Divino Foods

Not many people know that the organic waste that's generated by the wine industry implies serious economic and ecological problems and challenges. The main byproduct is grape pomace: grape peel, seeds and stems. Today, grape pomace is used as fertilizer or simply wasted. However, thanks to its properties, grape pomace could be used as a functional ingredient in the preparation of healthy and even gluten-free foods because of its content of dietary fiber and antioxidants, which generate important health benefits when consumed regularly. Plus, it's convenient to add grape pomace to foods oriented to celiacs, since it has been shown that gluten-free products generally lack fiber compared to their wheat equivalents, since they are mainly composed of starches.

Fetuccini and pasta in general are one of the most popular foods in Chile and worldwide, so we aim to make this very common food even more healthy, attractive and sustainable.

Grape pomace is an abundant residue of the wine industry: about 190 thousand tons are generated annually in Chile. Worldwide, the number scales near the 10.000 million tons a year. In general, grape pomace is considered a waste, and its valuable components such as dietary fiber and antioxidants, aren't valued. Experts assure that these components are powerful functional ingredients that generate important health benefits when consumed regularly. They help reduce the risk of suffering chronic diseases such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes and some types of cancer. 

About eating habits, celiacs are a group that suffers complications when it comes to food, due to their gluten intolerance, which limits their diet and affects their quality of life. The disease reaches more than 200.000 Chileans, according to the 2010 National Health Survey, and it registers a considerable increase worldwide in the last 50 years. Plus, experts claim that gluten-free foods are usually nutritionally deficient and they can be up to three times more expensive. Therefore, using grape pomace as raw material could help lower costs, enrich food's nutricional value and contribute to developing a cycle of circular economy, maintaining the value of resources within the economy for a longer time.

Our general purpose is to value grape pomace by creating healthy fetuccini, taking advantage of grape pomace's natural compounds and offering a healthier alternative to regular pastas. Also, we aim to develop a competitive offer that can be consumed by celiacs.

Pastas are one of the top three favorite foods worldwide, and in recent years, the pasta market in Chile has been growing, increasing the supply of premium products mainly and increasing the spending on premium products. In Chile, more than 7 kg of pasta are consumed per person annually. Moreover, pasta is suitable for the addition of nutrients because it's accepted worldwide due to its low cost, easy production and sensory attributes. 

Therefore, the idea of adding grape pomace into pasta's preparation could generate benefits for vineyards, but also for consumers and their health.

Creating foods with grape's residues, first of all, reduces the organic wastes at vineyards, also reducing negative impacts on the environment. This is convenient for vineyards, since these residues generate economical and ecological problems. For testing, a visit to one of Chile's most important vineyards, Concha y Toro, was made last year. There, pastas were tried by workers of the vineyard's Restaurant, receiving mostly positive feedback and great acceptance towards the project. 

Second, by incorporating grape marc flour in the preparation of fetuccini, the nutritional quality of the pasta is improved, since it increases the content of fiber and antioxidants, components that the Chilean population consumes at low levels. Therefore, the product will improve health habits for those who are looking for healthier habits or healthy foods. 

Finally, grape pomace can be used in the preparation of gluten-free foods, which would benefit celiacs, who in general have a hard time finding healthy gluten-free foods, including pastas. Through personal interviews, it was discovered that in some families, everyone eats gluten-free foods when only one member is celiac, as a way of accompanying or supporting that person. Therefore, its importan that the product is attractive for people with or without the condition. 

Wasting valuable organic matter is a luxury that the wine industry can no longer afford, either if its in Chile, one of the largest wine producers in the world, or in other countries. By giving grape pomace a new use in another market, it's value stays longer within the economy, helping reduce food loss by using and leveraging grapes instead of throwing them away. Also, by using the wine industry's residues for creating healthy foods, a new business model is created, where vineyards could sell a new and attractive product in their tourism services like restaurants or wine-shops. 

Healthy and colored fetuccinis are highly attractive, easy to produce and ready to consume. The project embraces the idea of turning grape pomace into flour, but taking it to a whole new level by creating a desirable and healthy food product. Pastas are a highly popular product worldwide.

In Chile, pasta is highly consumed, so our purpose is making it more healthy and improving the nutricional value of pastas. Locally, pasta market has been growing and people have been spending more money in these kind of products. So even if the market is highly competitive, Divino Foods would be pioneers in the ingredients, concepts and visions behind the company.

