The story of an idea that changed the rules.

Five years ago, on October 10, 2019, Biova Project was born with a simple yet powerful mission: turning food waste into opportunity. Founded in Turin by Franco Dipietro and Emanuela Barbano, Biova came to life with the goal of reducing unsold bread waste - an obvious and persistent issue. What started as a neighborhood project, with beer brewed from recovered bread, has become a true food innovation hub. Today, we celebrate this incredible five-year journey.

In the early days, the team was small but incredibly determined. Or naïve, if you prefer - but certainly persistent. Simone Oro (who once ground 150 kg of bread using a household electric grinder - a task worthy of a Buddhist monk), Martina Dierico, Vito Tracquilio, and Martina Andriani (do you remember packing boxes on Christmas night, assembly-line style?) worked side by side with the founders to take Biova from a start-up to what it is today. It was a tough journey, not always cheerful, as with all start-ups: when you’re small, problems seem huge - and as you grow, so do the challenges.

One episode above all stands out: the first time we produced a full brew (a complete batch of beer), we had no idea how much space it would take up, or how heavy it would be. That morning, the three of us found ourselves without a pallet jack, without gloves, without safety shoes - wearing T-shirts and shorts - waiting for the delivery on Via Valperga Caluso in Turin. For those who know it, it’s not exactly an easy street to access. When we saw the truck approaching, with both tractor and trailer, we were terrified. The driver saw us - three “kids” in shorts - and smiled. Thankfully, he was one of the good ones. He pitched in, and we started unloading the pallets, dragging them down a sidewalk ramp (each pallet weighed one ton), using the driver’s pallet jack, pushing under his instructions (yes, he became our logistics manager) to cross the street and bring them into our office, which doubled as a warehouse. Nine pallets, one ton each. No one had ever seen that much beer in one place.

Looking back at that day now makes us laugh - but also grateful that nothing went wrong. We wouldn’t do it again today. But back then, we made up for inexperience with determination. After all, that’s exactly the spirit that drove us at the beginning.

Alongside these early collaborators came our first employees - Stefano Forneris, Thomas Thoson, Antonella Celiberti (whom we already knew well), and Deborah Barbuto - who helped build a close-knit team determined to make a difference. Today, our team is more driven than ever, and we’re ready to keep innovating.

We’ve gone from brewing beer for our neighborhood to being available in Ikea, COOP, Carrefour, Capatoast, and in prestigious hotel chains such as Hilton, Marriott, Meliá, NH, and Mandarin Oriental. We went from zero to one, as they often say in the start-up world. It’s all or nothing: you either survive or you shut down. We chose to survive - and to grow.

The hardest phase may now be behind us. We’ve proven that Biova Project is here to stay. But there’s still so much to do. Because Biova is not just a beer or a snack - it’s a movement that believes in a more sustainable future. And this is only the beginning.