Interview: Michelle Fabregas & Jason Clevering

Michelle: I moved to Barcelona six years ago to go to culinary school. I did a year-long course, after which I planned on moving back to LA because I’m originally a California girl. I still am at heart, but eventually I loved it here so much that I just stayed.

I love Barcelona. First and foremost, the food is what attracted me to the city, and the food is what kept us here. But also, I love the culture, the people, the architecture. Everything around inspires me, and that’s really, in the end, what brought Jason and me to create Dribble Dots. The Barcelona brand itself enhances our creativity, gets the creative juices flowing.

Jason woke me up at three in the morning one night, about three years ago, and said, “Michelle you gotta see this.” He had developed the brand, the logo, the name, the product, and said we’re gonna do this some day.

Jason: It’s one of those things that after four Gin and Tonics everybody sits around and says, “You know what? We should do that idea, man. We’re gonna be millionaires.” But the reality was we were working for all these freelance clients, companies who hadn’t done anything with their branding in 30 years. We would try to bring them into the millenium with social media, etc. and wound up spending about 98 percent of our time doing something that they were never going to adopt.

Michelle: So we were like, why are we working for other people when we want to create something for ourselves?

Our goal is to be accessible gourmet. Dribble Dots is a quality product, but we don’t want people to be afraid to use it any way they see fit, so we’re keeping it affordable. We don’t want people to think it has to sit on a shelf, waiting for a special occasion.

Jason: The two of us are very representative of the two types of people who use Dribble Dots. Michelle has a culinary background and knows how to cook things that take talent and knowledge. Dribble Dots is that kind of product that can be used by world-class chefs. Or it can be used by me. A person who goes, “You know what? This might be good.” I’m like a mad scientist in the kitchen. Our products are very versatile so you can know what you want or you can be creative. Our biggest message is really: How do you dribble? However you want.

Michelle: Right now, the focus is rapid expansion. I really think the Barcelona community is embracing our Go Big or Go Home mentality. It’s very American of us. But this is what we’re all about. We want our brand message to reach the entire world.

Olive oil is missionary position. We’re the Kama Sutra. We’re trying to make people realise you can cook with other things besides olive oil. Our oils offer some of the same health benefits as olive oil. Some of them offer totally different benefits. Why would you want to limit yourself to one oil? It’s not just about varying your flavours, but varying your health benefits as well.

Jason: Using Dribble Dots, you’re accepting all the things the brand stands for. Having fun. Being creative. Incorporating sexiness into your life. We want to be a part of those memorable mealtime moments that come up in conversations weeks later. We want people to buy our product not only because it is excellent quality, but because by buying it, you’re saying something about the lifestyle you lead.

I think the start-up community has really begun to erupt in Barcelona. Something we’re excited to be part of. Catalunya has been built on generations of tradition, whether it’s politics, food, or sports. Tradition continues to hold true, but I think Barcelona has begun to accept new traditions. And that’s why we decided to base ourselves here. People are becoming passionate about things that aren’t specifically Barcelona. People are bringing things into the city, but then giving them a Barcelona twist. After so much talk of crisis over the years, the start-up community is bringing back the blue skies. It’s nice to see a passion for business come back into Barcelona.