Sascha Dhanjal wants to change the bulk section of your local grocery store.
People are also reading…
Sascha Dhanjal, founder of Saffi Sanna, stands in the Madison warehouse where she stores 264-gallon totes of oils and vinegars imported from Spain and Chile. Dhanjal started her company in 2014 selling to chefs and restaurants but has expanded her sales into retailers around the country.
Saffi Sanna’s extra virgin olive oil is added to a pasta dish during a product tasting at the business, located on Voges Road on Madison’s Southeast Side. Olive oil is sourced from single farms in Spain and Chile.
Saffi Sanna, founder Sascha Dhanjal, appraises the aroma of the company’s avocado oil sourced from a farm in Kenya.
Before Saffi Saana buys 18 totes each with 264 gallons of olive oil inside, farms in Spain and Chile send samples of different varietals from which founder Sascha Dhanjal can choose. These samples came from a farm in southern Spain.
Scott Nyenhuis, foreground, and Elliot Schulz, of Saffi Sanna, package containers of the company’s sherry vinegar in the company’s production area. The company could more than double production in the next 18 months and is looking for a larger space.
Sascha Dhanjal walks an olive grove in southern Spain in 2017. Unlike some mass-produced olive oil that is a mix of oils from different farms and even different countries, Dhanjal sources her olive oils and vinegars from specific farms. In the fall, oils come from a single farm in Spain and in the spring from a farm in Chile, about 100 miles south of Santiago.
Aliza Kaiser, social media manager for Saffi Sanna, pours samples of balsamic vinegar at the company’s office on Voges Road. Sales to grocery stores for the 12-year-old company have continued to expand and account for about 30% of Saffi Saana’s sales. About 60% of sales are to the food service industry, with 10% sold online.
A display of Saffi Sanna oils, vinegars and maple syrup at Metcalfe’s Market at Hilldale. Customers can put as much or as little as they like into a resusable, 16-ounce bottle, buy product in a 750 ml recycled wine bottle or purchase a 3-liter tote.
Elliot Schulz, left, and Scott Nyenhuis at Saffi Saana fill 3-liter plastic pouches of sherry vinegar sourced from southern Spain. The pouches are placed into boxes that can be purchased at a retailer or used to fill reusable bottles.
