The story of Federico Massimi, the creator of the brand "La Forneria di Nonna Mirella" is a story of rebirth, of those who managed to see a light where there seemed to be only obstacles and turn a traumatic event into an opportunity to rebuild their future. The Covid that affected the whole family of Federico taking away the founder, was the determining element that pushed him to leave behind the responsibilities of a managerial role in a multinational to give life to his home food business. From the tiny town of Jenne, near Rome, Federico Massimi wanted to pay tribute to his mother, the "Nonna Mirella" (grandmother Mirella) of the brand, reinterpreting in a creative way the sweet Tortiglioni. His story fascinated Italy: let us tell you how "La Forneria di Nonna Mirella" was born and how the packaging of Packstyle also played a role in this story.

In relation to your experience strongly influenced by the Covid factor, what message do you feel you can convey to people in this very particular historical period?

I have always perceived change not as a threat but rather as an opportunity to look at life from different perspectives. It is obvious that when changes are not wanted but imposed it is even less easy to accept them. The pandemic has changed some habits and redistributed the scale of values for many of us. Perhaps we should all learn from this and, without necessarily changing jobs, as in my case, create a change in us without throwing away the lesson of seeing our globalized lives cancelled and confined to our homes. Change is not easy, for this reason to those who tell me "you had courage", I always say that courage is needed to take flight, but then, in the air, you need the passion without which you cannot fly.

Your start is marked by a great success. After the launch phase, what forecasts do you have for the next year? What are the challenges you have set for yourselves?

We cannot hide the fact that this first year is coming to an end that is far above our expectations. Some people say that if you go much beyond the targets it means that the targets were wrong, but let’s say that in our case beyond the product, the history of change and redemption that is behind the Forneria has played a very important role in our growth. Looking to the future, however, I would divide the horizon into two phases, in the medium term I see the need to work on completing our product portfolio, enriching it with dedicated services and increasing market reach and brand awareness through social channels, the only tool we have to make us known to the public by not having a shop on the street. In the long term we are working on a concept of scalability, multiplying Forneria Di Nonna Mirella in order to have greater geographical coverage and production capacity. The latter remains the challenge for the future: through the creation of partnerships with suppliers that allow us to increase the quality of our products and optimize processes, we will work to increase efficiency without compromising craftsmanship. From this point of view, the partnership with Packstyle represents a big step forward for us.

What are the ratings you consider when choosing a packaging? What prompted you to try the Packstyle packaging?

There are still many spaces to segment the market and recently in this perspective we have decided to create two new segments: widen the range of savory tortiglioni declining them more as snacks and create a tortiglione for dogs having two that are our tasters!

We were therefore looking for a different packaging, which was first of all 100% customizable and easy to use. We immediately evaluated the zip lock bag to allow the product to be consumed multiple times. Packstyle was immediately our ideal interlocutor, allowing us an absolute customization of our packaging even with limited quantities, a unique plus in the market. We also appreciated the efficiency in following the different phases of prototyping which allowed the project to progress in a streamlined and effective way.

Other than the ones you just described, do you have other packaging lines?

We currently use four different packaging lines, we have recently created a line called TortiSnack with Packstyle designed for aperitifs, the idea is to extend the flexible bags to other products in the line by working on the customization of the packaging, exploiting the advantages of printing digital for a product that is literally handcrafted and therefore unique.

For the materials we are currently using plastics and for the future we will test paper solutions. However, the goal is to use 100% recyclable materials.

Sustainability is an important value for everyone, how do you care and communicate this aspect?

Sustainability is a very current aspect, I notice a real trend on LinkedIn of companies that share projects and goals achieved on this issue. Obviously the bakery moves on a much smaller scale, however we also contribute to creating a more sustainable world, both from the environmental side, we have a practically "on demand" production and therefore our waste is zero, we produce with a very limited support of automated machinery, the few we use are powered by energy produced by solar panels, and lastly we have chosen leading suppliers in their sectors (Eurovo, Elle & Vire, Packstyle to name a few) who have been working for years with a view to improving the sustainability. Another aspect is related to people, obviously here the game is easy for us, in terms of human capita because se work "in the family" and we breath a climate of authentic engagement. However, the bakery was also born with a vision "To live a taste experience that brings back to the flavors of the past and creates sharing", we do this by establishing as much as possible a relationship with our customers "from family to family" and this inevitably creates a social role of the bakery which we care a lot about.

You have built a product with a very appealing visual identity. What is your common thread? What values communicates this identity that is perceived very clearly through your packaging?

The first question of our business plan was “why should a customer buy our Tortiglioni?”. My answer is only one: because they are good!

Obviously there is much more behind it, but the fundamentals all start from the idea of ​​a handcrafted product, and therefore genuine, made by a family, and therefore recognizable and based on a relationship of trust and made with excellent and quality ingredients.

My background in marketing helped me to segment Tortiglione in a market that sees the artisan biscuit mostly as a breakfast product. We have thus created different variants: for breakfast, for tasting with wines and liqueurs or coffee, savory for aperitifs, the gourmet version to bring as a gift for dinners or events. The idea of ​​using different colors was functional to the recognition of the different product segments, all united by a sober style that recalled craftsmanship, but with a modern and refined visual identity. The taste is one of the senses that is enhanced by the quality of the tortiglione, but the product must also reach the other senses in order to create a unique experience. Many choices we make are guided by the aesthetic aspect that we take great care of.

Do you plan to expand your product line? Which are the most successful?

Absolutely yes, as I said before there are still large market segments to explore, not only related to the product but also to the moments in which our products can be consumed, think for example of celebrations with more people than in fact about two years are non-existent, in the near future, we hope, there will certainly be a strong resumption of convivial moments.

As Federico Massimi reminds us, courage is the element that pushes us towards change, but daily passion is the factor that keeps us going towards success. We at Packstyle also feel part of this journey and are proud to collaborate with small and courageous companies that spread a great passion.