A six-decade-old family business is turning to digital commerce to overcome thin wholesale margins, reach new customers and strengthen its presence across Europe.
For decades, the Abrouk family’s olive oil business in Tunisia operated largely behind the scenes, supplying products through white-label arrangements that left little room for substantial profits. Now, the family is seeking to change that trajectory by embracing digital commerce and building a more direct relationship with consumers across Europe.
Othena, the family-owned business founded around Tunisia’s rich olive-growing heritage, is using online marketplace Temu as a new channel to expand beyond its traditional wholesale operations. The move reflects a broader challenge confronting small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs): how to reach new markets when advertising expenses, intense competition and the complexities of international trade limit their growth.
For Foued Abrouk, the business’s expansion is both an economic necessity and an opportunity to bring his family’s olive oil to a wider audience.
For years, the 70-year-old entrepreneur, who lives in Brussels, watched the company struggle to generate meaningful returns despite producing olive oil from the family’s groves in Monastir, Tunisia. Its business relied on a small number of business-to-business customers in France, Germany and Belgium, while sales through white-label arrangements offered narrow profit margins.
The results were barely enough to sustain operations.
“We sold about 20 tons of olive oil a year but that barely made ends meet,” Abrouk said.
The experience underscored the limitations of relying almost exclusively on wholesale customers, particularly for a family business seeking to preserve its agricultural heritage while remaining commercially viable in a competitive European market.
Rather than remain confined to its established distribution channels, Othena began exploring ways to sell directly to consumers. In August 2025, Abrouk joined Temu, hoping to use the platform’s existing consumer base to introduce the brand to more buyers.
The early experience has offered encouragement. According to Abrouk, orders began arriving through the platform without the company having to rely on paid advertising to attract those customers.
“All my Temu orders came from natural traffic,” he said. “It is a strong start and gives me real confidence in growing Othena’s reach.”
The initial response has strengthened his ambitions to move beyond the company’s traditional customer base and establish a more recognisable presence among European consumers.
Digital commerce creates new opportunities
Othena’s experience highlights some of the structural difficulties facing small businesses attempting to expand across borders. Although SMEs account for 99.8 per cent of all firms in the European Union, reaching customers in different countries can require significant investment in marketing, distribution and the systems needed to manage international sales.
For smaller producers, these expenses can make expansion difficult, even when their products have an established market or a distinctive regional identity.
Businesses that depend on wholesale arrangements may also have limited control over how their products are presented to consumers and how much profit they ultimately retain. Establishing a direct-to-consumer channel offers an alternative, potentially allowing producers to develop their brands while diversifying their sources of revenue.
Temu, which launched in Belgium in May 2023 and opened its marketplace to local sellers in November 2024, has provided Othena with another route to market. The platform allows merchants to establish a direct online presence and reach consumers nationwide, while also offering opportunities to open storefronts in additional European markets.
For Abrouk, the platform’s popularity presents an opportunity to connect with customers who might otherwise never encounter his family’s olive oil.
“Temu is very popular in Europe right now. The user base is large and people are talking about it,” he said.
However, access to a large online marketplace is only one part of the challenge. Small businesses must also find platforms they can navigate easily, manage the costs of selling and ensure their products appeal to consumers in unfamiliar markets.
Abrouk said his earlier attempts to list Othena’s products on other major e-commerce platforms had proved frustrating. He found their systems difficult for a small business to manage, while commission charges and limited practical assistance added to the challenges.
His experience with Temu, he said, was more encouraging. The onboarding process was straightforward, and staff offered practical advice on product presentation, including the selection of photographs for online listings.
Such assistance was important for a business seeking to compete in a crowded digital marketplace without the resources available to larger brands.
Ambitions stretch beyond Belgium
With its initial entry into online retail providing a foundation for further growth, Othena is now looking to expand its digital presence into additional markets.
Abrouk plans to open Temu storefronts in France, Germany and Turkey, extending the business’s reach beyond Belgium and bringing its olive oil to a wider pool of potential customers.
The expansion would build on the company’s existing experience with buyers in France and Germany while creating opportunities to reach consumers through a different sales channel.
Product quality remains central to the strategy. Abrouk said Othena’s olive oil is additive-free and has been adjusted to suit the preferences of European buyers, giving the business confidence as it prepares to pursue a larger customer base.
The next phase will involve turning initial interest into sustained sales, a crucial step for a business that has historically sold relatively modest volumes and operated on thin margins.
“Our goal for the coming year is to reach thousands of orders through our Temu storefronts, and we are confident we can achieve it,” he said.
The target signals a significant ambition for the family business, which is seeking not only to increase sales but also to build a stronger commercial identity beyond its traditional wholesale operations.
A wider lesson for African entrepreneurs
Othena’s efforts illustrate how digital marketplaces can complement established business models, particularly for African producers seeking to reach international customers without depending entirely on conventional distribution networks.
For agricultural enterprises, the opportunity extends beyond selling a product. Online storefronts can provide a platform for developing brand recognition, testing demand in new markets and establishing more direct connections with consumers.
Nevertheless, digital expansion does not eliminate every barrier. Businesses must still maintain product quality, manage fulfilment and customer expectations, and navigate the requirements associated with selling across national borders. Sustained growth will depend on whether initial customer interest can translate into consistent orders and commercially viable returns.
For the Abrouk family, the immediate objective is clear: to take a business built on generations of olive cultivation in Tunisia and give it a greater presence in European homes.
After years of relying on wholesale relationships that offered limited financial rewards, Othena is betting that a more direct route to consumers can help secure its future.
Its journey offers a practical example of how traditional agricultural businesses can explore digital commerce to broaden their markets, strengthen their brands and pursue growth beyond familiar trading networks.