Maya Ayed, founder of Alya Health, didn’t come to the United States to build a consumer health brand. She came for school and opportunity. What she found instead was 5 years of digestive pain, bloating, discomfort every time she ate. Doctor visits, prescriptions, probiotics, and nothing worked.

The turning point came not in a clinic, but back home on her family farm in Tunisia. Sitting with her grandmother, she was reminded of a tradition she grew up with but had forgotten: olive oil. Not just drizzled on meals, but taken straight. She went deeper. Research confirmed what her grandmother already knew. High-quality olive oil acts as a natural prebiotic. On an empty stomach it coats the gut lining, supports digestion, regulates blood sugar, and helps the body absorb fat-soluble nutrients. Within weeks of making it a daily ritual, Maya felt better than she had in years.

That insight became Alya Health, the first brand to bring medicinal-grade olive oil shots to market. Maya went full time less than a year ago. She launched with a simple website, opened pre-orders, and tested demand with small batches shipped from Tunisia to New York. They sold out quickly. Larger orders followed. Grocery placements in New York City came next.

The early journey was scrappy. Instead of pouring money into ads, Maya leaned into her strengths. She tapped LinkedIn, where she had already learned how to go viral by being authentic. She shared openly about the product, the mission, and the science. Word of mouth spread. Customers became early champions.

As a solo, bootstrapped founder, Maya frames her priorities as “glass balls” and “rubber balls.” Logistics, operations, even marketing can bounce if dropped. But customers and product quality are glass. They cannot break. Every email gets a personal response. Every broken shipment is replaced without hesitation. Feedback is collected before and after each 30-day cycle so Alya can continue to improve. Transparency, even with delays caused by global shipping and tariffs—has built trust instead of resentment.

The long game is bigger than a daily shot. Maya wants to simplify health. The industry often sells complexity: red light therapy, peptides, stacks of supplements. But the foundation, she believes, is simpler and more powerful: nutrition, sleep, and movement. Olive oil is part of that foundation. Her vision is to make food-as-medicine mainstream and position Alya as the first line of defense for everyday health.

Key Takeaways

• The best ideas often start at home. Maya’s breakthrough came from a family tradition, validated by science.
• Pre-orders and small-batch launches are a low-risk way to test demand and build momentum.
• Organic channels like LinkedIn can be just as powerful as TikTok or paid ads when used authentically.
• As a solo founder, ruthless prioritization matters, customers and product quality always come first.
• Food-as-medicine is not a trend; it is a movement to make health simple, accessible, and human again.

🎥 Watch the full interview to hear how Maya Ayed turned personal struggle into Alya Health and why olive oil shots might change how we think about wellness.