Stories of Excellence from local businesses: Dario Loison tells his at “Qui si fa”

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The “Qui si Fa” (This is where it’s made) week-long event organized by Veneto Innovazione in Verona came to a close on April 16 with “Storie di Eccellenza del territorio” (Stories of excellence from local businesses). It was dedicated to entrepreneurship and to the enhancement of Venetian culture and traditions that reinvent themselves. The event was attended by four major guests who told of their extraordinary entrepreneurial stories: Sandro Boscaini – Agricola Masi, Giovanni Bonotto – Bonotto, Dario Loison – Loison and Cristina Nonino - Grappe Nonino. The spirited moderator of the event was Sebastiano Barisoni, a journalist who hosts Focus Economia on Radio 24 of which he is the Deputy Director.

Professor Claudio Baccarani of the University of Verona took the floor and placed emphasis on how to do business: there is no question that innovation and change are necessary, but a dose of risk awareness is also needed. But in order to do business one must also be a dreamer! And Dario Loison could definitely relate to this: his professional experience started in the second half of the nineties. He built his company on a solid foundation, but also on innovative projects: one above all was the web. In 1996, when the Internet in Italy was still unexplored territory, Dario Loison developed his company website, which consisted of only a few pages, and began selling his products on-line. The first order came from a Swedish lady who purchased 400 panettone cakes for the Italian Association in Örebro, Sweden. The other order came from an ice cream parlor in Osaka, Japan, where the owner, an Italian deaf man, could only communicate by e-mail. It was then that Dario Loison realized the importance of the Internet as a tool to “conquer” not only geographically distant places, but also people that it can be challenging to communicate with.

Next on the floor was Giovanni Bonotto who hasput time and craftsmanship at the center of his Fabbrica Lenta, overturning the modern concepts of production. Boscaini, who is also the ambassador of Amarone (a rich Italian dry red wine) to the world, spoke of his strong ties with the community that distinguish his Local product in a Global context. Finally, Cristina Nonino, the grappa lady, who is now heiress of an ancient tradition: her name is connected with a world renowned spirit, as well as with a literary award dedicated to the most important cultural figures of our times.