In founding a company, we sometimes find a community. When Giovanni Volpi, an immigrant with expertise in dry-curing Italian meat, began his company in 1902, he found a community of other Italian immigrants in search of familiar eating experiences. That community has now grown to include a wide array of American consumers, and Volpi’s family values live on through Giovanni’s great niece, Lorenza Pasetti, who is the current President.

“My father, Armando Pasetti, arrived in the 1930s, and, with his uncle Giovanni, grew the small business in the Italian neighborhood known as ‘The Hill’ in St. Louis, Missouri,” said Lorenza. “My dad ran the company from the 1950s to 2002, taking it from a neighborhood staple into markets like Chicago, Illinois, and New York. I entered the business in the 1980s and learned the craft directly from him.”