Taste. That’s what Innogusto is all about. In particular, the perception of taste through the structure, colour and smell of food, says Matteo Piano. He and his wife Carola Piano-Willemse founded Innogusto three and a half years ago. They develop plant-based food concepts. ‘We replace animal proteins in dishes with plant proteins, without the consumer missing the animal proteins.’
Innogusto’s first concept, RESTOPIA®, is already on the market. It is a series of plant-based Italian pasta sauces and stews. ‘We replace meat, chicken and fish in them with plant-based ingredients that taste just as good to the consumer.’ Innogusto is also working on plant-based substitutes for meat and tuna salads.
The company develops complete meal components for food companies, supermarkets and caterers. In doing so, Innogusto concentrates on the question: what experience do we want to offer the consumer with our plant-based alternative?
We often start by tasting raw ingredients to get a sense of their potential
With this in mind, Innogusto chooses ingredients and raw materials, and then proceeds to the cooking and tasting stages. ‘We often start with tasting the raw ingredients to get a sense of their potential.’ They develop the production process together with other companies. Innogusto has been on the Wageningen campus for almost a year now and is looking to collaborate with other startups that may be able to supply new proteins, such as Fumi Ingredients, BBS, Symrise and Time-Travelling Milkman. ‘There is a spirit of enterprise here,’ says Piano. ‘You run into other startups and think: we might need each other.’
There are about 100 companies on campus. We introduce them to you in Resource. This time: Innogusto.
