Pina Romolo is the President & CEO of Piccola Cucina Inc., a Canadian food manufacturer located in Winnipeg, Canada, that was founded in 2009 originally manufacturing a single line of almond based products. Since its founding as a specialty, Italian-inspired single product business, Piccola Cucina has evolved from a producer of allergy-friendly, certified gluten-free, dairy-free, almond-based Italian macaroon cookies to include a diverse product line which now includes almond flour-based pie shells, almond flax wraps, gluten free pizza crusts, finished pizzas, and gluten free vegan superfood desserts. The pizza and desserts lines were a result of the acquisition of the assets (including the brands) of Judy G Foods Inc. in 2023. Piccola Cucina operates a certified gluten free, HACCP certified and CFIA federally inspected facility manufacturing a suite of 20 products made with ingredients sourced using sustainable practices, that include minimizing by-products, achieving zero food waste, recycling processing and packaging materials, and conserving water and energy. Piccola Cucina’s products are available nationally through Sobeys/Safeway, Costco.ca, Amazon.ca and other independent retailers across Canada.

Pina started her career with the Italian Chamber of Commerce in MB, and has held various managerial roles across different industries in Corporate Canada but has always been an entrepreneur and foodie at heart. This entrepreneurial spirit propelled her into her current role of chief strategist & business developer, specialty food producer, brand creator, marketer & manager of Piccola Cucina.

Under Pina’s leadership, Piccola Cucina was a finalist in the Winnipeg Chamber of Commerce’s small business award in 2015, was listed in Food in Canada magazine’s Top 10 Food and Beverage Companies to watch in Canada in 2015 and in 2016 was one of the 12 businesses selected from more than 700 applications to take part in the second cohort of District Ventures, Arlene Dickenson’s Business Accelerator.

She is the Past Chair of the Board for Food and Beverage Manitoba, Certified Woman Owned Business through WEConnect International and an active contributor to the food industry in Manitoba. She is fluent in Italian, Spanish and French, lives in Winnipeg with her husband David, and 2 children, Giuliano and Olivia.

Diogo Iwasaki is the co-founder and CTO of Ori.Gatou, a marketing tech startup helping brands engage with customers better through community experiences they can easily build with their drag-n-drop software. Over the past 5 years, he has grown Ori.Gatou’s platform alongside his co-founder and Mom, Rosana Iwasaki, leading & growing Ori.Gatou’s 6-person development team and ensuring that it aligns with business development efforts. He is also a TEDx Speaker and Google DevFest Speaker, as well as a programming Instructor at RRC.