An innovative startup is breathing new life in the world’s most ancient wheat. This is the goal of Nutracentis, a small company in Sarnico, near the northern Italian city of Bergamo, which since 2015 buys and processes the ancient grain to make dry pasta.

The idea came from co-founder Monia Caramma: after studying correlations between nutrients, she thought of a project that would go beyond organic gluten-free and vegan pasta. Caramma said the project aims to follow the basic principles of nutraceuticals, a word that brings together nutrients and pharmaceutics.