The History, the Enterprise: GianGusto
GianGusto, from the L’Altra Piadineria S.R.L Group, was born from the deep, thirty-year friendship between its founders Paolo Malfassi and Leonardo Bagnoli, as well as from the different experience and professional skills they each bring.
In 1997, Paolo began managing a traditional café/bar. His close and daily contact with customers allowed him to realize that consumer needs and tastes were shifting away from classic food establishments and increasingly towards a demand for quality, craftsmanship, and tradition—without neglecting innovation.
Thus, in May 2003, the first artisanal workshop for the production and sale of Piadine and Rotoli (rolls) was established.
The following summer, Paolo brought Leonardo into the project, asking whether his family business, Pasticceria Leonardo S.r.l., could produce a piadina base to be sold exclusively for L’Altra Piadineria.
Leonardo immediately activated the research and development department of the company in Vinci (FI) to study the feasibility of the project and began evaluating the product’s commercial potential. The following months of testing led to the creation of a stable and well-controlled product of excellent quality—strong enough to convince both Paolo and Leonardo from a business standpoint.
This led to the idea of launching a network of Franchises of Piadinerie, with the goal of offering franchisees not only a high-quality product but also the expertise and professionalism that the two partners had gained through experience.
The history of the GianGusto – L’altra Piadineria brand
In May 2003, the first store opened in Concesio (BS), managed directly by Paolo Malfassi. It was here that the current GianGusto network began to take shape. The original brand used was “L’Altra Piadineria,” a name that is still in use today for the chain’s B2B operations.
By the end of 2003, in-house production of the piadina base had already begun, laying the foundation for the future franchise. In the following years, the first stores under the “L’Altra Piadineria” brand opened.
From Florence to Rome, from Brescia to Emilia, the years between 2005 and 2010 saw the launch of numerous stores of L’Altra Piadineria Franchise.
At that time, the format was defined by a rustic look and the color orange, reflecting the original L’Altra Piadineria logo—often accompanied by the image of a young man biting into a piadina, a graphic that became omnipresent in the brand’s communications.
In 2011, the path shifted. The decision was made to retain the historic “L’Altra Piadineria” brand for B2B use, while introducing the new “GianGusto” brand for retail. To maintain continuity with the past, the new brand kept the image of the boy eating a piadina, along with the original brand’s color scheme.
The decision to differentiate the retail market from the corporate (B2B) sector also stemmed from the company’s growth over the years and the search for a brand that could express both the Italian identity and the historical roots of the product.
It was in the autumn of 2016 that the most recent transformation took place: the GianGusto brand was refreshed with a new design that better conveys tradition and Italian heritage.
The new logo reflects a Piadineria Franchise that has matured—one that now appeals to a more discerning audience, appreciative of regional specialties and the flavors that only a true Italian brand can offer. Alongside the new brand identity came a complete restyling of the stores: interiors in soft cream tones, furnishings made from recycled wood to support the format’s sustainability values, and marble countertops to visually express—along with the piadina itself—the beauty of Made in Italy.