Miscusi Halopack
Miscusi Halopack
Miscusi family talks about the principles and choices that bring its members to collaborate with Boxmarche and to adopt Halopack tray in a recycled paper for the delivery of dishes.
Miscusi family talks about the principles and choices that bring its members to collaborate with Boxmarche and to adopt Halopack tray in a recycled paper for the delivery of dishes.
The first Miscusi restaurant was opened in Milan in 2013. Their credo: “pasta unites and makes happy” has lead them to have 300 employees, divided into 6 cities and 12 restaurants in Italy and a first store in London, in Convent Garden. What is your recipe? And why that name?
"Pasta has always been the quintessential dish for sharing, naturally associated with the concept of home and being together, whether with family or friends. It’s a simple dish because it's accessible to everyone, but it also has a rich Italian history. At Miscusi, we have made it the main dish of our menu, democratizing access to the recipe for happiness: eating well, in good company, with the utmost respect for our land. We should all be proud of it, for how it is appreciated worldwide. The name Miscusi comes from a ‘revenge’ that Alberto, the founder and CEO of Miscusi, took in the United States on a fellow Master’s student. This person would mock Italians by imitating the musicality of our language, repeating as a refrain “Mi scùuusi,” associating it with fundamental values of our country: hospitality, conviviality, family, and home."
Your brand is strongly focused on sustainability and respect for the environment. Could you tell us more about your "from seed to fork" policy?
We are creating a pasta offer that not only contributes to people's well-being but also conveys values connected to the land. It’s about the need to preserve it and perhaps even regenerate it after half a century of chemical and intensive farming. We are rediscovering ancient grains and alternative cereals, always following the mantra of biodiversity, thanks to non-invasive and efficient agriculture. We’ve travelled all over Italy, choosing to work directly with agricultural companies and producers deeply rooted in their local territories, cutting out intermediaries to ensure full traceability of every seed that ends up in the dishes served at our restaurants.
For a company like yours, which is committed to the environment, employees, and the community, the decision to become a Benefit Corporation was a natural one. Can you tell us about your journey to become a B-Corp?
Sustainability has been deeply embedded in our business model since its inception. We have always worked towards minimizing our impact on the planet through small daily actions and large projects.
It is precisely because of our virtuous behaviours, which go beyond profit, innovating and having a positive impact on our employees, the local communities we operate in, the environment, and all stakeholders, that Miscusi became one of the first food retail brands in Italy to obtain the international B-Corp certification.
The process involves measuring all of our economic, environmental, and social impacts through the B Impact Assessment (BIA) protocol developed by the non-profit B Lab, across several predefined impact areas, such as:
• Governance, which reflects the company's focus on sustainability and ethical growth;
• Workers, the company’s commitment to the well-being, training, and engagement of its employees;
• Community, which highlights the company's efforts to help the local community;
• Environment, which tracks the various initiatives aimed at preserving our planet;
• Customers, which evaluates the initiatives implemented to engage customers on these topics.
This important recognition is just the beginning of a second phase in the life of our brand, which is now developing with greater determination numerous projects aimed at promoting the Mediterranean lifestyle. This approach is based on values such as sustainability, conviviality, inclusivity, and respect for diversity.
In 2021, Miscusi, promoting Good Carbs and the Mediterranean Diet, crossed the Channel to land directly in Covent Garden. Which other markets are you looking at for the future?
In June 2022, we will open our second restaurant in London, located in Islington. London is competitive, expensive, and complicated (also due to Brexit), but it is also an international stage and a megaphone that will accelerate the spread of our mission, before we expand into new markets.
What motivated you to choose Halopack, our green tray?
Finally, we can deliver our hot and ‘al dente’ dishes to all the pasta lovers who wish to enjoy Miscusi recipes, even without having to visit one of our restaurants. Thanks to the new green packaging for delivery that we adopted, the Halopack sealable tray made of recycled cardboard produced by Boxmarche, our paths have intertwined, and we've discovered that there is a great sharing of values and a common approach to many issues between our companies. We wanted to utilize all the communicative spaces of the product with three different fun graphics that are only visible after finishing the contents, and we included a QR code at the bottom of the tray that allows the consumer to answer a questionnaire about their consumption experience. Sustainability is at the core of our business model, and the decision to adopt sustainable packaging was a natural step that satisfies not only us but also our customers, who are increasingly mindful not only of taste but also of the environment.