Finally, a new way of performance takes place by using wastes to create healthy fetuccinis, which normally have no special nutritional value. Also, a new process is proposed for managing byproducts at vineyards, where grape pomace would be transferred to producers who would turn it into flour, instead of discarding it. This way, we encourage the use of grape wastes to avoid food loss, by creating new healthier foods.

Firstly, the project proposes the creation of grape marc flour, which could be made using traditional technologies for the manufacture of other types of flour. These technologies consist of different stages: transfer of raw material, drying, milling, packaging and finally distribution.

Secondly, once the flour is obtained, we proceed with the elaboration of pasta. This is based on the technology of semi-industrial pasta machines, which reach a high production efficiency and are very common in the pasta market.

For the packaging, we intend to use only one material: recycled cardboard boxes, reducing impacts and promoting recycling after use. Most premium or healthy pastas use regular cardboard boxes with plastic windows. We want to avoid adding a second material to the packaging, so we replace the window with a reference photograph of the product.

The technology previously described has been very common for both the flour and pasta markets for many years. Therefore, there should be no conflicts by using those same technologies for our production system. The application of a low proportion of grape marc flour in the preparation of pasta does not considerably alter its consistency. Therefore, this dough could be worked very similar to a traditional dough and in tradicional semi industrial machines, which work partly manually and partly automatized.

By using grape pomace's wastes at vineyards, we're avoiding their accumulation over vineyard's lands and reducing negative impacts on the environment, such as air pollution from grape pomace rot, or soil contamination.

Secondly, adding grape marc flour in the preparation of fettuccine, generates as a result a new functional food. Functional foods are those that, in addition to their basic nutritional properties, generate additional health benefits. According to scientific demonstrations, regular consumption of foods containing grape marc flour generates health benefits and contributes to reducing the risk of cardiovascular disease. Therefore, consuming fettuccine with grape marc flour would be very beneficial for people with poor eating habits.

On the other hand, by generating a new healthy and gluten-free product, it contributes to improving the quality of life of celiacs, who in general find it difficult to find this type of food and at an affordable price. More importantly, we would offer a product with important nutritional qualities thanks to the high content of fiber and antioxidants, making this product a healthier food and enriching a market deficient in nutritional matters.

Finally as a last purpose we want to generate awareness about the use and waste of food resources, sustainability and circular economy, through education and information to consumers using digital media such as social networks or web page.

Nowadays we're not producing or selling products, therefore the current number of people we serve has not been defined yet. 

We aim to benefit people who suffer cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, celiacs plus people who want to improve their eating habits, starting locally in Chile, which would sum up roughly around 50.000 people consuming the product the first year.

Over five years we expect to be fully grown and established in the country, being able to help not only celiacs and our target market, but also children and elderly, who can also be benefited by the nutricional qualities of the product. Also we expect to be growing in other major wine producers countries by replicating the business model.In addition, we want to export our products and provide it to countries that don't have a strong wine industry established, such as certain countries in Latin America. By that point we anticipate to benefit around two million people. 

These numbers can change depending on many variants, so we're not entirely sure or established with the above-mentioned numbers.

During the first year our goal is to achieve three food products that meet the quality standards necessary to be functional foods. Ideally, we will test the fettuccini made with our partners at the Center for Molecular Nutrition and Chronic Diseases, to scientifically evaluate the health benefits that their consumption brings. This way, we can ensure the nutricional value of the food and generate a real impact on people's health, by promoting the consumption of healthier foods and by helping reducing the risk of suffering chronic diseases thanks to this new food with grape marc flour.

Secondly, our aim is to become known by as many Chileans as possible, including young people, the elderly, celiacs and people with chronic diseases such as cardiovascular disease or diabetes. For this, we will start with marketing strategies via social media, such as advertising on Instagram or through "influencers": people with thousands followers and who represent the same values of our organization. Also we'll be creating a website to share relevant information about the product, ingredients, processes and health benefits, as well as allowing online purchases. In addition for this stage, it'll be very important to have partnerships with online stores, such as healthy foods stores, gluten free stores, or wine shops. Furthermore, Divino fetuccini could be sold at restaurants, being a direct channel to attract people towards an innovative and healthy food. These commercial alliances will allow a greater visibility of the product to people who could potentially be interested customers. 

