Business & Tech
Howard County Home Chef's Olive Spread Goes National
"Mama Faith's" journey took two years from her kitchen to nationwide product launch.
Driving up Mama Faith's driveway flanked by white cherry trees in Woodbine, Maryland, the peaceful vista is classic American semi-rural country. Green rolling hills, farms, horses, and woods spread out along the road Mama Faith lives on.
Faith's colorfully decorated home is surrounded by lush flowers and trees. Her garden is full of tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, and herbs like dill and mint which she uses in her wonderful Persian cooking. Her kitchen is big and welcoming, a great place for hanging out over a
cup of strong Persian tea. Faith's own vibrant watercolor paintings adorn the walls of every room.
Anyone who knows her well will tell you that Faith Negahban is an extremely talented home chef, and then proceed to rhapsodize about their favorite dishes of hers. Her large and diverse repertoire of Persian fare includes marinated lamb and chicken, kebabs, saffron rice, an amazing potato salad, and "ash reshteh", a savory Persian stew full of spinach, chopped herbs, beans, and legumes.
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One of the many flavorful Persian delicacies Faith created for many years for her family and large circle of friends is now available nationwide. Launched in Spring 2019, Mama Faith's Olive Spread
is made of finely chopped Krinos green olives infused with lemon juice, garlic, pomegranate molasses, red bell pepper, onion, and herbs.
Now a young Howard County MD based business, it took two years and a team consisting of three college students (whom she kept well-fed, with take-home extras) working part time with Faith to achieve her dream of bringing her olive tapenade to the national consumer market.
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The idea of expanding her home cooking beyond her social circle started in 2016, when she took her Mediterranean-style olive tapenade to an engagement party in Howard County. It received raves all night, and the next day people started calling to ask for the recipe.
"One of the main reasons for my olive spread's popularity", says Faith, "is that all you have to do is open the jar, spoon it out, and suddenly you have something gourmet that adds a full, tangy flavor that really dresses up your meat, pasta, and seafood dishes. You can also just spread it on a cracker or bread, on sandwiches, or as a dip for veggies. It's something different, healthy, and versatile that requires no effort. Perfect for people who have no time to cook, but love good food!"
With so many people clamoring for her olive spread, Faith began selling it in a few local venues, and then decided to go for the big time- a product that could be sold in supermarkets, on her own website, and on Amazon.
"It took much longer and was much more complex than I expected. I had never done anything like this before and it was pretty challenging. Luckily I had good people to help me, and step by step, we got it done. It's a good thing I'm a patient, tenacious person!" said Faith.
Finding a "co-packer"- a contract food packager- in the local area to faithfully reproduce her recipe was the first step. Creating a logo, receiving FDA approval for her product, meeting jar and label specifications, building a website and social media, getting Mama Faith's Olive Spread on Amazon, and finding the right marketing methods were all parts of the two-year process.
"My culture is about family and friends getting together around the table...my most vivid memories of my home as a child are the aromas of cooking that filled the house."
Faith (her Persian name is Fariba) was born in the beautiful city of Isfahan, Iran, parts of which are a UNESCO World Heritage site. Her father is a retired administrative official. She was raised mainly in Tehran and has always lived a life centered around food.
"My culture is about family and friends getting together around the table and sharing many different kinds of foods and flavors. My most vivid memories of my home as a child are the aromas of cooking- cumin, turmeric, cinnamon, and cardamom filled the house."
Faith came to the United States on a student visa in 1977 to study at the University of Pennsylvania and Drexel University, where she received two Bachelors degrees, in psychology and sociology. Faith worked as a preschool director for about five years, and also had businesses doing skin care as an aesthetician in Columbia and Washington DC.
"My mom loved to feed all the neighbors. Especially if they were sick or had a sick child. Her food would help nurture them back to health."
Her mother went to culinary school, and was a fantastic cook. "My mom loved to feed all the neighbors. Especially if they were sick or had a sick child. Her food would help nurture them back to health."
Faith inherited her mother's cooking talent, which is much appreciated by her husband, Sam, a construction company owner who is also Iranian-born. The two met and married when they were both students at Drexel University in the 1980's, and later became US citizens. They
have two grown sons and a toddler grandson, for whom Faith admits an "addiction."
Based on a traditional Persian recipe, Mama Faith's Olive Spread is vegan, gluten-free, and heart-healthy.
UPDATE: As of Fall 2020 Mama Faith's Olive Spread is sold in more than 25 retail stores in Maryland, Delaware and Pennsylvania, as well as online. Faith and her team are always seeking new venues, and marketing to major national supermarket chains as well as local gourmet food shops.
New products are currently in development. Mama Faith's Black Kalamata Olive Spreads are expected to be added to the product line in 2021.
In keeping with her company's mission of helping disadvantaged people, 10% of Mama Faith's profits go to formerly homeless families in Howard County that Faith and her family know personally, and have been providing housing and assistance to for several years. She also supports a Kenyan orphans' charity, Neema Journey of Hope.
Mama Faith's Olive Spread comes in two flavors, Original and Simply Spicy. It is available at MamaFaiths.com , Amazon.com and over 25 retail stores in MD, DE , and PA listed here:
https://mamafaiths.com/where-t...
Purchase Mama Faiths's Olive Spread ONLINE at:
For more photos or information about Mama Faith's Olive Spread, please contact Sara Arditti, Marketing Director, at (310) 403-7956 or email SaraArditti@yahoo.com
