Olga: From beautician to edelweiss grower

In the beginning, there was Princess Sissi. It is said that she loved them so much that she asked her husband Franz for one every time he walked. He would boldly climb steep hills and pick the delicate flower, offering it as a gift to his beloved. Of these special, white, and strong little flowers, Sissi said: "No flower shines brighter than an edelweiss, that's the jewel I desire“, such was his love for edelweiss.

After years spent working as a beautician surrounded by chemical products and poorly performing natural products, she decided she couldn't wait any longer. One day, gazing with loving eyes at her valleys, their color, and the flora before her, she decided to set up her own business, with courage and passion. Supported from the start by her husband Enrico, an agronomist and floriculturist, who shared his expertise with her, Olga put her expertise in beauty and cosmetics to good use, choosing to focus her work on maximizing the cosmetic effectiveness of her medicinal plants.

So his life moved on between 1200 and 1500 meters, in the middle of plants intended for cosmetics, from arnica to mint, from lemon balm to echinacea, from gentian to cranberryAnd then elderberry, chokeberry, rose hip, rhubarb, thyme, cornflower, calendula, and currant, which will be the ingredients of multivitamin herbal teas and food products.

Today, his company is known in the organic cosmetics and raw materials market, has obtained important recognitions and bio-certification, collaborates with some Italian universities, such as theUniversity of FerraraThe roots, however, are always firmly in its mountains, between Pejo and Ossana, where he lives and where the company's three branches are based.

If anyone asks her, beyond the romantic motivation, why Olga chose to grow edelweiss, which despite their strength and resilience are certainly not easy flowers to care for, she responds by emphasizing their many properties, especially antioxidant and free radical-fighting properties. Furthermore, they are rich in flavonoids, and scientific studies have recognized their extremely high content: Olga's edelweiss contains 7 times more than much more luxurious competitors, a result she is very proud of..

For Olga and her seven collaborators, summer is the hardest time of work: 180 kg of fresh flower per day to be delivered to the laboratory within 24 hours, divided between 3 estates. The first in Pejo, where they grow edelweiss, arnica and medicinal plants, one in Valpiana, and one near the Caprioli lake, where Olga grows edelweiss in pots for ornamental use., intended for the tourist market, so that they can take one home as a souvenir without having to go and remove the few remaining wild specimens in the mountains.
Because, as Olga says, quoting her herbalist grandfather, the mountains are rugged and difficult terrain, but they must be respected, and if respected, they can repay you with a riot of colors, scents, and beauty.

Cover photo from Olga Casanova's website

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