Damiano Messineo turned his passion for food and business into Loopini, a high-protein pizza brand made with lupini beans that has grown from one New York City store to major retail chains.
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that → turn → chains
The Italian entrepreneur began developing the product in 2024, using a spreadsheet to create his ideal nutritional label before experimenting with ingredients in his kitchen.
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entrepreneur → begin → kitchen
After launching in January 2025, he travelled around New York City on a Citi Bike, pitching the pizzas to independent shops and delivering orders himself.
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he → launch → orders
The business later entered Whole Foods, Wegmans, and Target.
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business → enter → Foods
In a 2026 interview with Entrepreneur, Messineo shared that Loopini had surpassed $700,000 in revenue by April.
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Loopini → share → April
How Damiano Messineo built Loopini into a high-protein pizza brand
Messineo wanted to create a food business in the United States that combined his interest in entrepreneurship with his love of pizza.
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that → build → pizza
Rather than opening a restaurant, he chose to develop a consumer product that could grow at scale.
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that → open → scale
His idea was to make pizza a healthier option that people could eat regularly without viewing it as junk food.
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people → make → food
In 2024, he used an Excel spreadsheet to develop a nutritional label that suited his goals for a meal.
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that → use → meal
He tested different ingredients from around the world before discovering lupini beans.
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He → test → beans
Although he came from southern Italy, where the beans are widely consumed, he had not eaten many of them while growing up.
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he → come → them
Research showed him that they were rich in protein and fibre and contained all nine essential amino acids.
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they → show → acids
He also noted their low glycaemic index and mineral content.
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He → note → index
From a home kitchen to 50 independent stores in New York City
The early versions of Loopini's pizza tasted terrible, and it took several months of experimentation to get the recipe right.
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recipe → taste → experimentation
By October 2024, Messineo and his co-founder, Alessandro Pignataro, had created a minimum viable product.
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Messineo → create → product
They initially planned to manufacture in the United States but chose Italy because Messineo had stronger connections there.
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Messineo → plan → connections
The founders partnered with a small contract manufacturer and launched Loopini in New York City in January 2025.
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founders → partner → January
Pop Up Grocer became the brand's first store.
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Grocer → become → ?
Messineo then travelled around the city on a Citi Bike, approaching independent shops and delivering pizzas himself.
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Messineo → travel → pizzas
The approach helped the business expand from one store to 50 independent retailers over a couple of months.
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business → help → months
Instead of accepting an early distribution deal, the founders chose to wait until they had greater bargaining power.
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they → accept → power
They entered pitch competitions and won almost every one they took part in.
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they → enter → part
Whole Foods, Wegmans and Target helped Loopini surpass $700,000
Loopini raised a pre-seed funding round in January 2026.
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Loopini → help → January
The business entered its first retail chain, Whole Foods, in January 2026, initially across the Northeast and North Atlantic.
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business → enter → Northeast
A month later, it launched in every Wegmans store.
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it → launch → store
In March, Loopini entered Target, with its products first reaching stores in the Northeast before a nationwide rollout.
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products → enter → rollout
The company generated $100,000 in revenue in 2025.
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company → generate → 2025
By April 2026, its revenue had reached $700,000.
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revenue → reach → 700,000
Loopini had also received offers for national expansion, while other major retailers had expressed interest.
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retailers → receive → interest
The founders were considering these opportunities while focusing on production capacity and product quality before expanding further across the country.
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founders → consider → country
Damiano Messineo ate Loopini pizza for around 100 days while training for an Ironman
Messineo first tested the pizza by eating it for 30 consecutive days in July 2024.
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Messineo → eat → July
After the product hit the market, he decided to run a longer experiment to gather more data on its effects on his body.
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he → hit → body
He ate Loopini pizza for around 100 days, from January 13 to April 26, while tracking physical measurements, blood tests, and stool tests.
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He → eat → measurements
He also trained for an Ironman to examine whether the product could fuel an endurance athlete.
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product → train → athlete
Messineo reported losing four pounds of fat and gaining six pounds of muscle during the challenge.
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Messineo → report → challenge
His score, based on 150 biomarkers, rose from 81 out of 100 before the challenge to 89 afterwards.
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score → base → 89
He also completed his first Ironman in Lima, Peru, in five hours and 42 minutes.
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He → complete → hours
The Aporia
