Vintage Italia
Vintage Italia brings a twist of pasta ingenuity to a snack industry hungry for unique, upscale options. For the full story, see “Vintage Italia brings innovative, better-for-you pasta snacks to the market.”
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During dinner one evening in 2011, in Italy’s Tuscany region, Jerry M. Bello, Jr. found inspiration in an intriguing appetizer—small squares of pasta, lightly baked to a satisfying crunch and simply dressed with a drizzle of olive oil and a garnish of coarse sea salt. It was pasta, but snackable. Soon, the idea for Pasta Chips became reality and Vintage Italia was born. By 2015, Pasta Chips had become a $10 million brand.
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Jerry M. Bello, Jr., founder and CEO of Vintage Italia, is a former innovator in the pharmaceutical business, who crossed over into food in 1999. He’s a proven food entrepreneur behind the genesis and growth of a wide range of successful snack brands, including Mamma Says Biscotti (sold to Nonni’s Foods in 2005) and Sensible Portions Veggie Straws and Pita Bites (sold to Hain Celestial Group in 2010. He also served as president of Brownie Brittle. Today, his focus is on pasta snacks.
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Vintage Italia’s first pasta snacks were ravioli-styled shapes, Pasta Chips, which launched in 2013. The range includes Garlic Olive Oil, Rosemary, Marinara, Alfredo and Mediterranean Sea Salt. Veggie Pasta Chips come in Spinach Broccoli Kale and Roasted Tomato and Red Pepper.
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Vintage Italia produces its pasta snacks with thinly sheeted durum semolina dough that’s gently dehydrated via proprietary methods to achieve the right moisture level, then baked. It’s similar to a cracker process, but with select adjustments. High-protein farro wheat also goes into the dough mix for some of the products.
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The process for creating Pasta Chips required refinement in order to yield a product that maintains the core characteristics of pasta, while still eating like a chip, with a uniquely light crispiness. The snacks have the texture of fried chips—but without the extra calories.
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The Veggie Pasta Chips line extension adds vegetables like spinach, broccoli, kale, tomato and red peppers to the mix.
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Veggie Pasta Chips make use of vegetable powders, dehydrated vegetables and vegetable granules to add interest and a nutritional component.
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Late last year, Pasta Bow Ties—a pasta type also known as farfalle—joined the lineup. And other options are taking shape on the horizon.
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Vintage Italia bakes its pasta snacks with herbs and spices, with varieties, like Meatball Parm Pasta Bow Ties, clearly inspired by classic Italian cuisine. The full line of Pasta Bow Ties includes Meatball Parm, Smooth Cheddar, Creamy Ranch and Honey Butter.
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Vintage Italia hasn’t seen any notable competition for its pasta snacks business due to the challenges posed by the ingredient matrix. Cultivating just the right process took time and ingenuity—but now that they’ve cracked the pasta snack code, multiple opportunities have availed themselves.