The first and most important barrier is nowadays is there're no regulations for the management of grape pomace residues at vineyards in Chile. Therefore, while some wineries are promoting more sustainable measures, none of them are forced to take this path. In addition, there is no productive system of grape marc flour in the country, which economically complicates the process of manufacturing fetuccini in this initial stage, because it's difficult to scale and expand the project.

On the other hand, this new food would mean that people would have to adapt to new and different tastes. There is a risk that some characteristics of fettuccine will be rejected simply because they are different. This implies that culturally, as a society moving towards more sustainable food production, we must learn to adapt to new flavors, colors, smells and textures in foods. This is a great challenge that we intend to overcome through proper education and keeping people informed through our media channels. 

Finally, we embrace the production challenges that imply creating a new product. We want to be as sustainable as possible through production, distribution, packaging, and other steps, so that we can efficiently be part of a circular economy.

We'd like to encourage vineyards be sustainable towards their wastes, by selling them to someone who can turn grapes into flour. Our mission as Divino Foods goes beyond products: we want to encourage wine producers to be aware towards the impact generated by wine production, specially about grape waste. Our values are focused on informing, convincing and gradually motivating vineyards to valorize their grape pomace waste. This way, by raising awareness, more value will be given to pomace flour production process. Also we've partnered with the first producer of grape pomace flour in Chile, who'll be developing products during 2021.

About fetuccini and grape pomace flour's flavors, we seek to encourage people to be open minded about trying and accepting new ingredients in their regular diets. During the development of fettuccine prototypes we carried out some tests with users so they could comment on different sensory aspects of fetuccinis. In general, reactions were positive. However, there's a lack of testing in this area, as no research has been done on the willingness to pay or the eating habits of participants. For example, studies show that some people are willing to sacrifice taste for a healthier diet. Yet, we'd have to test how that works with our products.

Finally, for sustainable development, we've been educating ourselves for example by taking the course Introduction to Sustainable and Competitive Industries, from Pontifical Javeriana University of Colombia. We're committed and eager to learn as much as possible, so we can be responsible.

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Divino Foods is composed by a two-person team:

1- Founder & CEO: Josefina Pollarolo Echeverría

2- Finance Manager: Francisca Vos Ramírez

Josefina Pollarolo, Founder of Divino Foods. Since she was a child she's been interested in creative, artistic and manual projects. Passionate about creating new things, persistent, with an eye for detail, she decided her vocation as a Designer since young. Divino started as her Design Degree Project at Pontifical Catholic University of Chile. Her research began with tourism in Chilean vineyards, getting into grape wastes generated during wine production. Thanks to her strategic approach to conflict resolution, she found an opportunity that made sense to her concerns about valuing materials that nature provides. Her interest in the recovery and reuse of wastes, sustainable development, healthy nutrition, along with her passion for designing innovative products, led her to create Divino Foods, fulfilling her need to work in an interdisciplinary way, working collaboratively, with a proactive and creative approach.

Francisca Vos graduated from Pontifical Catholic University of Chile with a Degree in Business Administration, specializing in Strategic Marketing. Studying she cultivated a great passion for food and its impact on health, along with a strong interest in caring for the environment. She has deep knowledge in these topics, which combined with her communication skills and integral university education, allows her to easily network with different strategic partners that allow her to develop the project successfully. Along with this, her wide vision and constant desire to improve, allows her to see different opportunities and threats that Divino could face, increasing the probability of success in the formation and future management of Divino Foods.

Divino is currently partnered with two stakeholders:

• Center for Molecular Nutrition and Chronic Diseases, Faculty of Medicine, Pontifical Catholic University of Chile. They provided the first samples of grape pomace flour and contributed with relevant technic-scientific information about benefits and composition of grape pomace flour and it's effect in humans.
• Ángel Valenzuela, grape pomace flour producer. 

