"Our products biodegrade within thirty days, and within fifteen if it rains," explains Elżbieta Danielska, founder and CEO of Bonfitaly. "We do not need industrial plants for disposal and, once in the waste stream, they become fertiliser rich in minerals and vitamins. We want to produce value, not waste." This philosophy is guiding the start-up towards its most ambitious goal, i.e., to open a totally Italian production by the year 2026/27, so as to finally create "a true circular economy with a low environmental impact."
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Elżbieta Danielska (founder and CEO) and Sandro Bonfini (co-founder) of Bonfitaly
Bonfitaly Srl is a young Pesaro-based company from the Marche region of Italy, ready to introduce a concrete change in the world of sustainable packaging. The start-up was born in 2021 as a natural evolution of a collaboration started in 2016 with the Polish company that perfected the technology of edible and biodegradable tableware. "After years of development with our Polish partner, we established our sole proprietorship in Italy in 2021 and started marketing the products. The positive market reception confirmed our vision and kicked off the next phase of our adventure. Today, this legacy of ingenuity and observation of nature is the driving force behind our unique, patented technology."
Today, Bonfitaly is preparing the next step - bringing production to Italy by 2027 and creating a truly circular supply chain there. The company is collaborating with Ecoarea Start Up Lab, Italian universities, agri-food companies, and research centres on natural materials, to launch the first Italian-made production line. New edible and gluten-free blends are being developed for the big retail trade (GDO), the food service, and pet food sectors.
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A concrete solution for the big retail trade and the fruit and vegetable sector
The company is working together with an agricultural partner from the Marche region to develop shapes and blends suitable for the big retail trade and the fruit and vegetable sector. The first tests were not easy: contact with vegetables such as radicchio and placement in refrigerated units tended to weaken the trays, but after several tests, the company obtained containers that last up to 10-15 days in refrigerated units. This result paves the way for daily use in packaging lines, with potential benefits in shop management. When the product is no longer saleable, the entire pack can be disposed of in the waste bin, thereby reducing time, personnel, and, above all, disposal costs.
"Those who use our trays save time, personnel, and disposal costs," explains Danielska. "Bioplastic should be disposed of as organic waste, but in practice, it often ends up in the unsorted waste. There is no such problem with us: our materials disappear into nature without a trace."
The start-up has already tested its solutions for packaging radicchio, onions, celery, carrots, blueberries, mushrooms, and even sausages. Each product requires a different mixture, because bran never has the same parameters.
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"It is a natural product and, therefore, it needs to be understood, listened to, and adjusted. It is not like working with synthetic mixtures. You have to adapt the formula to each specific customer need, but that is also our strength," emphasises Danielska. Bonfitaly has experimented with its own solutions, showing that each category can have its own specific blend. Bran does not have constant parameters like a synthetic biomix, so each formulation requires continuous calibration work. It is a complex process, but it is also what makes the company difficult to imitate: the technology, developed and patented in Poland and now extended to Italy, is based on the pure use of raw materials, without PLA, coatings, or chemical additives.
A structured growth: accelerators, incubators, and excellence programmes
In 2025, Bonfitaly entered into some of the most qualified growth paths in Italy:
- AC75 Startup Accelerator (Ancona) - Programme focused on sustainability, innovation, and ecological transition.
- ELITE - Borsa Italiana, powered by Intesa Sanpaolo (Milan) - Growth ecosystem for high-potential SMEs, with focus on finance, governance, and scale-up.
- SDA Bocconi School of Management/Advanced Training Modules - Paths dedicated to strategy, internationalisation, and corporate finance.
- Ecoarea Start Up Lab - Certified Incubator (Cerasolo di Coriano, Rimini) - Incubator founded by Romano Ugolini, with a focus on sustainability, circular economy, and green innovation. Ecoarea supports Bonfitaly in operational development, R&D, validation of natural materials, and positioning in the sustainable packaging market.
At the same time, Bonfitaly was selected as one of the 14 finalists in the "New Ideas, New Enterprises 2025" competition.
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A story that unites Poland and Italy
Among the many technical aspects, one of the most fascinating elements of the Bonfitaly story remains the episode that started it all. "The idea was born in 1998, in my uncle's mill: one day, he found a machine that was blocked by a lump of bran. He picked it up, observed it, and realised that, without any additives, that material could compact and become hard. From that moment on, he started making tests, one after the other," recalls Danielska.
Years later, in 2012, the first prototype came out of that same mill: a plate of pure bran. "My uncle put it on the kitchen table and the next morning realised that a piece was missing. He thought he had failed. Then he saw the cat approaching and munching on the plate. That moment changed everything. He said: 'If he eats it, then we can eat it too'. Making edible tableware was not the goal, but we did realise that we had created something truly natural and harmless."
Today, Bonfitaly wants to bring this vision into the European fruit and vegetable supply chain. "Every week, I come back from shopping with a bin full of plastics. It is no longer sustainable. Our solution is different, because it eliminates the very concept of waste". The ambition is to reach an international scope: "We don't want to stop at Italy. There is more sensitivity to these issues abroad, and we believe that our product can make a difference."
The challenge is a cultural one before being an industrial one, and concerns a sector, i.e., the fruit and vegetable sector, which moves huge volumes of packaging every day. Bonfitaly proposes an alternative that comes from waste and returns to the earth without leaving a trace, with enormous potential for producers, packers, and retailers. "We really believe in change, and we are ready to build it together with those who want to take a step forward," concludes Danielska.
For more information:
Elżbieta Danielska - founder and CEO
+39 377 35 13 199
Bonfitaly Srl
Via G. Mameli n. 42 Scala A int. 114
61121 Pesaro (PU) - Italy
[email protected]
www.bonfitaly.info
