Chef Dovunque is an Italian start-up that selects homemade and organic ingredients for signature Italian pasta, and packages and distributes them as pre-measured kits. The start-up just achieved an investment of 1.2 million Euros with Vertis Venture – the venture capital fund of Vertis Sgr – and a group of angel investors, among which “WithFouders”, a private participation holding specialised in seed investments (start ups with no turnover).
Chef Dovunque was born out of the intuition of Antonio Ranaldo, a manager with a passion for cooking. While traveling abroad on business, Antonio was struck to see that it was hard to find the necessary ingredients to prepare a typical Italian pasta dish in other countries. His first step: he registered the patent and the brand, then started with a careful selection of homemade ingredients from organic agriculture across Italy, for which he received the ICEA certification, the Institute for Ethical and Environmental Certification. After selecting the recipes that best combine the freshness and taste of the agricultural tradition and the authenticity of the Mediterranean diet, Chef Dovunque designed the packaging: a recyclable box that includes all the necessary pre-measured ingredients and that can be easily stored and transported. Antonio presented his project to institutional investors that trusted him and his idea: the newco Chef Dovunque srl was founded, Vertis participated in the funding with an investment of 800.000 Euros, along with three angel investors, who participated with 400.000 Euros.
Chef Dovunque’s trade strategy in Italy is to distribute the main course kits with pre-measured ingredients in department stores and organised distribution. The recipes come from the Italian culinary tradition, now portioned for two or three persons: spaghetti with garlic, oil and pepper, spaghetti with tomato and basil sauce and penne arrabbiata – all of which are now also available in the “wholewheat” version – spaghetti cacio and pepe, fettuccini with black truffle. The internationalisation strategy, on the other hand, targets Europe, the United States, Australia, China and Japan.