Press kit · For media use connect@petraaroma.com

Dr. Daniella Olan gathering plants in the mountains of Puerto Rico

The story

She came home to the land her family is from. The plants found her there.

Dr. Daniella Olan advised Fortune 100 companies on billion-dollar deals. Today she makes herbal oils by hand in Puerto Rico, from plants grown on the island.

In one line

Petra Aroma is a Latina-owned herbal body care brand: five oils, infused and bottled by hand in Puerto Rico from plants grown on the island. It was founded by Dr. Daniella Olan, a Doctor of Pharmacy who left a corporate career to study Caribbean plant medicine, and named for her grandmother Petra, from Ponce.

Current news

Guada reaches Walmart Puerto Rico

Petra Aroma's Guada hair oil goes into Walmart stores across Puerto Rico, in a 1 oz size created for this launch and sold only there. It is the company's first placement in mass retail, and it was won through Walmart Open Call Puerto Rico in October 2025, the program where any local company applies to pitch its product directly to the chain's buyers.

For small business desks: the Open Call process itself is a story, from the application through supplier registration and packaging. Happy to walk through all of it.

How to describe Guada

Reduces shedding and breakage
Soothes a dry or itchy scalp
Brings back shine and curl definition
Makes hair grow

The last one is a promise of a result the company cannot stand behind. General wording for the rest of the line is further down.

Product: Guada hair oil, 1 oz
Where: Walmart stores islandwide
Suggested retail: $13.97
On shelves: date to confirm
Won through: Open Call, Oct 15 2025

Take your pick

Four angles

The same story works for very different sections. These are the angles with more than enough material behind them, and I am available for any of them.

Coming home, and finding a practice

She moved back to live on the land her family is from, and found a mentor here, one of the island's leading Caribbean herbalists. The knowledge is here, and it is being passed on.

Culture · Lifestyle

From Fortune 100 consulting to a Latina-owned brand

Pharmaceutical portfolio strategy, then billion-dollar deals, then an herbal body care brand made by hand. What it takes to leave, and what carries over.

Business · Profile

Why fewer ingredients

A pharmacist's case for short formulas and no essential oils, and what an herbal infusion does that a distillation cannot.

Beauty · Health

Puerto Rican plants, Puerto Rican farmers

Where the plants come from: farmers across the island, a farm in Manatí, and drying and bottling done here.

Economy · Agriculture

Images

Photos

High resolution, cleared for editorial use. A selection is below; the full library is here, sorted by founder, product, farm and process, Walmart, lifestyle and brand marks.

Dr. Daniella Olan gathering plants in the field — **In the field**Gathering plants in the mountains. The lead image for a story about the founder.horizontal

Daniella Olan as a child with her grandmother Petra — **Petra, and her granddaughter**Abuela Petra, from Ponce, with Daniella as a child. The company carries her name.vertical · web resolution

Planting seeds by hand on the farm in Manati, Puerto Rico — **On the farm**Planting seeds on the farm in Manatí, Puerto Rico.square

The Puerto Rican countryside where the plants are grown — **Where the plants come from**The mountains of Puerto Rico at first light.horizontal

A jar of herbal oil infusion held up to the light — **The infusion**Plants steeping in moringa oil, the step that takes weeks.square

Dr. Daniella Olan with part of the Walmart Open Call Puerto Rico team — **Open Call, with the team**With part of the Walmart Open Call team, in front of the "Hecho Aquí Para Ti" mural. For the Walmart news.4284 × 5712 · vertical

Dr. Daniella Olan at Walmart Open Call Puerto Rico — **Open Call 2025**With the product at Walmart Open Call Puerto Rico, October 15, 2025.4284 × 5712 · vertical

The full Petra Aroma line set up on a table at an in-person event — **The table**The full line set up in person, under the banner: natural wellness rooted in Borikén's wisdom.1332 × 2000 · vertical

Close view of Guada bottles and signage on the Petra Aroma table — **On the table, close up**Guada bottles, cacao, and the cards that explain each oil.1334 × 2000 · vertical

Portrait of Dr. Daniella Olan in the Puerto Rican countryside — **Portrait**Dr. Daniella Olan in the mountains of Puerto Rico.1333 × 2000 · vertical

Four Petra Aroma body oils: Caya, Coyaba, Anani and Nanichi — **The body oils**Caya, Coyaba, Anani and Nanichi. Guada, the hair oil, completes the line.transparent background

Guada Nourishing Hair Oil, the 1 oz size sold at Walmart — **Guada 1 oz, the Walmart size**The size created for this launch and sold only at Walmart.3947 × 5921 · vertical

"The plants are still here. What was lost is the practice of using them."

Dr. Daniella Olan, founder of Petra Aroma

How she got here

The short version

Seven steps, if a structure helps.

New Jersey

Growing up in the diaspora

A Puerto Rican family, an American childhood. She became a Doctor of Pharmacy.

Pharma

Portfolio strategy

She worked with leading pharmaceutical companies on which treatments to pursue, focused on rare and specialty diseases.

Consulting

Fortune 100 deals

Then one of the world's top five consulting firms, advising Fortune 100 companies on billion-dollar decisions, and later the same work in lifestyle technology.

2022

She moved to the island

Not for a business, and not for the plants. Every visit had left her feeling more like herself, so she came to live on the land her family is from.

The turn

A mentor, and a calling

At a gathering on the island she met the woman who became her mentor, one of the island's leading Caribbean herbalists. Learning from her is when she knew plant medicine was the practice she wanted.

Petra, from Ponce

The brand takes her grandmother's name

Five oils, each with a Taíno name, made from plants Puerto Ricans have always had within reach.

