The CEO of an olive oil brand prompted viral backlash for his LinkedIn post bemoaning “copycats” after a competitor released a product sold in squeeze bottles similar to his company’s.
Andrew Benin, CEO of Graza, wrote that he posted on LinkedIn to show “it’s ok to get miffed when folks rip you off.”
“while friendly competition was always welcome, I do view this as a blatant disrespect and am choosing to voice my discontent,” Benin wrote in his original post, calling out the olive oil company Brightland and its CEO, Aishwarya Iyer.
But Benin quickly updated the post to apologize after other LinkedIn users, including fellow entrepreneurs, criticized him.
Most of Brightland’s products come in recycled glass bottles. Benin added in his post that another unnamed brand had tried to buy Graza’s bottles and molds from the company’s manufacturer in Spain the previous week.
Representatives for Graza did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Brightland declined to comment.
Benin received mixed responses as his post went viral across social media. While some Twitter and TikTok users delighted in the drama, others felt Benin’s post was petty and inappropriate.
“This post does good for no one. Why not lift up others in the industry if you’re going to post anything instead of admonish them? Especially a direct attack on a founder that’s a woman of color. I love Graza, have restocked multiple times, but this leaves a bad taste in my mouth that a founder would treat a competitor like this,” one comment read.
“Damn dude. This is not it. P.S., my mom was buying squeezy bottle olive oil in 2007 (and it wasn’t Graza),” another said.
The concept of the squeeze bottle, as many online spectators pointed out, is not new. Graza itself has explained that the decision to put its oil in plastic squeeze bottles was inspired by the way chefs use them to streamline the cooking process. However, Graza is often credited with bringing the vessels to the masses.
Some onlookers commented that Brightland’s new pizza oil bottle should be looked at as a compliment toward Graza.
“Congrats, they’ve caught up. Focus on your game,” one LinkedIn user said.
In his apology, Benin wrote he is “insanely passionate about protecting what our team has worked so hard to build.” He said the original post “was out of character for me, and there was no need to insert so much negativity into our day.”
“I was heated, and reacted poorly, and have learned from the variety of comments that everyone has left today,” he wrote. “Thank you to everyone for your candor, and for showing me that there was clearly a better way to address all of this.”
Neither Brightland nor Iyer posted public responses, but social media accounts for both celebrated the launch and support for the brand’s pizza oil throughout the day on Tuesday.
Source: | This article originally belongs to Nbcnews.com
