Sommeliers in the world, showcasing her expertise and passion for olive oil. To visit the full Global Gardens website, please visit here.
Read more from Chloe!
Chloe Redmond, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine
Chloe Redmond is a leader in digital marketing, influencer partnerships, and social media management. A chance opportunity to work with Chopra Global (Deepak Chopra’s legacy company) in 2020 that left her with the understanding of how mindfulness and marketing can co-exist. She is dedicated in helping entrepreneurs reach their pure potentiality through intentional and intuitive marketing practices. Her mission: to teach others how to put their authentic self into play what targeting their niche and discovering creative partnerships.
