Tony Loeb

🌽 Polli, a leader in pesto, ready-made sauces, and vegetable preserves, enhances its 100% plant-based Legumizie product line with a new offering: Fagiolata. This convenient 190g meal option, rich in plant proteins, features Borlotti and Bianchi di Spagna beans, mushrooms, and onion. Polli, with over 150 years of experience, closed 2023 with a turnover of €190 million and operates four production sites. It exports to 58 countries and maintains rigorous certification standards for its supply chain to promote healthy and sustainable eating.

🍻 In January 2025, Match Tonic Water, exclusively distributed in Italy by Compagnia dei Caraibi, released a special mocktail drink list for Dry January, featuring their iconic flavors: Indian, Spicy, Floral, and Mediterranean. Made in Italy, their glass bottles are designed to be space-efficient, stackable, and reusable. Available at dispensa.com for 2,50€ each, Match Tonic Water focuses on sustainability with 100% recycled glass and reduced sugar content, providing a healthy and delicious option.

🍕 Brothers Ciro and Antonio Tutino, representing the fifth generation of a family of pizza makers, opened Pizzeria Bro in the historic Piazza Mercato in Naples in November 2019. The establishment earned 72nd place in the 50 Top Pizza Italia guide, 59th in The Best Pizza Awards, and received 3 spicchi in the Gambero Rosso Pizzerie d'Italia 2025 guide, plus 3 Galetti from Il Mattino. January 2025 saw the introduction of their tasting menu at €30, highlighting their commitment to prime ingredients and traditional recipes with a modern twist. Ciro (born 1992) manages the pizzeria, while his younger brother Antonio (born 1998) takes care of the dining area. The 160sqm venue seats around 60 patrons and boasts a contemporary architecture with visible pizza ovens. The pizzas, 36cm in diameter and weighing 260 grams, undergo a long fermentation process of 30-36 hours, and are cooked at a precise 380-400 degrees for 120 seconds. Pizzeria Bro is also involved in a cultural project with VenusArt, highlighting nearby cultural spots, and plans to expand its gastronomic offer with an electric oven and new machinery. Molini Lario, established in 1919, provides the carefully selected flours used in their pizzas. Pizzeria Bro is located at Piazza Mercato

🛠 METRO Italia and A2A's subsidiary A2A E-Mobility signed a partnership to install 156 electric and plug-in hybrid vehicle charging points across 33 METRO Italia stores in 14 Italian regions. Currently, 94 charging stations are operational in 19 stores, including cities like Milan, Turin, Brescia, Bologna, Verona, and Parma, with plans to expand to locations such as Bari, Rome, Pisa, Trieste, and Olbia. The charging stations, provided by A2A—the third national player in electric mobility—are accessible via major apps and platforms used by electric vehicle drivers. This initiative aims to support the spread of electric and hybrid mobility in Italy and contribute to the reduction of atmospheric emissions.

🍴 Bianca Mucciolo, a 30-year-old chef, upholds her family's culinary traditions at La Rosa Bianca restaurant in Aquara, amidst the Monti Alburni, within the Cilento e Vallo di Diano Park. Inheriting peasant culture and local Campania gastronomy such as Castelcivita chickpeas and Controne beans, she emphasizes authentic, territory-based cuisine. After personal hardships, Bianca felt a profound connection to her roots, influencing her culinary journey. With over 30 years old sourdough from her grandmother and homegrown produce, including pasta made with Senatore Cappelli wheat (acquiring land through a 2022 grant), her cooking features seasonal and territorial ingredients, like the centuries-old Minestra Spersa dish and homemade cavati and ravioli. Bianca's cuisine fosters creativity and reliance on daily agricultural yields.