Today we’d like to introduce you to Marco Maroni
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
About my personal story.
I’m Marco Maroni 1985 class, born in Milan, Italy.
My dream was to come to Florida since 2015.
2015 is the year were my 1st daughter, Mia, is born. A guy with no money but with a big dream driven by the birth of his first daughters for a better future.
I made every effort to legally move to the USA. Computer science is my area of expertise but I was open to doing anything to make my dream come true.
As an authentic Italian, we have one thing in common: the art of cooking delicious food.
Thanks to a friend, I found a franchise called I LOVE PANZEROTTI and applied after a lengthy search.
The business seemed to be a great chance to offer a new product that was both unique and valuable.
To fulfill the dream, I only had a 40-year mortgage that I started 5 years ago.
The inflation that followed COVID allowed me to resell my house and afford to move with my wife and two girls to Florida, where I was able to purchase a food truck.
In April 2023, I began my new business by learning how to make panzerotti, pizza, and pucce (Apulian sandwiches).
Puglia is the traditional source of all of these products. A Apulian product is panzerotto, main item of I LOVE PANZEROTTI.
The term “panzerotto” is so authentic that has no specific translation but americans people have a strong interest and curiosity about food so this allowed me to engage my customers/friends to a new authentic italian item.
At first it wasn’t easy with the food truck, the generator, the process, but I was willing to give my best to offer the best possible ingridients. Earnings are not the best when you offer quality ingredients imported from Italy, too.
Working at night, my girls had to sleep in the car and the next day go to school but the desire to do well is great and so we all make sacrifices to succeed.
Commitment is the key to achive goals so is really important work a lot to earn money to survive.
This is one of the most important things that my doughter will learn from their parent’s story.
After 18 months we have have mainly 5 stars reviews and a lot of people are calling us for catering and events.
Now, we are searching for a stationary place. Our next step will be rent a store where to be easly reachable because many customers call us to know where we are but often we are at private catering, we work very evening hours or we are not active with the food truck.
I want to tell everyone who will read our story to never stop dreaming and to commit to their own goals. Of course, it takes sacrifice, time and effort, but that’s the only way to achieve your dreams.
Signed: an IT engeneer that now makes best pizza of Fort Lauderdale 🙂
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Getting out of the comfort zone is never easy. Especially when you have no money to invest.
You have to do anything. One man business. Starting with the process, licensing, finding suppliers, making graphics, social media, website, bills, find new customers, etc.
It is not easy when outside there are 90 F’s and inside the trailer there are 150 F’s. Often you risk to feel bad.
Learning a new language, too. In fact please modify my phrases if something is write wrong, please. 🙂
Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
OUR STORY
I Love Panzerotti is a brand founded in 2019 with the mission of exporting one of Italy’s most loved foods: Panzerotto Pugliese. It was born as a crowdfunding campaign among 150 Italian friends including many from Puglia and panzerotta makers! ILP chain opened first three stores in New York, then in Florida and Italy.
Our doughs are made from certified Apulian flours of re-milled wheat germ semolina, EVO oil and mother yeast to obtain maximum digestibility and richness in nutrients. Our products are an expression of the search for the highest quality in all ingredients. A delight for the palate, which is difficult to resist… one leads to the other.
The recipe with tomato and mozzarella is the classic one but the Panzerotti are very versatile and we offer them in many different combinations, including sweet options such as Nutella and S’more!
ILP also has a charitable vocation: every panzerotto sold guarantees a daily meal for a needy child thanks to our collaboration with Mary’s Meals, an international charity that currently supports over 2.5 million children daily.
We opened three panzerottorie in New York City and found enormous success with critics and the public!
The New York Times, Eater, Caterpillar, La Voce di NY, Gambero Rosso, Ansa and TG2 have talked about us with a report on Eat Parade! Il Sole 24 Ore, Millionaire and many others. We were also asked to bear witness to our history in the Vatican during the Caritas in Veritate symposium as an example of an ethical enterprise in support of those in need. They asked us to talk about ourselves even in the Chamber of Deputies!
Unfortunately the pandemic forced ILP NY to close but we have resumed business since 2023, opening in Florida and Italy!
IN OUR HEARTS ALSO CHILDREN IN NEED
Many of the members of I Love Panzerotti are active supporters of Mary’s Meals.
We have been active for 20 years and every day we support 2.5 million children with a daily meal at schools.
The concept is simple: bring children back to school in places of absolute poverty where they don’t go due to lack of food. We set up the kitchens, find volunteers and through donations we buy the ingredients locally ensuring that there is the right nutritional intake.
Having food and being able to go to school is the simplest and most direct way to attack the vicious chain of poverty. We now have endless stories of social redemption born from Mary’s Meals.
As many as 93% of donations reach children in the form of food and only 7% is used to support the organization, made up of tens of thousands of volunteers and very few employees.
Each panzerotto or other product you buy at I Love Panzerotti supports a child in need! Thank you on behalf of the children too!
For more information: www.marysmeals.org
Any advice for finding a mentor or networking in general?
“Your network is your net worth” might sound cliche, but it is the truth. Every help is appreciated.
We are new in Florida, we need support and if someone want open “panzerotterie” in Florida or in US we can provide everything from the process to the graphics.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.ilovepanzerotti.com/?lang=en
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ilovepanzerotti_ftl/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ilovepanzerottiftl/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FfKPx_8zHkM
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/i-love-panzerotti-fort-lauderdale-fort-lauderdale
Image Credits
I LOVE PANZEROTTI FORT LAUDERDALE