Now

Into mass retail

Her hair oil reaches Walmart stores across Puerto Rico, the first time the line is on a national chain's shelves.

Scroll sideways for the rest

The company

What she makes

Five oils, built on one idea: better does not mean more complicated.

A short list of plants

Each oil is a few plants steeped in moringa oil, and nothing else. No essential oils, no added fragrance, so it is gentle enough for daily use.

Infused, not distilled

The plant steeps in the oil for weeks, like tea. Distilling pulls out only the aromatic part of a plant, highly concentrated, which is what can sting.

Grown and dried here

Plants are bought from farmers in Puerto Rico, grown on the company's own farm in Manatí, dried by hand and bottled in small batches.

Named in Taíno

Every oil carries a Taíno name. Guada means garden. The names are a reminder that the plants were in use here long before any of this.

Guada

A hair routine that is one step instead of five.

Moringa · Rosemary · Malagueta

Coyaba

Pain relief with an earthy aroma instead of a medicinal one.

Moringa · Malagueta · Almácigo

Anani

Stress relief, for when you need to wind down.

Moringa · Spearmint · Tulsi

Caya

A face and body oil that moisturizes without feeling greasy.

Moringa · Lemongrass · Guava

Nanichi

The richest of the five, for dry skin.

Moringa · Cacao

"I came to live on the land my family is from. The plants found me here."

On coming home

Quotes

Cleared for publication

Attributable to Dr. Daniella Olan, founder of Petra Aroma. Usable as written.

On the formulation

"Our formulas are minimal on purpose. More complicated does not mean better. I want people to see the strength in going back to natural, and to know where their products come from and how they are made."

On coming home

"I moved to Puerto Rico to live on the land my family is from, because every time I visited I felt more like myself. The plants found me once I was here, and learning them is when I knew that was the medicine I wanted to work with."

On entering Walmart

"What Walmart means to me is that a natural product, local and without synthetics, is now something anyone in Puerto Rico can put in their cart on their next grocery run. That is why I made a smaller size at an easier price to start with."

Biographies

The founder

Two lengths, depending on the space, plus the company boilerplate.

Short bio44 words

Dr. Daniella Olan is a Doctor of Pharmacy and the founder of Petra Aroma. She grew up in the Puerto Rican diaspora in New Jersey and worked in pharmaceutical strategy and Fortune 100 consulting before moving to Puerto Rico in 2022, where she now makes herbal oils by hand.

Long bio139 words

Dr. Daniella Olan is a Doctor of Pharmacy and the founder of Petra Aroma. She grew up in the Puerto Rican diaspora in New Jersey and began her career in portfolio strategy with leading pharmaceutical companies, working on which treatments to pursue for rare and specialty diseases. She went on to one of the world's top five consulting firms, advising Fortune 100 companies on billion-dollar decisions, and later did the same work in lifestyle technology.

She moved to Puerto Rico in 2022 to live on the land her family is from, after years of visits that left her feeling more like herself. At a gathering on the island she met the herbalist who became her mentor, and studying Caribbean plant medicine with her is what turned a personal interest into a practice. She named her company after her grandmother Petra, from Ponce, and gives every product a Taíno name.

Boilerplate · About Petra Aroma

Petra Aroma is a Latina-owned herbal body care company that infuses and bottles herbal oils by hand in Puerto Rico, using plants bought from farmers on the island and grown on its own farm in Manatí. Every formula is built from a short list of plants, and none contain essential oils or added fragrance. The line is five oils, each named with a Taíno word. Founded by Dr. Daniella Olan, a Doctor of Pharmacy. petraaroma.com

Reference

Fast facts

All verifiable. If anything changes, this page is updated.

Company: Petra Aroma, San Juan, Puerto Rico
Founder: Dr. Daniella Olan, Doctor of Pharmacy and herbalist
What she makes: Herbal oils infused and bottled by hand in Puerto Rico
The line: Guada (hair), Coyaba (pain relief), Caya (face and body), Anani (stress relief), Nanichi (dry skin)
Naming: Every product carries a Taíno name. Guada means garden
Base oil: Cold-pressed moringa seed oil (Moringa oleifera) in all five
Method: Herbal infusion, plants steeped for weeks. No essential oils, no added fragrance
Where the plants come from: Farmers across Puerto Rico, and the company's own farm in Manatí
Also true: Vegan, silicone free, cruelty free. 30-day promise, keep the bottle
Direct to consumer: petraaroma.com
Social: @petraaroma on Instagram and TikTok
Photo library: Google Drive, high resolution
Press contact: connect@petraaroma.com

A note for the newsroom

How to describe the product

Petra Aroma is a cosmetic, not a drug, and the founder is a pharmacist, which raises the bar rather than lowering it. This note applies to the whole line. Guada’s own wording sits with the news above.

Safe to say

Made by hand in Puerto Rico with local plants
Herbal infusion, not distillationThe plant steeps in the oil for weeks, like tea
A short list of plants in every formula
No essential oils, no synthetic fragranceAnd the why: the concentration in an essential oil is what irritates
Vegan, silicone free, cruelty free
"Rosemary is known for its antioxidant content, which is part of why we chose it"A statement about the plant and the choice, not about the finished oil

Better avoided

Anti-inflammatoryDescribes an action in the body, which would make it a drug
Cures, treats or preventsAny of the three changes the product's category
Antioxidant oilA plant being antioxidant-rich does not make the oil antioxidant-rich
92 nutrients and 46 antioxidantsThat figure is about moringa leaf as a food, not the seed oil
Pregnancy safeThat is a conclusion. Give the facts and let the reader draw it
AromatherapyIn the trade it means essential oils, and there are none here