Q&24岁的Bianti Danaj

Business management major started olive oil business while a student.

Albanian native Bianti Danaj ’24 has tapped into his country’s tradition of hand-picking 早期收获的橄榄和冷榨橄榄油. 他创办了一家新公司，Donika 橄榄油，在他大四的时候. 

This passion project grew from a class project to the basis for his senior capstone 经验丰富，进入成熟的公司. 在制定他的商业计划的时候 the capstone, he secured research funding from many sources at the College, including the Warehime Fund for Student Excellence in Business, the Elm Tree Fund, and the Office 教务长. 

Donika橄榄油 focuses on the quality of its product, with each Albanian-sourced dark green glass bottle being filled and capped to order moments before packaging 直接发货给消费者. 达纳伊曾与进步办公室合作 and 校友 Engagement to connect with alumni, spread the word about his newly launched 产品，并持续扩大业务规模.  

 

阿尔巴尼亚橄榄油的历史是怎样的? 

I use the ancient Kalinjot variety of olives that go back hundreds of years to produce Donika橄榄油. Kalinjot olives infuse the oil with a robust, earthy taste and aroma 反映了阿尔巴尼亚土地的本质. 这种橄榄品种原产于阿尔巴尼亚 became popular in the 1400s when a noblewoman, Andronika (Donika) Arianiti, got married and set the precedent that 10 new olive trees were to be planted at every Albanian 婚礼. These are the same trees that grace our existing groves and are 500 to 700 岁.  

 

是什么激励你创业的?  

Whenever I returned to the US from Albania, I always brought olive oil. 每个人都我 shared the oil with has been impressed with its remarkable flavor. 供应的概念 premium olive oil to the US came to me in 2020, but all I could see were barriers 从资金到物流. The concept stayed in the back of my mind, and I was always turning over ideas for making it a reality, but I couldn’t figure out how to take 第一步. In December 2022, a family friend mentioned his olive oil business 获得有机认证. 产品不仅要通过认证， 味道好极了. Even better, when I suggested a potential partnership, he was open 它. However, the obstacles remained the same; getting this product from Albania 对美国来说似乎是不可能的.  

That’s when my coursework at 九州娱乐官网 really kicked in. 我有企业家精神 和约瑟夫·鲍尔教授一起上课. 他要求每个学生在一张纸上写下来 of paper what they would choose to pursue as a startup business. 甚至还有一个 caveat to make sure it was something you would like to do and not to put any limitations on your imagination, basically, prompting us to think about what business we might 如果我们有无限的资源，就开始吧. 当我把我的思维方式转变为专注时 on what I needed to do was much simpler than feeling trapped by what I couldn’t do. I developed a draft business plan for Donika橄榄油 for this class, and when the class wrapped up, I decided to dedicate the summer to working on the startup.  

Between July and December of this year, I’ve been feverishly working on the branding, website, sourcing labels, bottles, boxes, and caps to make this dream a reality. My capstone advisor, professor Thomas Tracy, assisted me in figuring out details with 物流和改善商业方面的事情. 我也一直在直接工作 with the crop scientists who are monitoring the agricultural practices of producing 橄榄油. It’s important to me to provide this premium olive oil directly to the consumer and ensure the freshest quality by connecting our customers with the 阿尔巴尼亚农民. I want to recreate a similar relationship to the one I had growing 这是一种特殊橄榄油的生产商. 这就是这个利基市场的价值所在. 我们推出了网站 donikaoliveoil.com 在十二月初. 

 

当你回到阿尔巴尼亚时，你有什么娱乐活动? 

Albania is north of Greece and east of Italy, on the Adriatic Sea. Vlorë，我在哪 from, is directly across the water from a peninsula that’s chock-full of coral and starfish, and my favorite thing to do is take a boat to go cliff jumping and explore 水洞. My friends and family pack picnic baskets for barbecues after scuba 潜水或浮潜. I love day trips like this so much; I usually spend my birthday 在水上，游泳和探索该地区.  

 

阿尔巴尼亚有哪些传统食物?  

There are a lot of influences from Italian cuisine, and due to our proximity to the 这里的海鲜非常新鲜，令人难以置信. 我们还有两种传统的 肉菜. The first is akin to Eastern Shore scrapple, made from lamb organ meat 还有玉米粉，叫做哈拉帕什. 第二种是tave kosi，就是羊肉 配米饭的美味酸奶酱.  

 

关于阿尔巴尼亚，美国人应该知道些什么?  

阿尔巴尼亚实行民主制度才30年. 在这么短的时间里 为提升我们的旅游业做出了巨大的努力. 我们是最古老的文明之一 in Europe, with abundant ancient archaeological sites and castles. 阿尔巴尼亚人考虑 themselves descendants of the ancient Illyrians, who traveled to the region around 公元前2000年. My country is distinctive because of its history and mix of religion and politics; it’s so different from any other European nation.  

November 28th is Albanian Independence Day, which marks our independence from the 1912年的奥斯曼帝国. 阿尔巴尼亚人非常爱国. 为了拉开庆祝的序幕， we march in parades, the prime minister delivers a speech, and the festivities include celebrating our national heroes as well as performances from writers, artists, and 歌手. Dua Lipa is from Albania and performed at the celebrations this past year. To wrap up the day, there are usually some impressive fireworks.  

 

What do you like most about 九州娱乐官网 and Chestertown, Maryland?

I really like the people; everyone is so friendly. 我走遍了美国各地 States, and people are not always as caring or supportive as they are in Chestertown. Even before I started 橄榄油 business, I felt compassion from the community. And now, when I visit shops in town to talk about the product, the small business owners are supportive and give me advice on how to grow the business. 我一直 惊讶于人们的善良. 有这样的鼓励真的很重要 and assistance when you are trying to develop a business like mine. 

 
——希拉里·L. Bitting