The gourmet food category is extremely competitive, and few entrepreneurs manage to stand out as well as Olivia Napoli, the visionary CEO and Founder of LIVWELL. Specializing in vegan and gluten-free pasta sauces, LIVWELL has quickly gained a loyal following for its commitment to quality, authenticity, and innovative flavors. From the initial spark of her business concept to the transformative experience of securing funding through the Bridge platform, Olivia’s story is filled with resilience, passion, and culinary excellence.
Explaining how she came up with her business concept, Olivia said
I grew up on traditional Italian food, but it wasn’t until my later years I started feeling the negative side effects on my body and mind. The migraines, stomach disturbances, and fatigue were caused by the heavy gluten and dairy in modern day Italian food. There had to be a better way. What if we could enjoy Italian food all the time and feel good? What if we felt empowered by the food we ate? With that, LIVWELL Foods was born; a new way to enjoy the Italian foods you love with a healthy twist. After pasta sauces, I want to expand the LIVWELL family with a gluten free pizza crust, and healthy fresh baby purees and finger foods.
I also used to work in marketing for a large retail grocery chain and I used to walk the pasta sauce aisle daily and say to myself “there has to be a way to change up this category!” I spent what felt like hundreds of hours in the kitchen with two small children underfoot, perfecting 3 unique plant-based recipes and product concepts during the spring of 2019. Passion is what drove me. I really loved cooking these sauces and I knew this was what I was meant to do. Lots of late nights, blood, sweat, and tears went into the recipes but finally... I had the three sauces that I had dreamed of! Fast forward to today, we grew by 400% in 2023 and went from 17 stores to over 800, including Whole Foods Market, Sprouts, The Fresh Market, Central Market, Erewhon and more. Today we are in over 1,000 grocery stores nationwide and hope to double that in 2025.
Olivia knew LIVWELL needed funding because they “were expanding so fast and needed capital to scale effectively into hundreds of new retail doors.” Initially, she faced significant challenges in the funding process, noting that “the funding landscape is discouraging, especially for women founders. In 2023, did you know women founded companies only received 2% of 37 billion invested in US startups? Bridge was hugely instrumental in us finding the right lender and making sure we closed on time.”
When asked about her experience with Bridge, Olivia shared, “Bridge has a broad and extensive knowledge of all funding options, connecting us to the right lenders, and helping us qualify and choose the best option for our business.” Olivia also described how her experience with Bridge differed from prior experiences looking for a loan: “Bridge was far more personal, and you felt like you had someone on your team looking for the best funding options, instead of going at it alone, which can be extremely daunting and disappointing.”
By working with Bridge, Olivia said she “received a SBA line of credit from a great bank that is in lockstep with our vision and is excited to grow with us in the coming years as LIVWELL expands. We are excited to partner with them and grow the business to new heights.” Olivia also said she was surprised by how long the loan process takes, saying, “SBA loans in particular take a long time, so be prepared to wait much longer than anticipated from first interaction to close date."
After going through the loan process, Olivia offers this advice to other business owners looking for funding, “keep going!! You might not find the best lender on the first 5 tries… and that’s normal! You have to be patient …hold the vision and trust the process!” Now that LIVWELL is funded, Olivia has plans to expand in the future. She said “We have a clear vision for our company and will also be expanding our brand into new and exciting categories in the coming years. This loan will enable us to grow without limits…. The future is so bright! Thank you, Bridge Marketplace, for your continued partnership! *Please follow LIVWELL’s journey at www.livwellfoods.com or on Instagram @livwellfoods.”
