  
In an era when most entrepreneurs begin with a business plan, John Boyajian started out with a passion. In 1978, while in graduate school, John supported himself by exporting live lobsters to Europe. John approached the Petrossians, an Armenian-French family and internationally known purveyors of caviar, about the idea of distributing his New England lobsters abroad. While the Petrossians chose not to import his lobsters, they did offer John the opportunity to distribute their caviar in the U.S. In 1980, John sold his first tin of caviar to Boston’s Ritz-Carlton Hotel.
For more than two decades, John imported and sold Caspian Sea caviar – eventually under the Boyajian name – and developed a loyal following of chefs and consumers. The line was expanded to include smoked salmon, and in the mid-eighties, John began to experiment with infused olive oils. Drawing on his Armenian heritage and family traditions, he developed a line of infused olive oils the market had not yet seen. Boyajian Inc., then a retail operation in Cambridge, Mass., was quickly outgrowing its space.
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