The Rise of Foldini - The Art of Listening (Over a Box of Pasta)

I sat smack-bang in the front row, bubbling full of enthusiasm and eating from both boxes “boxes…” yes, the chicken one and the edamame one. Partly out of curiosity, and mostly because it was half-past five and I was hungry.

Simone Longo, the founder of Foldini Pasta, had taken the stage for our weekly Wednesday Talk and was busy introducing us to the brand. The name was inspired by his grandmother, who was always folding pasta, especially tortellini. Wanting to honor her legacy, Simone landed on Foldini: a name that carries an English connection while celebrating his strong Italian roots. He started the company to chase a flavor he kept missing in every city he lived in and by the sound of it, he’s lived in a lot of cities. Since launching in February, the Foldini team has scaled from one humble Zurich pop-up to now four pop-ups, a food stand, and an upcoming restaurant opening in St. Gallen.

Before passing the food around, Simone asked for an honest favor: "Be as transparent as possible." The boxes went around. Someone cracked, "I have one problem with it, it’s empty already. hihi” But really, we were just the peanut gallery, a complete mixed bag of guinea pigs chirping our opinions, including someone who admitted they only ate pasta for the first time in 2021. Opinions ranged from hyper-focused on protein content to reminders of what food is really about: joy, expression, a leaf of fresh basil on top, half a cherry tomato, or something with a crunch.

Because food is as much about appearance as it is taste, we were encouraged to give feedback on all levels. We were testing their newest creation: a protein-enriched pasta fresca made with yellow-pea dough and an edamame-basil sauce, engineered to be eaten cold straight out of an office fridge. Quickly, a room full of people who actually came to listen and learn was running a full-blown co-creation session for Foldini. For the next hour, passion took over. The sauces, the toppings, the packaging, the prices, and the target customer were argued over as if the company belonged to us.

And at the end, the vegetarian box won by a clear mile, meat-eaters included, while the chicken version was felt to be a bit drier. When Simone revealed their packaging experiments, keeping pasta, sauce, and toppings separate so users could shake them together before eating, someone asked, "Why make us shake it? We are lazy." But I actually think this could be a genius marketing strategy. I can just picture users shaking the box, kind of like how Apple marketed the iPod back in the day with the iconic silhouetted dancing figures and white headphones.

Foldini has fed our Friday lunches at Ship26 a few times, and we have experience that when one opens the boxes for the first time, it somehow loses some momentum, since things are already too mixed up inside the box. Mmm, Simone nodded. "Interesting," he said. "When you open our packaging, we should make it more beautiful." Perhaps this is where the shaking mechanism could solve this exact issue. Fantastic.

It was refreshing to be part of a brainstorming session where criticism wasn't just tolerated, it was actively invited. Being genuinely heard like that is rare. Feedback isn't always comfortable, but that was the whole point of us being there, and it was exactly what they were hungry for. By the end of the hour, one thing was clear: no two people in the room wanted the exact same Foldini. "We’ve never heard someone tell us our pasta isn't good," Simone explained. "People are afraid of hurting our feelings, so we don’t always get the real truth about where we can improve." Giving a founder an arena for raw, unfiltered honesty is rare. Having a platform where they actually want to listen? That's gold.

Brands live and die by personality, leadership, and vision. Foldini is a team driven by Simone, an Italian through and through whose warmth and energy bubble over into everyone around him. His entire team is contaminated by his charm, style, and relentless drive to make a difference, even if it's "only" within folded pasta. It’s inspiring to see people living and breathing a mission: prioritizing quality, keeping sugar low and heavy cream to a minimum, cutting food waste, and holding onto family heritage. That combination of quality, drive, and willingness to listen is deeply appreciated here in Switzerland and is what we value here at Ship26.

What I took home was how many ways there are to look at a single plate of pasta, and how much of selling food comes down to deciding whose plate it really is. Wednesdays at Ship26 run like this, and no two talks are the same, just like our opinions and that’s what drives us to be better in everything we do. Simone and his team are on an incredible journey of creation, and we are grateful to play a small part in it. His grandmother would be so proud if she could see him now.