Member Spotlight: Matthieu Kohlmeyer—Founder & CEO of La Tourangelle

Matthieu Kohlmeyer—Founder & CEO of La Tourangelle and OSC Core Chapter Member, takes five to reflect on 5 simple questions. Enjoy!

OSC: What is your hometown?

MK: I grew up in Paris, France and now live, work, and play out of Berkeley, California.

OSC: What’s one thing most people don’t know about you?

MK: I have travelled all over the world with my backpack, hitchhiking, sailing, bus riding, etc…

OSC: What is it about the mission of your company that really ignites you?

MK: At La Tourangelle we make artisan oils that truly elevate both nutrition and flavor. What’s awesome about our mission is that our products both enable fantastic cooking and support better agriculture. We are very intentional about making a positive impact, supporting organic & regenerative agriculture and promoting low footprint packaging. It is very inspiring to fuel the virtuous circle of making good food.

OSC: What’s a favorite childhood memory of food that you have?

MK: My grandfather was passionate about gardening. He would spend 7 days a week, all day long in his produce garden. He also had a tiny vineyard. He was very modest and nothing in his life was fancy. But the food that was coming out of his garden was just incredible. Located in the Loire Valley of France, next to Angers, it is in his garden that I have tasted among other things the best strawberries and tomatoes. I still vividly remember spending hours in the cherry tree. Decades of farming made his garden incredibly fertile. This is where I truly discovered the true taste of good food.

OSC: What’s one thing that keeps you up at night?

MK: I have spent the last 20 years of my life growing La Tourangelle from a 15 people team to a 200 people team. Like Yves Saint Laurent was saying, the most important meeting of your life is meeting yourself. I want to make sure what we do is purposeful and impactful. My focus is to grow a successful business—but success can mean many things. I want to make sure I can continue to thrive by making positive impact through entrepreneurship, good food making and natural beauty.

 

About La Tourangelle:

We make artisan oils, nut butters & organic dressings in California & France so you can cook & bake wonders.