Date
July 14, 2021
Place
Milan
The Commission on Innovative Made in Italy 2021 - The Winners
The Commission on Innovative Made in Italy met on July 13, 2021 to decide the winning startup proposal for the sector.
The commission chose among sixteen finalists pre-selected by UniCredit Start Lab team. The Commission was composed of senior executives from leading Italian companies such as:
1) FOOD/AGRITECH AREA
- Giangiacomo Ibba, Chairman, Fratelli Ibba e Leader Price Italia
- Michela Petronio, Vice President, Blue 1877 (Gruppo Barilla)
- Rossana Regalia, Customer Development Manager , Nestlé | Purina PetCare EMENA
- Imma Simioli, CEO, Fresystem
2) FASHION & LIFE STYLE AREA
- Antonella Bompensa, Managing Director, Moorer
- Alessandro Corsi, CFO, Ferragamo
- Danilo Mazzara, Strategy Adivosor I Open Innovation Lead, Accenture Strategy
- Leonardo Raineri, Innovation Manager, Miroglio
3) ENTERTAINMENT AREA
- Giorgio Aravecchia, Group Human Resources Director & New Media Director, Panini
- Carmine Perna, CEO Mondadori Retail , Arnolodo Mondadori Editore
- Andrea Radrizzani, Chairman, Aser Ventures
- Stefano Reale, CFO, RDS
The winning startup of the first prize for the Innovative Made in Italy sector is L'Orto di Jack - based in Milan - which is a digitally enabled omnichannel player in the fruit and vegetable market, focused on 3 channels. B2B fruit and vegetable distribution to the HoReCa segment (core business), where the company has started a digital transformation process. B2C e-commerce, an ancillary channel that will be scaled in a balanced and profitable way. Retail, where the roll-up of the first Italian modern chain in the sector has been launched.
The winning startup will receive a 10.000 € grant.
The Commission awarded the second prize to Italianway - from Milan. The startup operates in the hospitality sector with over 2200 leased properties in 270 destinations throughout Italy. Founded in Milan, it is a leading short-term operator in Italy with over 130 partners, a structured operating model and integrated software, developed internally, capable of managing and automating the entire vacation rental process. It offers owners a complete management service from tax management to reporting while guests can book the accommodation that best suits their needs on the italianway.house website.
The third prize went to Ono Exponential Farming - from Verona - an agritech startup that has developed a VF Seed-to-Pack platform, for hydroponic growing. It is a 100% automated system for indoor vertical cultivation of vegetables, microalgaes and insects. The patented platform is assisted by artificial intelligence algorithms and the resulting ecosystem, in adherence to the principles of circular economy, eliminates waste and pollution, makes better use of water and uses alternative energy sources for its operation.
Finally, a special mention went to Storie degli Altri - based in Milan. Boasting a community of 700 thousand people across a range of social media channels "Storie degli Altri" is a new digital publishing platform which develops original formats for businesses' brand content, communicates ESG investments in innovative ways, provides a publishing and ghostwriting service for aspirant authors, and offers exclusive stories, podcasts and videos to subscribers.
To read more about all sixteen of the 2021 UniCredit Start Lab finalists in the Innovative Made in Italy category, please click here.
