When you come from a New Orleans family of 10 kids it can sometimes be difficult to remember what number sibling your sister is – even if she is your business partner and closest friend.

Of course you can always blame your faulty memory on the Bloody Mary that you have to drink to be sociable because they’re making it with the Bloody Mary mix you and your sister (# 6?) produce. Or maybe it’s the martini you had to drink to be sociable because they’re making it with the spicy olive juice mix and olives that you and your sister (#5?) bottle from your dad’s old family spicy olive recipe. 

It’s hard to imagine people having more fun running their own business than The Louisiana Sisters: Karen Poole and Sharon Poole Mahne. 

Sharon and Karen started up their now rockin’ olive biz using a recipe their dad created that they got doctored up for supermarket shelves by a guy they know only as “Chef Happy.” No kidding. Louisiana Sisters products are across Louisiana in almost every grocery store from Langenstein’s to Whole Foods – and namesake sisters Sharon and Karen don’t know the name of the guy who helped them create their signature taste.

Although there’s something to be said for the fine taste of the sisters’ olives, pepper jelly, bloody mary mix, spicy olive juice, and other products, the spice and bubble of their personalities certainly contribute to the meteoric success of their small family business. This is not your father’s olive business. Hang on, yes it is.