For previous development, organizations were consulted for tests:

• Isidora Kraemer, Chef and Co-Founder of restaurant and catering La Clementina, with more than 12 years of experience. A visit was made to their kitchen, where Isidora carried out different recipes for gluten-free fetuccini, incorporating grape marc flour in combination with other gluten-free flours. Pastas were then tasted by workers, including administrative staff and chefs, who gave constructive feedback. Isidora's help and her team's input were extremely relevant for the development of the gluten-free product. 
• Beatriz Vásquez, Chef and Academic at Culinary Institute, Chile. Expert in Food Sensory Analysis. The three fettuccine recipes were tested by Beatriz, where she was asked to evaluate the most important sensory aspects of the pasta. Her comments were generally very positive, stating that all three products were well achieved, especially the gluten-free product.
• Concha y Toro Vineyard, Pirque, Chile. A visit was made to the winery's restaurant, where fetuccini were tasted by workers: sommeliers, managers, chefs and waiters. They answered a survey where sensory aspects of fetuccini's were evaluated. In general scores were high and many positive comments were received about packaging and the main concepts of the project.

Divino offers products that generate health benefits with their regular consumption thanks to the fiber and antioxidants provided by the grape marc. We aim to offer heathy fetuccinis and help people who suffer from cardiovascular disease or diabetes, or those who want to improve their eating habits. Divino also offers a gluten-free product, seeking to improve the quality of life of celiacs, enriching their diet.

Consumers of Divino are interested in taking care of their health. This product would be attractive to them because pastas in general are a well-known and widely consumed, both in Chile and internationally. The value of the product lies within the fact that it's much healthier than common pasta. Among the competition of healthy pastas, Divino stands out thanks to its novelty and high nutritional value, added naturally through the ingredients. Same with the gluten-free version; it's healthier than regular gluten-free pastas, containing high amounts of fiber and it's attractive because of its innovative combination of ingredients.

In terms of marketing strategies and product design, fetuccinis are offered through a wine-related graphic identity. Products are offered for sale online or at stores, where packaging provides information on their origin, production processes, functional ingredients and health benefits.

The process of raw material acquisition, development and marketing will be carried out by us with specialized assets and strategic partners.

Unlike other competitive funds or programs, MIT Solve in particular offers a unique way to make ourselves known among relevant organizations in order to make a real change in the world. A platform that offers so many partnerships and relationships with different industries and potential stakeholders could really help us become known and help us grow, giving us an opportunity to work in a multi-disciplinary manner and reach out further and to more people. MIT Solve could help us grow not just as a business, but also as activists for the sustainable management of food wastes in a highly relevant industry in our country. In addition, as our business grows, we would be able to bring to people foods that can generate a benefit in their diet and health. 

Money funds are very important so we can start this project and make it work as a business where we can sell, reinvest and keep it going further. But also, so our deepest values can be accomplished, we need mentorship and strategic advice so we won't get stuck. We need help to lift the project so that we can scale it up further to benefit more consumers, and also to rescue more grape waste. Our ambition is to ensure that the grapes in vineyards are never discarded, because throwing away food is a luxury we can no longer afford.

On one side, we want to we want to evaluate our business model to determine which are the best ways to reach more people and make the product affordable or accessible, and not just for a few. 

We also need advice on maintaining processes that are sustainable and environmentally friendly, in order to prevent unnecessary costs and avoid negative impacts on the environment when generating a new product and defining its life cycle.

For legal issues, we could use a lawyer to guide us in the process of establishing a brand, health permits, regulations, dealing with consumers, among others.

We would like to partner with companies that produce pasta or similar foods, in order to industrialize our product and be able to scale up the project to reach more people. One of the most important pasta producer in the country is Carozzi.

Also, an alliance with a significant vineyard like Concha y Toro in Chile could help us fulfill our goals of promoting and communicating the relevance about grapes wastes, and be pioneers in the reuse of organic grape waste so we can be an example for other wineries.

An organization like Cisco could be a relevant strategic alliance for sustainable packaging and zero waste goals, since they have ambitious goals  to make meaningful progress in reducing environmental impact and accelerating their contributions to a circular economy.

Another organization that could help us is the Ellen McArthur Foundation, who could guide us in maintaining a circular economy in our processes and in finding international partners.

We would also like to partner with Fundación Chile, an innovation accelerator that offers possibilities of strategic alliances, accompaniment from the beginning and possibilities of expansion.

We would qualify to participate in this prize because our final purpose is to generate awareness and effective use of valuable resources that are being wasted today. We want to improve the quality of life and nutrition of people, hand in hand with caring for our planet and reducing the impact on the environment.