Spreading awareness and promoting cultural change among people, also through Lavazza Alteco coffee: these are the goals of Massimiliano Unere, owner of Latteria 2.0. He told us his story.
A retro style, 1950s décor and an organic, zero-kilometre offering: these are the hallmarks of Latteria 2.0, the venue opened a year ago by Massimiliano Unere in Borgio Verezzi (SV) with the aim of reviving, in a modern key, the flavour of the old-fashioned milk bar. Having recently joined the LifeGate Café project — the select network of venues that promotes quality of life with respect for the environment — Massimiliano told us the reasons behind his (more than wholehearted) choice of sustainability.
How did Latteria 2.0 come about?
I wanted to draw inspiration from the shops of the past, the milk bars found in cities across northern Italy in the 1950s and 1960s. Our claim is 'Today as it was then': we would like this 2.0 version of the neighbourhood venue to be the modern incarnation of what those places represented — a meeting point for young people and families.
What is the philosophy of your venue? And how are the ingredients chosen?
It is a white bar, meaning a venue where no alcoholic drinks are served, and the variety on offer covers only confectionery products. Here everything is prepared by hand and to order in our open-plan kitchen. Alongside the traditional coffee bar serving Lavazza Alteco organic coffee and the speciality coffee bar, we offer every type of milk: in addition to cow's milk, we have almond milk, rice milk and soya milk, all organic. This is because, even though consumption of these speciality milks has increased among people, they are still rarely found in cafés. We also serve yoghurt, home-made cakes, doughnuts, croissants, plumcake, filled meringues, dry pastries, waffles, crêpes, organic artisan ice cream, and freshly pressed fruit and vegetable juices from zero-kilometre produce. We decided to buy raw materials from farmers close to us, both for environmental reasons and to enhance and support our local area. For all other ingredients, such as flour, we favour a short supply-chain philosophy. We look for nearby suppliers.
What does running a venue sustainably mean to you?
For me it means first and foremost raising awareness within the work team and constantly, day by day, promoting a culture of energy saving, through the use of low-consumption LED bulbs, careful use of heating and cooling systems, and correct waste disposal. Good recycling and waste sorting is fundamental for a venue like ours. It may seem like a small thing, but it is actually a very important operation. And then we decided to furnish Latteria 2.0 with eco-compatible materials, such as wood and pallets. We contacted a supplier of ecological tableware to reduce the impact of cups and takeaway tubs for ice cream, and we are having our menus printed on ecological paper. It is true that these things come at a cost, but I think it is worth it: they send a great message that helps raise public awareness. In short, we are giving it everything we have.
What does joining the LifeGate Café project mean to you?
It means promoting cultural change. Adopting sustainable behaviours should not be seen as a cost, but as an opportunity. Viewing sustainability as a choice that comes with high costs is nothing but a prejudice. In reality, it brings savings in the long run and advantages in the eyes of customers who are increasingly informed and aware of environmental issues.
What do your customers think of Lavazza Alteco?
My customers are very attentive and so they greatly appreciate the organic coffee and the whole philosophy of the venue. People come from neighbouring towns just to get to know us. We often tell the story of Lavazza Alteco coffee, talking about how it is produced and who produces it. Organic coffee is a reality that is not widely known. They are happy.
Do you think your sustainability choices are able to change the behaviour of your customers?
Absolutely yes. A café is a public venue: as such, we have a duty to spread an environmentalist culture. Climate change is real and it is a problem. It has an impact on our present: the increase in extreme weather events, here in Liguria, is a subject we know all too well, unfortunately. Today more than ever, the environment must be understood and protected, and each person in their own small way must help to spread this awareness among people.
For Massimiliano Unere, offering organic sweets and zero-kilometre products means promoting cultural change towards a more sustainable and safer world. Change that, according to the owner of Latteria 2.0, is already under way. The data backs him up: according to the latest Observatory on Sustainable Lifestyles produced by LifeGate in collaboration with Eumetra MR, for instance, the people in Italy who consider sustainability a truly felt issue now stand at 56 per cent, and the figure is growing. For this reason too, his choice to join LifeGate Café and to serve Lavazza Alteco — a good coffee, grown without pesticides, 100 per cent from organic farming and UTZ certified — is more than current… 2.0!