Founded in 1982, Olive Garden is owned by Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI), the world's largest company-owned and operated full-service restaurant company. With more than 800 restaurants, more than 92,000 employees and more than $3.5 billion in annual sales, Olive Garden is the leading restaurant in the Italian casual dining segment.
Italy serves as the inspiration for the brand, from its menus to its award-winning wine list to the Tuscan farmhouse design of its restaurants. Most of all, Olive Garden is inspired by the warmth and genuine hospitality of the Italian people, as well as the importance of family in their culture.
This passion for Italy led to the establishment of Olive Garden's Culinary Institute of Tuscany in 1999. More than 1,200 Olive Garden managers and team members have been welcomed to the CIT as part of an internal cultural immersion program designed to inspire, motivate and educate team members. To learn more, visit www.olivegarden.com
Click And Grow is one of the leading producers of smart gardens in the market. We have created a technology that enables everyone to grow fresh, GMO-free and pesticide-free food from their home or office without the need for fertilizing and regular watering.
Click And Grow was founded in 2009 and has shipped its products to hundreds of thousands of customers worldwide. The company is headquartered in Tartu, Estonia. It also has offices in Tallinn and San Francisco.
Back to the Roots is an organic gardening company founded by Nikhil Arora and Alejandro Velez.
Back to the Roots has an award-winning line of organic soils, seeds, plant foods, raised beds, and indoor gardening kits. The duo co-founded Back to the Roots in college after discovering how to grow gourmet mushrooms on recycled coffee grounds. Since then, the organic gardening company has evolved from an urban mushroom farm in Oakland, CA to a thriving national brand and the fastest-growing gardening company in the country. With a mission to reconnect families back to their food and the land, Nikhil and Alejandro are transforming the gardening industry by making it easy for anyone, anywhere to grow their own food.
The organic gardening products are currently distributed in over 15,000 stores including Walmart, The Home Depot, Target, Lowe’s, Tractor Supply, and Whole Foods, as well as on Amazon.
The founders have been recognized globally for their efforts in sustainability, innovation, and entrepreneurship, appearing on lists including Fast Company’s “Most Innovative Companies”, BusinessWeek’s “Top 25 Entrepreneurs Under 25”, Inc.’s “30 Under 30”, Inc. 500, Forbes’ “30 Under 30”, CNN’s “10 Next Entrepreneurs to Watch”, BBC’s Top Global Social Entrepreneurs, Forbes 40 Under 40, EY Entrepreneur of the Year and President Obama’s Champions of Change. They have delivered multiple TEDx Talks, UC Berkeley’s Business School commencement address, and have been featured on CNBC Mad Money, CNN, Forbes, Bloomberg, Fox News, ABC News, NBC News, WSJ, Huffington Post, and the NY Times.