On the steep hills of southern Tuscany, Romain Piro has spent the past two decades harvesting fruit from his silvery olive trees and turning it into olive oil. In 2019, he convinced his sister, Marie-Charlotte Piro, to go into business with him. The siblings started shipping their small-batch bottles to the United States, where olive oil is in high demand — but where very little is made.

Americans consume almost 400,000 tons of olive oil annually, more than any other country except Italy, and import some 95% of it. "One would be crazy not to export to the U.S., because it's an amazing market," Romain Piro says. "And I hope it's going to stay this way."