PinsaMe is an authentic Italian stall located in the Arkaden food market in Odense, Denmark. It offers traditional Italian dishes, focusing on the quality and authenticity of its offerings to provide a genuine taste of Italy in Denmark.
DESCRIPTION OF YOUR BUSINESS/SERVICE?
PinsaMe is an authentic Italian stall located in the Arkaden food market in Odense, Denmark. It offers traditional Italian dishes, focusing on the quality and authenticity of its offerings to provide a genuine taste of Italy in Denmark.
MOTIVATION FOR BEING AN ENTREPRENEUR?
I came to Denmark in 2014 for six months as an Erasmus student. It was actually my last semester at my home university in Rome (Sapienza University of Rome) so it felt like the last opportunity to live abroad as an exchange student before writing my thesis and graduate. I found a job in an Italian restaurant in Odense shortly after I arrived in the city and as the working conditions in Denmark were more satisfactory than in Italy, I decided to stay here after the Erasmus period ended. I graduated in January 2016 and I am still in Denmark running my own business. Since I moved to Odense I noticed that there is a lack of authentic Italian restaurants as most of them blend Italian recipes with Danish elements. For example, they add pineapple slices in the pizza. That is unacceptable for Italians. Moreover, there are many places that sell low-quality food, which they call ‘Italian’, and in many cases, those places are owned by non-Italian immigrants. So, I was searching for an opportunity to open an Italian restaurant in Odense right after I had moved to Denmark. Finally, I noticed a lack of organization in the restaurant I was working at and I thought, ‘I can do it better’. I was planning to open a food stall in the first food market in Odense (the Storm’s Pakhus) in the summer of 2017, but due to some reasons, in the end, I decided not to. This April I got the chance to enter the Arkaden food market and that’s how PinsaMe was born.
THE JOURNEY SO FAR - CHALLENGES FACED & HOW YOU HAVEOVERCOME.
Since I moved to Odense I noticed that there is a lack of authentic Italian restaurants as most of them blend Italian recipes with Danish elements. For example, they add pineapple slices in the pizza. That is unacceptable for Italians. Moreover, there are many places that sell low-quality food, which they call ‘Italian’, and in many cases, those places are owned by non-Italian immigrants. So, I was searching for an opportunity to open an Italian restaurant in Odense right after I had moved to Denmark. Finally, I noticed a lack of organization in the restaurant I was working at and I thought, ‘I can do it better’. I was planning to open a food stall in the first food market in Odense (the Storm’s Pakhus) in the summer of 2017, but due to some reasons, in the end, I decided not to. This April I got the chance to enter the Arkaden food market and that’s how PinsaMe was born.
Despite the fact that I have learned Danish, the language was still a barrier. Opening a business comes with a great amount of paperwork and there were terms that I was not familiar with. Moreover, networking is important. Not knowing the right people can become quite a challenge when opening a new company. On the other hand, I can say that Denmark is a great place for founding a startup business.
BENEFITS YOU HAVE EXPERIENCED/POSITIVE IMPACTS?
Opening PinsaMe has allowed Gilberto to bring a piece of Italian culture to Denmark, satisfying the local appetite for international cuisine. His experience highlights the opportunities for immigrant entrepreneurs in Denmark's food industry, showcasing the positive impacts of diversity in culinary offerings
PLANS & VISION FOR YOUR BUSINESS?
There are opportunities out there. Danes love international cuisine and I think that has a lot to do with the fact that Denmark doesn’t have a strong food culture like Italians have, for example. Foreigners bring their culture [to] a new country and a big part of their culture is the food. In Arkaden alone, the majority of the shops are run by first-generation immigrants – Indian, Moroccan, Thai, Japanese and others. On the other hand, the food industry is fragmented and [has] high competition. It is easy to start a business in the sector, but difficult to make it grow.
Gilberto’s vision for PinsaMe involves not only sustaining the authenticity and quality of his Italian dishes but also expanding his reach within Denmark’s food industry. By continuing to embrace the challenges and opportunities of entrepreneurship, he aims to contribute further to the multicultural food scene in Denmark.
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