Meet Brian Persico of Sogno Toscano Tuscan Dream in Tempe

Today we’d like to introduce you to Brian Persico.

Brian, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
The idea started in 2007 in the UES in New York City where my best friend and I were living, waiting on tables and looking for an opportunity to bring a taste of our beloved land in Tuscany to the US. Both our families own olive groves and so we took off on a sure bet going from door to door selling our one and only product, a bottle of premium extra virgin olive oil with personalized private labels for each restaurant. Thanks to Pietro’s father (Roberto) we transferred to Phoenix, AZ. Roberto provided the necessary capital and the right mentorship to start “thinking big”. We were finally able to take off. We recruited staff and quickly expanded operations in NY, NJ, DC, Miami, Los Angeles and Phoenix. Sogno Toscano today employs 150 people, serving 5200 restaurants nationwide with a product line of 500 specialty products predominantly imported from Italy with a growing US supply made possible by Italian artisans who are offering the Italian “knowhow” to the United States.

We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
The challenges are many. In the beginning we invested a lot of resources pursuing the supermarket business until we realized that they were not the right target for us. So we redirected and decided to undertake the food serving business which requires a lot more resources and people. Problems and struggles are a constant factor. At the moment we are facing a 25% tariff increase on many types of meat and cheeses from Italy, then not to mention the new Food Safety Modernization Act. There are the inevitable problems the can occur when dealing with special artisan products produced overseas but overall I would say the biggest challenge is finding the right people for the right job.

We’d love to hear more about your business.
Sogno Toscano is a single brand speciality food distribution company that imports predominantly products from Italy with a constant domestic supply. We specialize in providing a tailored relationship that enables the customer to access almost every traditional ingredient a kitchen needs while at the same time making their restaurants stand out from others providing the final consumer with artisanal ingredients that would never find their way to the Us without our flexible and dynamic platform.

What were you like growing up?
Like most kids growing up I was more interested in motorcycles, cars and adventure sports and took all that abundance of genuine amazing food for granted. I was also very interested and excited to hear stories of people who are successful in executing and idea in commercial reality.

Contact Info:

• Address: 2510 W Geneva dr Tempe AZ 85282
• Website: www.sognotoscano.com
• Phone: 480-281-1818
• Email: customerservice@sognotoscano.com
• Instagram: @sognotoscano
• Facebook: sogno toscano olive oil and italian specialties
• Twitter: @sognotoscano

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