Theophilos Constantinou walks down Canal Street in a suit he might have pulled off the set of Goodfellas, swinging a shimmering white bag filled to the brim with a viscous substance he calls an “elixir as old as time.” This isn’t a special occasion. He’s always impeccably dressed—even when the occasion doesn’t demand it. Fitted with a patterned tie and a buzzcut, he moves with the casual swagger of someone equally at ease on the streets of the Lower East Side or at a Paris Fashion Week afterparty.
Originally from Ohio but thoroughly seasoned by years in New York City, Constantinou is an art obsessive and audiophile whose charisma compels you to lean in closer. I found myself hanging onto his every word.
With Psyche Olive Oil—named after the Greek word for soul —he’s combined his disparate passions into something that feels less like a kitchen staple and more like an expertly compiled mixtape. It’s a single-origin Greek oil whose branding captures New York’s gritty charm and Copenhagen’s clinical minimalism. “It's not just olive oil,” he says sternly. “It’s an ethos.” And yes, that's Greek too.
MARCELO JAIMES LUKES: Let’s start from the top. What’s the origin story behind Psyche?
THEOPHILOS CONSTANTINOU: When COVID hit, I left New York and went back to Ohio. I started working on my third photo book. When I finished that, I linked up with a farmer who eventually introduced me to a young olive oil producer in Greece. I tasted his oil and was like, yo, this is different. This is serious. I brought it to my former business partner, and he was blown away. Half a year later, we were in Greece together, and he was like, “Let’s start a business.”
So we did. He started working on it from Copenhagen, I was in New York. Eventually, I was like, alright, I’m coming over to Denmark. Let’s do this properly.
Unfortunately, we don’t work with that first farmer anymore because his production was too small and we eventually outgrew him. But he helped connect us to the entire supply chain for producers in that region. We now work with one of the best mills in the Peloponnese, specifically Messinia.
MJL: Olive oil seems to be having a moment. What makes Psyche stand apart from other olive oil brands?
TC: It’s so much. Psyche comes from a single source. It’s traceable. It’s not some mix of a hundred different producers dumping their stuff into a stainless-steel vat. It’s not a stepped-on product. Most olive oil on shelves is trash, straight up. It's like drugs, bro. If you get your stuff from one grower, cool. You start cutting it with shake and other people’s shit? It’s garbage. Same thing with olive oil. If you mix ten producers, you get an industrial product.
MJL: Do you think most people are aware of how low quality most olive oils are?
TC: No way—people don’t know that. They walk into a store, see 100 olive oils, and they don’t know where to begin. There’s no education and no transparency. Everyone’s slapping on labels: “extra virgin,” “cold-pressed,” “organic,” et cetera. None of it means shit if you don’t know who’s growing it or how they’re handling it.
That’s why I’m actually dropping “Organic” from the name soon. It’s not that we don’t care about organics. Most of our producers aren’t spraying, and if they do, it's trace amounts. The oil is still of extremely high quality. But we’re going to start selling some non-certified oils, because getting certified can be incredibly hard for small family producers.
Psyche is about being real. Not hiding behind marketing terms.
MJL: Your packaging stands out from other folks in the space— you’re not using glass or squeeze bottles. What’s the deal with that?
TC: People ask me all the time: “Why plastic?” I’ll set the record straight:
Our packaging creates 90% less waste than glass. It has an 80% lower carbon footprint because it is so light and easy to transport. Inside, there’s a BPA-free, restaurant-grade aluminum liner that keeps the oil from touching plastic at all. This isn’t some cost-cutting decision. We went deep on this and did the research.
Glass feels premium to most people, sure. But do you know what the second-most-harvested natural resource on the planet is after water? It’s sand. Sand is used for glass, for concrete, for cement. Forget about recycling. Most glass ends up in a landfill. People are out here screaming, “glass is recyclable,” but they don’t know the system is broken.
“Psyche is Greek olive oil with New York energy and Copenhagen finesse. That’s what makes it different. That’s what gives it soul.”
MJL: You go back and forth between Denmark and New York. How do those cities influence Psyche?
TC: Psyche was born in Copenhagen. That’s a fact. The aesthetics and attention to detail, that’s Danish. My main designer is Danish, so our identity reflects that. We have a kind of Copenhagen clarity and simplicity that lives in every part of the brand.
But it’s not only Danish. Psyche is Greek olive oil with New York energy and Copenhagen finesse. That’s what makes it different. That’s what gives it soul.
MJL: You’ve got strong opinions on other olive oil brands. What’s your take on the hype around your competitors?
TC: Look, no shade, but a lot of the other stuff is cooked. It’s CPG chaos with the squeeze bottles, refillable cans, fucking spray oils. People are out here doing frying oils, which are just canola with a buzzword slapped on it. I’m not playing that game.
We’re gonna do taste tests this summer. Blind. Psyche vs. the other guys. You remember the Pepsi Challenge? That type of stuff. And I’ll be honest: ten out of ten times, we win. People don’t know how to taste olive oil—but they know when something’s good. It’s in your mouth. It hits differently.
MJL: What’s the biggest misconception people have about olive oil?
TC: That you can’t cook with it. That’s total bullshit. Who do you think started spreading that?
You can fry in olive oil at 410°F. That’s hot, man. You’re not even coming close to that at home. And if you do hit the smoke point? That’s cool. Just don’t reuse it. Done. You shouldn’t be reusing any oil four times unless you run a fry station. You’re not a restaurant.
Olive oil is good for you. It’s full of polyphenols, which are anti-inflammatory and are good for your heart. This is ancient, it’s medicine. People in the Mediterranean, in the blue zones, aren't pumping canola into their bodies. They’re using olive oil.
MJL: Your style is a big part of Psyche—is there a particular ethos you’re trying to share with Psyche as a brand?
TC: Psyche is an amalgamation of everything I’ve ever been into—graffiti, design, food, music, skateboarding, architecture. All of it. It’s fluid, universal, and accessible. That’s what makes us strong.
And the people know. It’s not just me talking. It’s been validated. Ask Scarr’s Pizza in New York. Ask Popl Burger in Copenhagen. Ask Rose Bakery in Paris. People with taste know what’s up.
When I ask people to try it, they get it. I’m excited to head back to New York. When I pull up on someone, they’ll meet me. They’ll grab a drink. They’ll say, “Fuck it, let’s try it.” That’s how business moves. That’s why I’m going back to New York. That’s where I thrive.
