NutriBees: how the new Italian start-up works (part II)

2017-07-03 Luckily, not all our young geniuses are going abroad to make their careers. Some of them stay right here in Italy. Giovanni Menozzi and Mario Villani, both of whom have degrees in Economics from Università Bocconi in Milan and considerable experience training and working abroad, have decided to start their own business in Italy.
Their innovative start-up is called NutriBees: Italy’s first company to offer customised, home-delivered healthy food.
Who came up with the name, Giovanni?
“I did. I put together the words Nutri and Bees after reading a story that struck me and represented exactly what we are aiming to do with our start-up. Nutrition plays a crucial role in the world of the bees: the queen bee (who is born from the larva of ordinary bees) has a different diet, eating royal jelly, which makes her the only fertile bee in the beehive, twice the size of the other female bees, with a lifespan 40 times as long as theirs. This demonstrates the impact on our health and our lives that the food we eat can potentially have”.
How can a person find NutriBees?
“They might find us through our internet site, where we have an on-line test devised in partnership with Anna Villarini, a biologist, nutritionist and researcher at the National Tumour Institute in Milan. After taking this free test, customers get instant feedback showing which categories are furthest away from what would be the ideal diet for them. At the same time, they get feedback as to their diet, and the person can choose whether to sign up for our plans.”
Can they get there through a nutritionist?
“Yes, they can come to NutriBees after talking to one of our affiliated nutritionists; at this time we have about a hundred of them all over Italy. Our expert comes up with a meal plan, and if they think the person needs help, as for instance when they don’t have much time for cooking, they suggest our web site, where customers can enter the information the nutritionist provided so as to personalise their menu. In any case, customers who come across the NutriBees web site and want to get in touch with a nutritionist (as our nutritional test simulates an expert’s consulting services, but is not the same thing), we can direct them to their nearest professional.”
How does the platform work?
“After analysing customers’ data through their responses to the online test or a consulting session with an affiliated nutritionist, the system collects all the information required to comprehend the customers’ needs and prepares a menu that is customised in terms of calorie content, nutrients and tastes. After creating the menu, the foods are prepared: we have a laboratory in Veneto specialising in an innovative cooking technology permitting conservation of dishes at a controlled temperature for 30 days; along with Dr. Villarini, who truly believes in the project and thinks it can help her patients and society in general, we have come up with about fifty recipes for complete meals. When they are ready, they are packaged up and shipped refrigerated all over Italy. All customers have to do is warm them up in the microwave, in the oven or in a double boiler. After home delivery, we have a sort of follow-up process in which we ask customers what they thought of the meals, whether they enjoyed them, and whether the portion sizes were right for them.” (to be continued).

Mariagrazia Villa