Minuteman High School senior Ella Taibi, of Lexington, with her father, Giuseppe Taibi, selling products from their family business at Eataly in Boston.
 

A Minuteman High School student has developed a skin care product that was sold at the Eataly marketplace in Boston during the last holiday season, and she hopes to grow her business venture after graduation.

Ella Taibi, a senior from Lexington, began selling Olive Glow, a face cream made with organic olive oil from her family’s olive farm in Sicily. She originally created the product and has since gotten her whole family involved in the business. Her younger sister, Gaia, a ninth-grade student at Lexington High School, has joined the venture.

“I love working with my hands and I love being creative,” Ella Taibi said.

Taibi, a Metal Fabrication and Welding major at Minuteman, grew an interest in chemistry sets when she was gifted one from her parents a few years ago. She was inspired to develop a skincare cream after reading a “do it yourself” book with instructions on creating vegan and animal cruelty-free cosmetics.

“I tried everything in it and made such a mess in the kitchen,” she said. “I learned a lot of facts about the skincare and beauty industry. There is so much to learn about.”

With the encouragement of her father, Giuseppe Taibi, Ella incorporated olive oil into the skincare product. The olive oil came from their family’s business, Olio Taibi, which is based on an olive orchard in Sicily, where Giuseppe grew up.

“I said that it’s worth a try,” Ella said. “I first added a small amount of olive oil and realized it absorbs so well, so I decided to increase the amount and re-write the recipe.”

More people have been using forms of olive oil as a facial moisturizer in recent years. Olive Glow is rich in natural anti-aging nutrients, according to the product website.

“We first started giving it out to family and friends,” Ella said. “People were like, ‘wow, this is really great,’ so we started making more.”

Olio Taibi’s olive oil products had recently begun to be sold at the Boston Eataly, and the company welcomed the addition of the Olive Glow skin cream to its shelf space in December 2021.

Ella has spent many weekends with her father selling their products at Eataly.

“It’s exciting and nice to talk to a person buying it and making that connection with them,” she said.

Ella is considering her post-high school plans but says she would like to grow the business with her family after graduation.