Developing a brand
from a family estate.

My father founded REBIAA in 2006 to produce and export extra virgin olive oil from our family estate in northwestern Tunisia.

When I joined its development, the business relied primarily on bulk sales to a longstanding customer. The product already had quality and recognition. My question was how the business could retain more of the value built on its work.

I defined REBIAA’s positioning and designed its aesthetic, visual, graphic and narrative identity, rolling it out across physical touchpoints, such as menus and signage, and digital touchpoints, such as the website and social media. I also developed new packaging and offers for restaurants, specialist retail and corporate gifting.

This also meant thinking through business organisation: management systems, production by plot, storage and bottling. This included decisions on acquiring and integrating a complete olive pressing and bottling production unit at the estate. Products and services also depend on the resources and organisation needed to deliver them.

The estate’s olive groves are rain-fed, without irrigation. This makes seasonality, water availability and long-term thinking central to development decisions.

For an early corporate gifting collection, I developed four variants featuring an unflavoured olive oil and three flavoured oils, presented in handmade boxes containing a 100 ml bottle.

Drawing on fragrance and spirits brands, I worked on the gifting experience, the object’s presence and the story of its origin.

That year, bulk olive oil sold for at most TND 30 per litre. In a handcrafted gift box sold for TND 150 with a 100 ml bottle, it became part of an offer priced at over TND 1,000 per litre of oil. The box design, gifting ritual and story of origin shifted its perception from a commodity to a luxury product.

Presold to a Tunisian bank with a 50% deposit, the order connected offer design, commercial validation and production financing.

Four variants. An order before production. A deposit to help fund delivery.

It taught me to consider the economics of the complete offer: the product, its use, its presentation and the resources required to deliver it.

For restaurants, we also developed an offer combining a three-litre Bag-in-Box with a refillable serving bottle.

This meant considering replenishment, table presentation, customisation and cost in use. The same oil could meet different needs through the way it was packaged and served.

Working with our artisan ice cream partners, I also designed olive oil ice cream. Culinary collaborations led to desserts and cocktails with and without alcohol, including the one shown at Dar El Marsa. These propositions give olive oil a role in different tasting experiences.

As the business developed, I connected creative direction with business organisation: management, production by plot, sourcing, storage, bottling and preparation for distribution.

I coordinated craftspeople and partners for solid wood gift boxes, packaging and olive oil derivatives, including candles, cosmetics, ice cream, desserts and cocktails. These experiences changed how I understood design: an offer must be made, delivered and produced again at the standard it promises.

I also explored a travel-inspired leather goods collection, starting with a leather bag prototype. Travellers, tourists and expatriates are among the end customers of the hotels, restaurants and cafés we serve.

REBIAA’s planned next stage is to build a closer presence in France, particularly in hospitality, restaurants and specialist retail. Tableware and hospitality experiences are longer-term directions I would like to explore.

What began as an entrepreneurial experience is something I now want to turn into a method.

REBIAA joined the 13th cohort of Lab’ess’s incubation programme. The support focused on entrepreneurial capabilities, business-model development and the project’s growth prospects.

The programme is supported by Greenov’i, funded by the European Union and implemented by Expertise France. International cooperation support we received contributed to investment in our production line and skills.

This experience informs my research into desire as infrastructure: a project needs to motivate people to buy, but also to contribute, collaborate and invest. Connecting ambition with concrete needs and a credible development path helps mobilise the resources required to deliver it.